Roberts Helps Padres in First Game Back : Baseball: Padres defeat Astros, 7-6, for seventh victory in a row. Roberts goes one for three with sacrifice bunt.

Bip Roberts gingerly rubbed his left knee Tuesday as he spoke about his comeback. He slapped on a rubber brace, and joked that he now is a full-fledged member of the knee-brace club. He stared down at his knee, inspected the scar left from arthroscopic surgery, and slowly looked back up.

His face revealed a look of fear and anxiety, the effects of a season of bitter frustration, one which has him counting the days until its conclusion.

Roberts on Tuesday night played in his first game since undergoing surgery Aug. 19, ending his 25-day absence in the Padres’ 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros in front of a crowd of 4,353 at the Astrodome.

The victory was the Padres’ seventh in a row, their longest since Aug. 5-Aug. 11, 1987. The only time in franchise history they’ve had a longer winning streak was in 1982, when they won 11 in a row.

Benito Santiago and Tim Teufel paced the Padre attack. Santiago went four for four, tying a career high, and drove in three runs with a pair of doubles. And Teufel hit a three-run homer in the second inning, while the Padres spent the rest of the game spinning through seven pitchers and preserving starter Dennis Rasmussen’s victory.

“I’m letting my bat do the talking now,” Santiago said.

Despite the offensive heroics, it was a night that belonged to Roberts. Starting in left field for only the third time this season, and batting eighth for the first time since his rookie season, Roberts went one for three with a sacrifice bunt. He hit the ball hard three times, but made a crucial error in the fifth inning that led to two runs.

No matter. It just felt good to play again. Considering the way his season has gone, Roberts was grateful to get out of the game unscathed.

“It’s taken the grace of God to get through this season, believe me,” Roberts said. “I drew strength from my friends and family. When this season ends, believe me, I won’t be looking back.”

Roberts knows by coming back the final month of the season he might be playing right into the Padres’ hands. After all, it’s much easier to trade a player who shows the baseball world that he’s healthy.

“I’ll probably get traded now,” Roberts said, “watch.”

Roberts smiled as he uttered the words, but there was an undertone of sincerity to his voice. He has been rumored to be traded the past two years, and now that shortstop Tony Fernandez has demonstrated he’s a capable leadoff hitter, Roberts knows he’s expendable.

“I want to stay here, I really do,” Roberts said. “But it’s out of my control. I really don’t know what’s going to happen, but when this season ends, believe me, I’m not going to sit around and worry about it.”

If Roberts gets his wish, the Padres will talk to him in the off-season about a multi-year contract. Yet, deep down, he knows it won’t happen. In fact, he probably won’t be able to feel secure about his occupation site until spring training commences.

Do the Padres plan to have Roberts back for the 1992 season?

“That remains to be seen,” McIlvaine said. “I can’t answer that. I’m not trying to trade the guy, but I wasn’t trying to trade Roberto Alomar, either.”

In the meantime, there’ll be plenty of rumors. Everyone’s looking for a leadoff hitter, and considering the Padres don’t have a permanent position for Roberts, they could very well trade him for an established position player or bullpen stopper.

“That would be No. 1 on my wish list, finding that stopper,” McIlvaine said.

The Padres would like to shore up other areas as well. They desperately want a No. 5 hitter to bat behind Fred McGriff, and have focused their attention on free agents Bobby Bonilla and Danny Tartabull. They also have interest in free-agent third baseman Steve Buechele of Pittsburgh and free-agent second baseman Mariano Duncan of Cincinnati.

The Padres have several options during the off-season, and only after the Padres finish formulating their club will they decide where Roberts fits.

Considering Roberts can start at second base, third base, left field or center field, the Padres believe they can afford to wait.

“He’s a multi-talented player,” McIlvaine said, “so you can kind of wait to see where he fits into the team. Wherever you put him, he’ll be OK. He won’t be a liability anywhere you put him.”

Since Roberts is returning to the outfield for the rest of the season, will the Padres abandon the experiment of playing him at second base?

