Hurst Shuts Out Mets Once Again : Baseball: Ninth-inning catch by Jackson saves 1-0 victory for Padre starter.

Center fielder Darrin Jackson looked into right fielder Tony Gwynn’s eyes and saw fear. Gwynn looked into Jackson’s eyes and saw panic.

The baseball was coming down between the two Padre outfielders with two outs in the ninth inning Sunday afternoon. If it hit the ground, the Padres’ 1-0 victory over the New York Mets would turn into at least an extra-inning game.

“If you could read what his eyes said,” Gwynn said, “it was like, ‘Oh no! You can’t get it? Well, neither can I.’ ”

Jackson put his head down . . . ran as hard as he could . . . dived head-first . . . and with his glove outstretched . . . caught the ball before slamming into the Shea Stadium turf.

The crowd of 39,300 went silent. The only noise you could hear was Gwynn screaming in delight, and the entire Padre bench running onto the field to bear-hug Jackson and starter Bruce Hurst.

“That was the catch of the year for me right there,” Jackson said, “especially with the game right on the line. I knew where I started, but I had no idea where I ended up.

“I really had no idea I’d even have a chance to catch it until I left my feet.”

The catch of Dave Magadan’s line drive in the gap not only preserved the Padres’ sixth victory in their last eight games, but extended Hurst’s incredible shutout streak to 30 consecutive innings over the Mets. It was Hurst’s third shutout of the season against the Mets, and his eighth consecutive victory against them.

The last pitcher to throw three shutouts against the Mets in a season was Gary Nolan of the Cincinnati Reds in 1967.

“I knew I’d be asked what my secret is,” Hurst said, “but I can’t explain it. It’s just one of those things. I mean, how did Johnny Vander Meer throw back-to-back no-hitters?

“You can’t explain stuff like that.”

The biggest question in the Padres’ and Mets’ clubhouses had nothing to do with Hurst’s pitching, but how Jackson made that catch?

When Magadan pinch-hit for Dick Schofield with two outs in the ninth, and with pinch-runner Darryl Boston standing on second, Jackson was playing Magadan in left-center . Gwynn was playing toward the right-field line.

When Magadan swung at the first pitch, he hit the ball exactly where he wanted. The ball sailed into right-center, Boston was crossing home plate, and Magadan was halfway to second base.

It was going to be a run-scoring double, if not a triple.

“I looked at Tony,” Jackson said, “and he had that look like, ‘You better go hard, because I’m not going to get it.’ I said, ‘Oh-oh.’

“I had no idea whether I’d catch it, but I knew the play had to be made. When a guy pitches like Bruce did, you’ve got to come up with those.”

Said Magadan: “I thought I had at least a double, but then the ball stayed up there forever. To give you an idea how long it stood up there, I was between first and second, and you know how fast I am.”

Magadan kept watching as Jackson dived, his knee hitting the grass, and the ball dropping into his glove as he rolled onto the ground.

“The first thought that entered my mind was Otis Nixon,” said Magadan, recalling Nixon’s game-saving catch over the center-field wall Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Said Gwynn: “It was definitely on par with Otis Nixon, only he didn’t have to climb the wall. It was just as big for us.”

The Padres (53-46) who have won 10 of their last 14 games, were able to gain a game on the Atlanta Braves for the first time in three weeks. They now trail the Braves by six games with 63 games remaining in the season.

“It was a big, big win for us,” Gwynn said, “but we’ve got to keep everything in perspective. You’ve got to look at things realistically. We’ve got to stay close and take care of Atlanta ourselves when it’s time because no one else has been able to lately.”

The Padres, who finished their 10-game eastern swing with a 6-4 record against the Montreal Expos, Philadelphia Phillies and Mets, departed for San Diego after their victory feeling lucky. The Padres have scored only three runs in their last 39 innings, but yet thrived because of their pitching and defense.

The Padres had only six hits, but scored the only run they needed in the second inning. Gary Sheffield, batting cleanup while Fred McGriff was given the day off, opened the inning with a double to left. Benito Santiago followed with a run-scoring single to right-center, and it was enough to pin the loss on Met starter Wally Whitehurst (1-5).

It was the 13th time this season and second consecutive game the Mets have been shut out. It’s the most times they’ve been shut out since 1976, when they were blanked 18 times.

But if not for Jackson . . .

“If there’s any doubt whether DJ can play center field,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said, “that should erase them all. He doesn’t have blinding speed, but he gets such a great jump on the ball and knows the hitters.”

Is he just as talented defensively as Gold Glove center fielder Andy Van Slyke of the Pittsburgh Pirates?

“He doesn’t have the flamboyancy of Van Slyke, and maybe he doesn’t go back on the ball quite as good,” Gwynn said, “but he’s proven to people he can sure play center field every day. It’d be hard to find anyone else better than DJ.”

While Jackson’s catch stole the show, Sheffield also was as responsible as anyone for preserving Hurst’s shutout with his play at third base. He made a diving stab of Dave Gallagher’s sharply-hit grounder in the fifth inning, preventing Dick Schofield from scoring from third.

“When you’ve got guys making plays like that,” Hurst said, “it makes it a whole lot easier out there.”

Hurst (10-6) yielded seven hits in the game, even allowing a Met runner to reach third base for the first time this season. Still, he has not allowed an extra-base hit to a Met batter this entire season. Remarkably, he has yielded only eight hits in the last 19 innings against the Mets, and 14 hits in 27 innings for the season.

“It wasn’t my best game of the year,” Hurst said, “but it sure was the most exciting.”

Considering the Padres still have a two-game series remaining against the Mets in August at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, will Riddoch make sure that Hurst starts at least one of those games?

Said Riddoch: “Yeah, or both.”

Maybe Vander Meer’s record isn’t so safe after all.