Cardinals Complete the Sweep

Leaving Southern California 0-for-the-playoffs, the San Diego Padres joined the Dodgers at the end of a broom Saturday night.

Right fielder Brian Jordan, whose diving catch preserved a tie in the eighth inning, hammered a two-run homer off relief ace Trevor Hoffman in the ninth to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 7-5 victory and a three-game sweep in their National League division series.

While the Dodgers went with a whimper, the Padres went with the bang of two home runs by Ken Caminiti and an 11-hit attack that ended only when Dennis Eckersley, who saved all three wins, got Steve Finley to fly out with a runner on second and Caminiti on deck.

“We came up big but they came up bigger,” said Caminiti, who played through a series of injuries during a season that is expected to net him the most valuable player award and who soon will have surgery for a torn rotator cuff.

The next stop for the Central champion Cardinals, last in their division a year ago, is Atlanta, where they open the National League championship series Wednesday.

The NL West champion Padres will get a winter to heal and reflect.

A crowd of 53,899 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium showed their appreciation for a season of rebirth by bringing the players back from the clubhouse for a final ovation after the game.

“The amazing thing about all this is how quickly it ends,” said Tony Gwynn, who had waited 12 years to return to the playoffs. “That’s hard to swallow right now, but we gave it a run, we didn’t roll over.

“We have a long winter to suck up all the experience and atmosphere of this and come back a better club. There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll be back. This was a special year and a special club. The heart, character and courage will stick to everyone.”

The Padres built a 4-1 lead for Andy Ashby but couldn’t hold it. They were trailing, 5-4, in the eighth when Caminiti slugged a leadoff homer off Rick Honeycutt to regenerate the MVP chant and tie the game.

T.J. Mathews replaced Honeycutt. One out later, Brian Johnson doubled, his third hit. One out later, Jody Reed scorched a drive to right center.

Jordan, the former Atlanta Falcon defensive back, treated it like a potential interception, making a diving catch while jamming his left shoulder into the grass.

He came up hurting, but holding the ball, preserving the tie.

“I could feel the stiffness in my neck and shoulder as soon as I got up,” Jordan said. “Gene Gieselmann, our trainer, had to massage it when I got to the dugout. I’ve been playing in pain all year. I wasn’t about to come out.”

The Padres wish he had.

Hoffman got a pinch hitter named Ozzie Smith to line out, opening the ninth. Ron Gant, who had hit a solo homer to ignite a three-run, game-tying rally in the sixth, walked.

Jordan took the count full, then drilled a hanging slider over the fence, taking the crowd and Padres out of it.

“I was looking for something hard and got it,” Jordan said. “I mean, it was a slider that slid, but it hung. It was up where I could get it.”

At 29, Jordan continues to improve, shaking his football roots. He hit 17 homers this season, drove in 104 runs, stole 22 bases and batted .310.

“He has the heart of a lion,” Manager Tony La Russa said. “He runs the bases like a madman, throws his body around in the outfield and sticks his nose in at the plate. He’s going for the gold with everything he does.”

Said Jordan: “I miss football, but I don’t miss the pain. I love baseball and think I’ll continue to get better. I think I made the right choice.”

Asked to choose between his catch and home run, Jordan said: “The catch was bigger. If that ball goes through, the Padres have the lead and Hoffman might have approach the ninth differently. I mean, I’m always kidding Ozzie because he has those 13 gold gloves and I want to win one, at least.”

Drenched with champagne, La Russa, who has won so often, said it never gets old, only better with the anticipation.

A team rebuilt on the big money of new ownership, moves on to a new challenge.

The resilient Padres?

Closer Hoffman, conditioned to the life-and-death role of his assignment, described it as “a season of no quit. We kept battling back and can be proud of that. There were a lot of lessons from which to learn, and I think we have. Our season may be over, but I feel we’re just getting started.”