DODGERS vs. SAN DIEGO PADRES

By BOB NIGHTENGALE

Sept. 19, 1996 12 AM PT

Today through Sunday

* Today’s game--2 p.m.

* TV--Channel 5 Friday and Sunday, Channel 11 Saturday.

* Radio--KABC (790), KWKW (1330).

* Records--Dodgers 86-66, Padres 86-67.

* Record vs. Padres--3-3.

* The showdown--This is the seven-game stretch the Dodgers and Padres have been talking about since the start of the season. The Padres, calling it the biggest regular-season series in franchise history, took off their upper-deck tarp at Jack Murphy Stadium, anticipating crowds of more than 50,000. The Padres are expecting about 35,000 today and near-sellout crowds for the remaining three games. The Dodgers and Padres have not been separated by more than 2 1/2 games since June 9. It’s the first time in the history of the two franchises that a division title is at stake for both teams: Never before have they finished 1-2 in the National League West. The Dodgers have finished ahead of the Padres in 23 of the 27 years they’ve been in the league together. The Dodgers have won 34 of their last 53 games, eight of their last 10 and 20 of their last 26. Yet, they’ve been unable to pull away from the Padres, who have won 20 of 28. It perhaps is only fitting that former Dodger great Fernando Valenzuela will be pitching the first game of the series for the Padres. And if the schedule holds, he could also pitch the season finale Sept. 29 in Los Angeles.

* Dodger update--Simply, the Dodgers are the hottest team in baseball, winning eight consecutive series. The starting rotation lost its first game in 15 decisions Wednesday when Pedro Astacio took the loss. The last time a starter lost was Aug. 21 when Hideo Nomo lost to Curt Schilling and the Philadelphia Phillies. Nomo, of course, threw the first no-hitter Tuesday in Coors Field history, and Sunday will be the latest to try to match Johnny Van der Meer’s consecutive no-hitters in 1938. Nomo is 4-0 with a 1.36 earned-run average in his last five starts. Offensively, outfielders Raul Mondesi and Todd Hollandsworth are in torrid streaks. Mondesi is batting .410 in his last 19 games with 13 runs, 10 doubles, one triple, three homers and 19 RBIs. Since the end of May, he is batting .323. Mondesi also set a Los Angeles franchise record Tuesday night with his 67th extra-base hit, moving ahead of Steve Garvey and Pedro Guerrero. Hollandsworth is hitting .342 with nine homers and 42 RBIs in his last 72 games. The Dodgers have hit 143 home runs this season, the most by a Dodger team since 1983 when they produced 147 homers. The Dodgers are 45-31 under Manager Bill Russell and 31-15 since he became the permanent manager.

* Padre update--The Padres, who hate the Dodgers more than any team in baseball, finally have a chance to pull off their greatest achievement. The Padres have been in the playoffs only once in their franchise history. They are considering yanking Bob Tewksbury out of the rotation Sunday and replacing him with either Tim Worrell or Sean Bergman. Tewksbury (10-10) has only one victory in his last 11 starts, and none in his last five. He failed to hold a 6-0 lead Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants, yielding six runs (three earned) in 3 1/3 innings. The heart and soul of the Padres’ drive for the division title is third baseman Ken Caminiti, who has emerged as the front-runner for the MVP award. Caminiti, despite playing with a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder, has already hit a career-high 37 homers with a franchise-record 125 RBIs. He has terrorized the league the last month, batting .411 with 14 homers and 45 RBIs in the last 30 games. Right fielder Tony Gwynn has emerged again to vie for his seventh batting title. Gwynn, who has played in only 107 games, is batting .356--and more than .400 over his last 13 games. Gwynn’s biggest obstacle simply will be obtaining the necessary plate appearances. He has 455 plate appearances with only nine remaining games. He needs 502 plate appearances to qualify for the batting title, but could factor in hitless at-bats if he falls short, and still win the title.

TODAY

Ramon Martinez (13-6)

vs.

F. Valenzuela (13-7)

Time: 2 p.m.

TV: Channel 5

Radio: KABC (790), KWKW (1330)

FRIDAY

Tom Candiotti (9-9)

vs.

Joey Hamilton (14-8)

Time: 7 p.m.