“We’ll see what happens,” McIlvaine said. “I think he improved a little bit, but I don’t think he’ll ever lead the league in fielding at second.”

The Padres’ biggest concern with Roberts is his durability. Privately, they say he can be depended on for only 130 games because of his stature.

Roberts, 5-foot-7, whose playing weight has dropped to 157 pounds, has been injured three times this season. He injured his back May 26 while attempting a diving catch, causing him to miss nine games. He sustained a deeply bruised right shoulder July 3 when he crashed into the center-field fence at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. And the latest injury evolved when he suffered torn knee cartilage Aug. 16 after being caught in a rundown.

All three injuries occurred on aggressive plays, but nevertheless, it hardly soothed Roberts’ spirits, wondering if he’d ever play again this season.

“I really didn’t know what was going to happen,” Roberts said. “I could have packed it in after surgery. But I wanted to come back and prove myself.

“But you know, I still don’t know what to expect.

“I just want to get through this mentally.”

Larry Andersen, who has been out since Aug. 19 with a herniated disk and ruptured disk in his neck, also made a successful return. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning, striking out two.

“That was kind of a fluke,” Andersen said. “I thought I might be the first pitcher in major league history to give up double figures in runs in one game.

“My neck actually bothers me more sitting than pitching. It’s cut down on my bathroom time. I don’t get to finish the crossword puzzle anymore.”

It was that kind of night.

PADRES AT A GLANCE

FIRST INNING

Astros--Young led off and singled to center. Davidson struck out, Young stole second. Young taking third on Rasmussen’s balk. Bagwell grounded to third, Young scoring. Caminiti singled to center. Simms flied to right. One run, two hits, one left. Astros 1, Padres 0.

SECOND INNING

Padres--McGriff led off and walked. Santiago singled to right, McGriff stopping at second. Teufel homered to left, his 11th. Jackson grounded to second. Roberts grounded to third. Rasmussen grounded to shortstop. Three runs, two hits. Padres 3, Astros 1.

THIRD INNING

Padres--Fernandez led off and walked. Howell walked. Gwynn popped to shortstop. McGriff walked, loading the bases. Santiago singled to left, Fernandez and Howell scoring, McGriff stopping at second. Teufel walked, loading the bases. Jackson grounded into double play. Two runs, one hit, one left. Padres 5, Astros 1.

FOURTH INNING

Astros--Bagwell led off and doubled to left. Caminiti bounced to pitcher, Bagwell taking third. Simms struck out. Cedeno singled to left, Bagwell scoring. Mota struck out. One run, two hits, one left. Padres 5, Astros 2.

FIFTH INNING

Padres--With two outs, McGriff homered to center, his 27th. Santiago walked. Teufel struck out. One run, one hit, one left. Padres 6, Astros 2.

Astros--Eusebio led off and singled to right. Ramirez flied to left. Young doubled to left, Eusebio scoring on left fielder Roberts’ fielding error, Young taking third on throw. Davidson grounded to shortstop, Young scoring. Bagwell struck out. Two runs (one earned), two hits, one error. Padres 6, Astros 4.

SEVENTH INNING

Padres--Mallicoat taking the mound. With one out, McGriff doubled to left. Santiago doubled to center, McGriff scoring. Teufel struck out. Hernandez relieved Mallicoat. Jackson walked. Roberts singled to center, loading the bases. Azocar lined to center. One run, three hits, three left. Padres 7, Astros 4.

EIGHTH INNING

Astros--Melendez taking the mound. Bagwell led off and doubled to center. Bagwell taking third on Melendez’s wild pitch. Caminiti struck out. Simms flied to center, Bagwell scoring. Cedeno doubled to left. Rodriguez relieved Melendez. Biggio doubled to left. Lewis relieved Rodriguez on 1-0 count. Eusebio walked. Bowen pinch-running for Eusebio. Lewis threw wild pitch, Cedeno taking third, Bowen taking second. Candaele intentionally walked. Young bounced to pitcher. Two runs, three hits, three left. Padres 7, Astros 6.