Padres Take Charge in Win Over Giants : Baseball: Mitchell ejected after going after Hurst. Homers carry Padres to 4-3 victory.

Padre catcher Benito Santiago, sitting in front of his locker Wednesday night, looked at the throng of reporters around pitcher Bruce Hurst, grinned in delight and nodded his head in approval.

Yes, sir, things might be different this year.

The Padres defeated the San Francisco Giants, 4-3, for a second victory in two nights, but but it hardly was their triumph that had Santiago and teammates acting as if they won a game during a late-September pennant stretch.

This was all about toughness. This was all about aggressiveness. This was all about pitching Giant slugger Kevin Mitchell high and tight, fearless over the repercussions.

Hurst raised his eyebrows, shrugged his shoulders and acted innocently when the questions were fired his way.

What, Hurst throw at someone? Come on, Mr. Nice Guy? The same guy who doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink and doesn’t swear?

Yes, that Bruce Hurst.

Hurst perhaps made only one mistake in the fourth inning Wednesday--he underestimated Mitchell’s rage when the Giant slugger charged the mound. Padre first baseman Fred McGriff was right there, intercepting Mitchell’s first punch.

“I think I owe Fred a nice little dinner for saving my life,” Hurst said.

McGriff: “I think he owes me something.”

Mitchell, who had homered in the second inning off Hurst, was at the plate. Hurst, remembering how far Mitchell sent the ball into the left-field seats, decided to do something different.

He threw inside. And it was high. Although it didn’t sent Mitchell scurrying to the ground, the intent was clear.

“The inside and outside parts of the plate are mine,” Hurst said. “He can have the middle. I don’t know of any rules that say you can’t pitch inside.”

Mitchell began yelling at Hurst. Hurst yelled back. And Mitchell kept on talking while home-plate umpire Bob Davidson kept a hand on Mitchell’s jersey. Mitchell took a couple of steps toward the mound, and Davidson kept tugging on the jersey.

Finally, Mitchell snapped and started toward Hurst. But the benches cleared, and players intervened before anything wild could happen.

“I could tell that Mitch was pretty hot,” Padre second baseman Bip Roberts said. “He warned him. He said, ‘What are you doing?’ I knew something might happen.”

Davidson warned everyone to cool it. The players went back to the bench. The relief pitchers walked back to the bullpens. Calm was restored.

Momentarily.

Hurst’s next pitch, an inside breaking ball, hit Mitchell’s back foot.

This time, Mitchell didn’t hesitate.

He charged the mound. Hurst, perhaps not believing Mitchell really wanted to go through with this, simply stood his ground, not bothering to brace himself.

Mitchell reached the mound, hesitated and threw a right forearm into his chest, knocking Hurst to the ground. Mitchell, who grew up learning to fight in the streets of southeast San Diego, stood over the pitcher. As Mitchell was about to punch Hurst, he was intercepted by McGriff.

McGriff soon was joined in by the rest of his teammates and Giant players, filling the field while trying to make sure that this didn’t turn into a melee. Hurst got away from the pack without injury. By the time the commotion ended, Padre Manager Greg Riddoch was walking Mitchell toward the Giant dugout.

“It was like ‘Raging Bull,’ ” Riddoch said.

Said Giant first baseman Will Clark: “I’ve seen him get mad before, but nothing like this. I think you could have put a brick wall out there and he would have run right through it.

“I think the first pitch definitely had some intent behind it. The second one, I don’t know. I think if there had been intent, it wouldn’t have been as low as it was.

“But ‘Tank’ blew a gasket, and thank goodness he missed with his first punch. If he had landed, it would have lit him up.”

Mitchell was ejected from the game. But Hurst was allowed to remain, and when he left the field at the end of the inning, was cheered by the crowd of 18,950 as if he were Rocky Balboa.

Remember, the Giants’ Jeff Brantley broke Santiago’s forearm with an inside pitch a year ago. In fact, Giant pitchers hit Padre batters five times last season, and not once did the Padre pitchers ever retaliate.

And this is the team, as if anyone needed a reminder, that the Padres love to hate.

“I really wasn’t trying to hit him,” Hurst said. “But I’m not going to stop pitching over the inside part of the plate because he doesn’t like it. He’s all over the plate anyway. He’s swinging a telephone pole up there. Say, if I hurt anyone’s feelings, I’m sorry.

“I’ve got to do what I got to do.”

Mitchell left the clubhouse later in the game and was unavailable for comment.

And Santiago didn’t want to comment, except with his smile.

“I can’t say anything,” he said, laughing. “Keep me out of this one. I’ve been in enough trouble with them already.”

Hurst escaped the incident unfazed. The only trouble he encountered the rest of the game was in the fifth inning, when he allowed back-to-back homers to Steve Decker and Mike Benjamin. It was the first time in two years the Giants managed the feat, and it was accomplished by their only rookies in the lineup, their Nos. 7 and 8 hitters.

They were the final hits surrendered by Hurst the rest of the game. He retired the next nine hitters without allowing the ball to be hit out of the infield before leaving after seven inning.

Home runs accounted for all of the runs in the game.

Giant starter Bud Black--making his first appearance at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium since he pitched for San Diego State against UCLA in 1979--watched an old American League foe ruin his debut in the first inning when McGriff hit a two-run homer in the right-field seats.

It would be one of only four hits surrendered by Black, who equalled his career-high by striking out 10 batters.

One of the other Padre hits was a homer into the left-field seats by Jearld Clark, scoring Santiago from second for a 4-1 lead.

In the eighth, the Giants loaded the bases off reliever Rich Rodriguez. After Rodriguez walked Mike Felder, Mitchell’s replacement, Riddoch summoned right-hander Mike Maddux.

That brought up Matt Williams, the National League RBI champ, who had been hitless in his first seven at-bats of the season. Williams hit a deep fly into right field, where Tony Gwynn caught it on the warning track.

The Padres are off to their best start since 1984 when they opened the year with four consecutive victories.

PADRES AT A GLANCE FIRST INNING

Padres--With two out, Gwynn singled to center. McGriff homered to right, his first. Santiago flied to center. Two runs, two hits. Padres 2, Giants 0. SECOND INNING

Giants--Mitchell homered to left-center, his second. Williams flied to right. Bass grounded to third. Decker popped to first. One run, one hit. Padres 2, Giants 1. FOURTH INNING

Padres--With one out, Santiago doubled to left. Clark homered to left, his first. Presley struck out. Abner struck out. Two runs, two hits. Padres 4, Giants 1. FIFTH INNING

Giants--Decker homered to left, his first. Benjamin homered to left, his first. Anderson struck out. Thompson grounded out. McGee grounded out. Two runs, two hits. Padres 4, Giants 3.