Pirates Rally to Defeat Padres

The Padres know what you’re thinking after their gut-wrenching, 3-2 defeat Saturday night to the Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

They know the bandwagon has emptied. They know the faithful have turned their attention to football. And they know only those who believe in miracles still think they have a prayer of winning the National League West.

“I don’t care; let people think what they want,” Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn said. “I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been written off, anyway. People thought we were out of it. Well, look at us now.”

The Padres (69-59), who dropped to seven games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves with the defeat, still made up three games in the standings the last week. While the Braves are in midst of their worst slide since May and the Cincinnati Reds are collapsing, the Padres had taken advantage of their opportunity until losing Saturday.

“I just hope we’re not sitting here in October,” Gwynn said, “and looking back at games, wondering, ‘If we had only done this, or done that.’ ”

If the Padres do miss the playoffs by a game or two, Saturday’s game will be remembered.

The Padres were only five outs from winning their fourth consecutive game, and sixth in their last seven games, when they blew a 2-1 eighth-inning lead. It wasted starter Greg Harris’ strong outing, and left Randy Myers with his first blown save after being successful in a career-high 16 opportunities in a row.

Harris (2-6), pitching in only his second game since his two-month stint on the disabled list, yielded only one unearned run through seven innings although he allowed at least one baserunner in each inning but the second.

Padre Manager Greg Riddoch, believing Harris still was effective and realizing his bullpen was depleted, let Harris start the eighth. He struck out pinch-hitter Gary Varsho, but then came the biggest play of the game.

Alex Cole, a former Padre, laid down a bunt between home and third. Third baseman Gary Sheffield charged the ball and made a perfect throw to first, but Cole was called safe on a bang-bang play that was inconclusive in TV replays.

That brought up Jay Bell. Harris got ahead of him, 0-and-2, but walked him. With left-handed hitters Andy Van Slyke and Barry Bonds due up next, Riddoch summoned Myers from the bullpen.

Myers got ahead of Van Slyke, 0-and-2, but yielded a single to right. Cole scored from second, and Bell beat Tony Gwynn’s throw to third. The game was tied, and for the fifth time this season, Myers had lost a lead in a game Harris started.

Bonds came within two feet of hitting a three-run homer. His fly ball plopped into the glove of Jerald Clark with his back pressed against the left-field fence. Still, the sacrifice fly scored the winning run.

It looked as if the lead wouldn’t last. The Padres put runners on first and second with no outs in the eighth with Sheffield at the plate. Sheffield hit a looper into shallow right field, and Tony Fernandez took off running from second.

The Padres, who should have known about Cole’s speed by now, watched him catch the ball with Fernandez standing at third. He threw to the ball to Bell at second base for an apparent double play, but Bell dropped the ball, and Fernandez got back safely.

The reprieve made no difference. Bob Patterson struck out Fred McGriff, and right-handed reliever Roger Mason came in to strike out Darrin Jackson on three pitches.

The Padres threatened again in the ninth when Benito Santiago led off with an infield single, diving headfirst across first base. Jerald Clark sacrificed Santiago to second, but pinch-hitters Oscar Azocar and Phil Stephenson left him stranded.

The Padres maintained the defeat was not devastating to their playoff hopes.

“I think after the last trip (2-6),” Gwynn said, “a lot of clubs would have folded their tents. But this club has got a lot of heart.”

In fact, considering that teams are expected to reflect the personality of their manager, Gwynn said he believes that Padre Manager Greg Riddoch deserves to be back for next season. Riddoch’s one-year contract expires at the end of the season.

“People have their own opinion about him,” Gwynn said. “Greg’s liked by some people in here. He’s not liked by people. I like Greg myself, and I hope he’s back. I think he’s done a good job under difficult circumstances.

“But is that enough, I don’t know. Reading between the lines, well . . . I just don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows. It’s out of my control.”

Certainly, the Padres’ surge has altered the trading plans of General Manager Joe McIlvaine. Instead of trading catcher Benito Santiago to Montreal for prospects or starter Craig Lefferts to Oakland for a minor leaguer, McIlvaine said Saturday he expects to keep the team intact.

“We could do something if we wanted to,” McIlvaine said, “but I don’t want to deal in futures when you’re in the race. You don’t want to subtract from yourself when you have a chance to go for it.

“It’s not every year you’re (seven) games out at this juncture, and the important thing is our players believe we can win this thing.”

The Padres have not had serious trade talks about any of their players with the exception of Lefferts and Santiago, according to sources. Although there have been rumors about starter Bruce Hurst or bullpen stopper Randy Myers, neither cleared waivers.

The Padres also made a move to strengthen their bullpen Saturday by placing reliever Larry Andersen on the disabled list and recalling Jeremy Hernandez. Andersen has been sidelined by a strained elbow all week, and the only other reliever Riddoch could have used Saturday was Jose Melendez.

But while the Padres truly believe they are in a pennant race, they still have one large body totally unconvinced--their own fans.

Despite playing the first-place Pirates the past two nights, the Padres drew 15,916 on Friday and only 24,965 Saturday in a game that celebrated the 25th anniversary of San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

“I’m surprised by the turnouts,” Gwynn said. “I think we’re an exciting club, but we have 16,000 one night, 13,000 another . . . What do they want us to do? We’ve been playing good baseball all year.

“Well, I know what they want us to do, be in first place.

“I think we can do it. We’re just going to have to play even better than we’ve played. This is where Atlanta excelled last year, and we’ve got to do the same.

“We’ve got to be greedy now and take every game we can.”

Triple Crown Watch

Batting Average Gary Sheffield, Padres: .335 John Kruk, Philadelphia: .331 Andy Van Slyke, Pittsburgh: .330

Home Runs Fred McGriff, Padres: 30 Gary Sheffield, Padres: 28 Darren Daulton, Philadelphia: 24

Runs Batted In Gary Sheffield, Padres: 91 Darren Daulton, Philadelphia: 91 Terry Pendleton, Atlanta: 84