Playoffs, No Payoff

By BOB NIGHTENGALE

Sept. 28, 1996 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

They hurriedly whisked the champagne back upstairs. They tore down the plastic from the lockers. They stashed away the party favors.

The Dodgers may have clinched a playoff berth earlier in the game, but after being within six outs from winning the National League West championship, their celebration was delayed by the San Diego Padres for at least another day.

The Dodgers, victimized by yet another dramatic performance by third baseman Ken Caminiti, lost to the Padres, 5-2, in 10 innings in front of a sellout crowd of 53,294 at Dodger Stadium.

The consolation prize, of course, is that the Dodgers (90-70) clinched at least a wild-card berth when the Montreal Expos lost, 6-4, to the Atlanta Braves.

“I don’t think it’s a night to celebrate,” said Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president.

The Dodgers still need to win one of their last two games to win the division title. Hideo Nomo was the man who was on the mound against the Padres when the Dodgers clinched a year ago, and he again has the same opportunity.

“There’s no one I’d rather have on the mound than Nomo,” Dodger reliever Scott Radinsky said. “The guy’s got guts.”

Still, the Dodgers are kicking themselves for permitting this game to get away. If they lose both games, they will go into the playoffs as the wild-card entrant and open the playoffs against the Braves. If they win the title and the Padres are the wild-card team, the Dodgers will open the playoffs Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. They will open at Montreal if they beat the Padres twice and the Expos win their last two against the Braves, then beat the Padres in a one-game playoff Monday.

No one is more responsible for the Padres’ resurgence than Caminiti, who showed again why he might be the leading candidate to win the most-valuable-player award.

The Padres were trailing, 2-1, in the eighth inning when Caminiti stepped to the plate. The Padres had not even reached second base against Dodger starter Ismael Valdes since the fourth inning.

Caminiti worked the count to 2-and-2 against Valdes and started to dig into the box when a paper airplane came sailing out of the stands. Time was called. Caminiti took a few practice swings and stepped back to the plate.

He hit the next pitch deep over the center-field fence, silencing the crowd. It was his 40th home run of the season, and just like that, the score was tied, 2-2.

The Padre bullpen kept shutting down the Dodgers, preventing them from producing so much as a hit. They merely set the stage for Caminiti, once again.

Steve Finley led off the 10th with a single to left off Dodger reliever Antonio Osuna. Osuna fell behind 3-and-0 to Caminiti, and paid the price. Caminiti drilled a fastball into the left-field corner. Steve Finley scored easily and Caminiti had a double.

Greg Vaughn flied out to left for the first out, and then Dodger Manager Bill Russell ordered Osuna to intentionally walk Wally Joyner. Chris Gomez then put the game away with a single to left. The hit scored Caminiti, and when left fielder Todd Hollandsworth’s throw to third was high, Joyner alertly scored all the way from first base.

The Padres had a 5-2 lead and were moments away from winning their biggest game of the season. Closer Trevor Hoffman sealed the victory when he got a double-play grounder from catcher Mike Piazza, who struck out three times and grounded out twice in the game.

Still, if nothing else, the Dodgers know they’re going to the playoffs.

“I really can’t recall a season when so many things have happened,” Claire said, “when there have been so many difficult hurdles, so many obstacles.

“Your manager has a heart attack. Your center fielder has cancer. You lose your opening-day pitcher [Ramon Martinez] for six weeks. You lose your shortstop [Greg Gagne] for five weeks. You lose your third baseman [Mike Blowers] for the season.

“But the players never looked for excuses. They stayed focused and kept their competitiveness. It speaks volumes for their resiliency.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES

* If the Dodgers Win West and Padres Are Wild Card:

Dodgers open five-game divisional playoff series Tuesday at St. Louis.

* If the Dodgers Win West and Expos Are Wild Card:

Dodgers open divisional series Tuesday at Montreal.

* If the Padres Win West and Dodgers Are Wild Card:

Dodgers open Wednesday at home vs. Atlanta.

POSTSEASON DATES

DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

* National League