Seminara, Sheffield Give New Boss a Win

Thanks to Gary Sheffield and Frank Seminara, it was a memorable day for Jim Riggleman.

The Padres had lost their first game under their new manager, but Sheffield’s power combined with Seminara’s pitching to raise his record to .500 Thursday at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Their efforts buried the Houston Astros, 7-1, before a tiny turnout of 5,913.

What passed for the crowd was the smallest to attend a Padre home game in 10 years--since only 4,931 saw them play the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 29, 1982. It “outdid” Tuesday’s figure of 6,601, which was the smallest in six years.

But the fact that the game was played in semi-privacy didn’t detract from the pleasure Riggleman derived from it in his first full day on the job. He had been called up from triple-A Las Vegas Wednesday to replace the deposed Greg Riddoch.

“It feels good to get a win out of the way,” Riggleman said. “I felt that way in A ball, in double-A and in triple-A. This is very special.”

Sheffield got things rolling with a three-run homer, the 33rd of his banner season, off loser Willie Blair in the first inning. Seminara took it from there, holding the Astros to three hits and one unearned run in seven innings.

In the absence of a formal celebration, playful Oscar Azocar observed the occasion by showering Riggleman with sunflower seeds.

Told of this, Riggleman laughed and said, “With Oscar, what’s new?”

Asked how he planned to toast his first major-league victory, Riggleman said, “I won’t do much. I’ll call my son John tonight. He’s 9 years old and lives in Seminole, Fla.”

Asked if he was more relaxed than he had been the previous night, when the Padres dropped a 7-6 squeaker to the Astros, Riggleman said, “I felt great yesterday once the game started. Today, being one day removed from everything that happened yesterday, I was just involved in the game.”

Riggleman said he had only begun to get a grasp on the makeup of the team he inherited from Riddoch.

“It’s a continuing process,” he said. “It will go on the rest of the season and into next spring. I have a pretty good idea of what the club is like from following the papers and the stats.”

Riggleman gave an early indication that he will play a more aggressive game than Riddoch.

In the first inning, Riggleman put on a hit-and-run play with Tony Fernandez on first base and Kurt Stillwell at bat. Stillwell fouled off the pitch, but then Fernandez ran on his own and reached third easily on Stillwell’s single. Sheffield followed with the home run that gave Seminara more than enough runs to boost his record to 9-4.

“It’s a matter of making things happen instead of waiting for them to happen,” Riggleman said. “But you have to temper a game like that with good judgment. If you do it too much, it can be counterproductive.”

One thing Riggleman doesn’t want to do is take the bats out of the hands of Sheffield and Fred McGriff.

“It’s going to be a real pleasure to put their names on the lineup card every day,” Riggleman said. “You know, hitting is tough, and that’s why it’s so amazing that it hasn’t gotten away from Sheffield all year.”

Sheffield’s home run improved his chances in the National League’s triple-crown race. It left him only one homer behind McGriff, 34-33, and trimmed his deficit in runs batted in to six--he now has 99 to Darrin Daulton’s 105. He dropped a point in batting to .332, but still leads Andy Van Slyke by eight points.

Triple Crown Watch

Batting Average

Gary Sheffield, Padres: .332

Andy Van Slyke, Pittsburgh: .324

John Kruk, Philadelphia: .323

Home Runs

Fred McGriff, Padres: 34

Gary Sheffield, Padres: 33

Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh: 31

Runs Batted In

Darren Daulton, Philadelphia: 105

Terry Pendleton, Atlanta: 102

Gary Sheffield, Padres: 99