Padres Are Still Hurting at Home

Yes, San Diego, June gloom has officially arrived. The Padres are back in town.

The gang that can’t seem to catch any breaks in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium stumbled again Tuesday night, this time to the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-4.

Maybe it is the sun. Or the clouds. Possibly it is the food, or the water.

No. Their home uniforms are too tight. Too loose? They itch. Pick an excuse, any excuse. Whatever the reason, this team somehow has an aversion to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The Padres had won seven of their past 10 entering Tuesday night’s game. Now, they are 11-16 at home. They are 19-13 on the road.

Whatever can go wrong at home, it seems, does.

Tuesday’s match-up promised to be an interesting one: Entering the game, Padre pitchers led the major leagues in home runs allowed with 58. Cardinal hitters were last in the majors in homers at 16--or, one more than American League leader Dave Henderson’s 15. They had one home run in their past 703 at bats, and that came Sunday when Gerald Perry hit one.

Could slim hitting hit fat pitching? The Padres were ripe to be taken advantage of, and the Cardinals did. Milt Thompson and Perry each homered in St. Louis’ three-run sixth against Padre starter Jose Melendez, and the Cardinals were on their way.

It was the first time this season the Cardinals hit two home runs in the same inning.

They were the first two homers Melendez (1-2) allowed this season. Melendez lasted seven innings, allowing four runs and six hits.

But don’t pin the blame completely on him. The Padres, using six pitchers in front of 24,383, yielded 11 hits. Mike Maddux didn’t retire any of the three batters he faced in the eighth. Rich Rodriguez, who pitched two-thirds of an inning in the ninth, allowed four walks--one intentional.

It was a night on which the Padres continued to juggle their lineup. Tim Teufel became the sixth Padre to start at third base. Manager Greg Riddoch gave Thomas Howard most of a day off, using him only to pinch-hit in the seventh (he struck out). Howard apparently aggravated the thumb he dislocated Sunday during his final at-bat Monday in Pittsburgh.

Howard’s absence cleared the way for Bip Roberts’ return to the starting lineup after a week at home with his wife and two sons. The Padres went to Chicago and Pittsburgh; Roberts, who had been sidelined since June 2 with back spasms, went to Scripps Hospital twice a day for rehabilitation.

“I kept working hard,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here, man.”

Roberts started in center field and went one for five. He said he would play center field, second base, or wherever the Padres needed him. He smiled often before the game.

It was quite a change from the past week, when Roberts caught most of the Padres’ action either on television or radio.

“I watched, I listened, I cheered, I booed,” Roberts said. “I was a big-time fan. I was happy with the way the guys played. They played like gangbusters.”

And now they’re home.

This was their first meeting with the Cardinals, who are third in the National League East and, outside of Atlanta, are probably the biggest surprise in the NL.

“People think there are secrets, but there ain’t no secrets,” St. Louis shortstop Ozzie Smith said. “When you win, you do certain things consistently--pitch, hit, run, play good defense and be a little lucky.

“We changed a lot of faces, but the game, our approach is still the same. Aggressive, and try to put pressure on the defense to make things happen. We’ve got some young guys who may not be great at what they do, but they are consistent.”

They also have been dazzling defensively. Until outfielder Ray Lankford’s error Monday, the Cardinals had put together a major league record-tying 15 consecutive games without an error. They committed another one Tuesday when first baseman Pedro Guerrero dropped a foul fly near the stands, but it was meaningless.

“Defense puts you in position to win,” Smith said. “That’s what we’ve been able to do. You play as good or better defense than your opponent, your chances of winning ought to be better. We don’t give you an extra out. That’s where your focus has to be. That’s one thing our club did through the 1980s.”

In the beginning, it looked as if the Padres were going to match St. Louis out for out. Melendez didn’t allow a hit through four innings, but the Cardinals got one in the fifth. Perry led off with a single to center and, from there, St. Louis played textbook baseball. Third baseman Craig Wilson bunted Perry to second. Catcher Tom Pagnozzi hit behind Perry, into right field for a single. Perry scored.

The Cardinals made it 4-0 in the sixth with the two home runs.

The Padres finally answered in the sixth with three runs--and almost four.

They got the three quickly--Roberts and Tony Gwynn singled, and Fred McGriff deposited a Ken Hill pitch into the right-field seats for McGriff’s 14th homer of the season. It moved him into first-place in the league.

Two batters later, Benito Santiago singled to left, and Jerald Clark followed with a sharp double to left.

So far, so good, except Padre third-base coach Bruce Kimm waved Santiago home as Perry, the St. Louis left fielder, was throwing toward the plate. He hit Smith, the cut-off man, who threw to Pagnozzi.

It wasn’t even close. Santiago attempted to bowl over Pagnozzi, but Pagnozzi held onto the ball and Santiago was out by at least five steps.

The Cardinals scored two more runs in the eighth and four in the ninth.

And the Padre home record continued to plummet.

Is it the shoes?