Padres Take Wild Victory in 12 Innings

It was beautiful, and it was gruesome. It was exciting, and it was sickening. It was laughable, and it was horrifying.

The Padres were so frazzled Thursday night after their 11-10, 12-inning victory over the Atlanta Braves that, to be quite honest, they didn’t have any idea what they were feeling.

If nothing else, they’ll be able to sit back and laugh one day at this episode. Some perhaps will cry. But to a man, they won’t forget this game.

It took 4 hours 44 minutes and 43 players from both sides to complete. The Padres managed to blow a a one-run lead in the ninth inning--and a four-run lead in the 10th . But somehow the Padres wound up victorious in a game that had fathers covering their kids’ eyes among 13,780 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

The hero turned out to be Darrin Jackson, who hit a leadoff homer in the 12th inning and soon was forgotten in the aftermath.

How wacky was this game?

* The teams combined to make eight errors, five by the Braves.

* There were only two 1-2-3 innings by both teams.

* Only five of the Padres’ 11 runs were earned.

* Padre starter Adam Peterson, trying to execute the simple intentional walk in the fourth inning, threw a wild pitch to the backstop, allowing a run to score.

* Padre first baseman Fred McGriff went zero for six, striking out three times, hitting into a double play and stranding seven baserunners. And in the field, he committed his sixth error of the season, equaling his 1990 total.

* Padre center fielder Shawn Abner was hitless in three at-bats, extending his drought to one hit in his past 43 at-bats (.023), and made back-to-back mental mistakes in the field.

* Padre reliever John Costello, after giving up a run in the seventh inning, called the press box to complain about a scoring decision, saying that teammate Tony Fernandez should have been charged with an error on Atlanta catcher Greg Olson’s a hit.

It was that kind of game.

Little wonder that Steve Rosenberg, the Padre reliever who along with Mike Maddux blew the four-run lead, simply said: “Get me out of Atlanta.”

It was, in every respect, a team effort.

The Padres’ bullpen was depleted, with every reliever either pitching, pinch-running or ducking for cover. Every position player, with the exception of third baseman Jim Presley was used--an indication of where Presley fits into the Padres’ plans.

It was so outrageous that the Padres actually wished they hadn’t sent Andy Benes, tonight’s starter, ahead to Houston earlier in the day. The way things were going, they could have used him to pitch a few innings.

When Benes finally sees his teammates today, they’ll have plenty of stories to tell. They also will gently remind him that he might considering throwing a complete game. The bullpen is absolutely shot, not to mention gun-shy.

Perhaps the Padres should have known the moons, if not the pitching mound, would not be aligned properly before the game even started. Second baseman Paul Faries, taking infield minutes before the game, suffered a severely sprained right ankle, and was scratched from the lineup.

The severity of Faries’ injury is not known, but X-rays revealed that there was no fracture. Faries, who was on crutches after the game, did not know how long he’d be out.

It’s likely that Faries will be placed on the 15-day disabled list. That would force the Padres to bring Bip Roberts back to second base and open a spot in center field once again.

The Padres, as poorly as they played, could have laughed off the game and its trappings after their four-run explosion in the top of the 10th. That rally could have made a winner of closer Craig Lefferts, who blew the one-run lead in the ninth.

In the 10th, thanks to a blown call by first base umpire Greg Bonin and two Atlanta errors, the Padres scored all their runs with two outs. It was so bad that Braves Manager Bobby Cox no longer could stand it and was ejected. Pinch-hitter Terry Pendleton soon joined him, also being ejected.

Most of the fans were heading home when the Braves came to the plate in the bottom of the 10th. The Braves started off with a couple of infield hits. There was a throwing error by Tony Fernandez. A sacrifice fly by Jeff Treadway. And a walk to Ron Gant.

All of a sudden, the tying run was at the plate in the person of David Justice, the 1990 Rookie of the Year.

Padre Manager Greg Riddoch removed Maddux, who opened the inning, and brought in Rosenberg, a left-hander. Justice worked the count to 2-and-2, and then hit a 367-foot shot into the right-field seats. Right fielder Tony Gwynn couldn’t even bear to watch.

Rosenberg got out of the inning, survived a scary 12th and wound up with his first National League victory.

Just like that.