Padres’ Homers Bury Pittsburgh : Baseball: Sheffield, McGriff strike in the first, then Jackson hits three-run blast to give Padres the lead for good in 11-6 victory.

Consider the Padres in kind of a war-free zone for the time being.

They are far enough back in the National League West--third place--that the first-place Atlanta Braves are not looking over their shoulders.

But they continue to remain close enough that, with Tuesday’s trading deadline approaching, General Manager Joe McIlvaine is going to have to think awful hard before he dumps any players with big salaries. Otherwise, he could be accused of throwing in the towel early.

After the Padres’ 11-6 victory over NL East-leading Pittsburgh on Friday night in front of 15,916 in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, what’s a general manager to do?

With the Braves losing and Cincinnati dropping a doubleheader to the Mets, the Padres (69-58) closed to within six games of Atlanta and within two of the second-place Reds.

What was supposed to be a pitching duel between Bruce Hurst and Doug Drabek turned into a slugfest. The teams combined to use nine pitchers, collect 24 hits and made more double switches than an eligible bachelor.

In the end, good things came in threes for the Padres. Gary Sheffield hit a three-run homer in the first, Darrin Jackson hit a three-run homer in the fifth and Jerald Clark collected a three-run triple in the seventh.

Sheffield, who is attempting to become the first NL triple-crown winner since Joe Medwick in 1937, went two for five to retake the league batting lead at .337. In Philadelphia, John Kruk dropped to .334.

Sheffield tied Phillie catcher Darren Daulton for the RBI lead with 91, and his 28 home runs leave him second in the NL, behind teammate Fred McGriff’s 30.

McGriff’s homer came after Sheffield’s in the first--the third time the two have hit back-to-back homers this season. Overall, the Padres have done it five times.

The Padres, though, put this one away in the seventh with five consecutive hits--including Clark’s triple. They scored four runs in the inning, turning a 7-6 lead into an 11-6 rout. Reliever Mike Maddux, who pitched two solid innings, earned the victory to improve his record to 2-1.

As long as Barry Bonds plays for the Pirates, though, the Padres know that they are going to have to score early and often to win in San Diego. Bonds’ fourth-inning homer was the 11th of his career in San Diego. He is batting .429 with 25 RBIs here.

And he is one of a dwindling group of Pirates gunning for their third consecutive NL East title.

Perhaps no other NL team has been as resilient this season as the Pirates, who remained 2 1/2 games ahead of Montreal.

Because they decided their budget wouldn’t allow it, the Pirates allowed Bobby Bonilla to sign with the Mets last winter as a free agent.

Then they traded John Smiley, who tied for the NL lead with 20 victories last season.

And they traded Bill Landrum, who had 17 saves last season.

And Steve Buechele, who batted .304 in the NL Championship Series last fall.

It was like a moving sale. Only Manager Jim Leyland decided to stay. In first place.

“I don’t know,” Leyland said with a shrug before Friday’s game. “We’re playing it out and hoping to hang on. We’ve played pretty good, I think. As long as they play it the way it’s supposed to be played, hell, whatever happens, happens.

“It’s been fun. It’s been a tough season, but that’s the way you want it--it means you’re in it.”

Talk to Leyland, who is a likely candidate to win his second NL Manager of the Year award in three seasons, and he acts as if he has nothing to do with the team’s success.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of maneuvering,” he said. “We’ve got a Gold Glove center fielder (Andy Van Slyke), a Gold Glove catcher (Mike LaValliere), a solid shortstop (Jay Bell), one Cy Young winner (Doug Drabek). . . . We’ve got a solid club.”

Said coach Milt May: “I think we have a lot of players who really grind it out every day. It’s a long haul, and every day is a grind. But we have some guys who are grinders, guys like (second baseman Jose) Lind and Bell.”

But perhaps the chief grinder is Leyland.

“He’s excellent at managing the game of baseball,” May said. “He works hard at being prepared every day, he has the respect of the players and they all like him as a person.

“You hear people talk. You can’t hide it if you don’t like somebody when the team is together six, eight, 10 hours a day for six months. It’s obvious.”

Padre third-base coach Bruce Kimm, who played for Leyland for two years in the minors and coached under him for two years in Pittsburgh, also credits Leyland for much of Pittsburgh’s ability to withstand major personnel losses and still remain in first place.

For years, Leyland would travel to Kimm’s house in Iowa during the winter to go pheasant hunting.

“He hunts the same way he plays baseball,” Kimm said. “Starts at 8 a.m. and goes until either he limits out or nightfall. He’s a go-getter.”

As for those quick to praise Leyland, he doesn’t listen much.

“Those people aren’t too smart,” he said. “I’m not managing any differently than in 1986, when we lost 98 games. Credit the players. My contribution has been minor, believe me.

“I think I’ve worked hard and given the Pirate front office their money’s worth, but in my opinion, I haven’t had anything to do with us having a good season.

“Take away Bonds, Van Slyke, Drabek, LaValliere and Lind, and I’ll show you how dumb I am.”

LaValliere sat out on Friday, and the rest of that crew wasn’t enough.

In the Padres’ first, Tony Fernandez and Tony Gwynn each singled--Gwynn beat out a bunt--and then Sheffield and McGriff went to work.

Sheffield deposited a 1-and-0 Drabek pitch into the left-field seats for his 28th homer, boosting his RBI total to 91. It was estimated that the homer traveled 375 feet.

McGriff followed by putting another 1-and-0 Drabek pitch over the fence--this one an estimated 473 feet into center field.

The Padres were ahead, 4-0, a lead that is usually more than enough for Hurst.

Except on this night. The Pirates started chipping away in the second, when King’s double sent Bonds home from first. That made it 4-1.

In the third, Gary Redus smacked only his second homer of the season, making it 4-2.