Gwynn Leads Padres Past Giants, 5-3

L.A. Times Archives

July 15, 1997 12 AM PT

From Associated Press

Tony Gwynn raised his average to .402 with a single, double and triple, and drove in three runs to lead the San Diego Padres over the San Francisco Giants, 5-3, Monday at San Diego.

After getting hits in his first three at-bats, Gwynn was intentionally walked by Joe Roa in the sixth with Rickey Henderson on second, then flied out in the eighth. No Padre has hit for the cycle in the team’s 29-year history.

Gwynn, who has a 19-game hitting streak, was batting .398 entering the game.

Danny Jackson (2-7), who had lost seven consecutive starts since beating Pittsburgh on May 20, won his first game for San Diego. Jackson, acquired from St. Louis on June 13, gave up two runs and five hits in six innings.

Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 19th save in 24 chances.

Henderson, baseball’s career stolen base leader, stole his 1,200th base in the sixth inning.

Houston 9, Chicago 7--Ricky Gutierrez singled home the go-ahead run in the 15th inning as the Astros outlasted the Cubs in the longest night game at Wrigley Field.

The 5-hour, 19-minute game surpassed a 13-inning game in 1991 between the Pirates and Cubs that lasted 4:35. Wrigley installed lights in 1988.

Billy Spiers tripled off Ramon Tatis (0-1) when a sinking liner got past left fielder Doug Glanville with one out in the 15th. With the infield in, Gutierrez singled past second baseman Ryne Sandberg.

After a throwing error by third baseman Kevin Orie, Brad Ausmus hit a liner to center that replays showed was trapped by Cub center fielder Brian McRae.

But umpires ruled that McRae caught the ball and Gutierrez scored on a sacrifice fly.

Cincinnati 4, St. Louis 2--Fernando Valenzuela couldn’t begin to explain his wildest performance of the season.

Valenzuela became the first major leaguer to lose 12 games this year when he couldn’t find the strike zone at Cincinnati. The Reds scored three runs off his wildness and Eddie Taubensee had an unusual pinch-hit double.

The Cardinals got Valenzuela (2-12) in a six-player trade with San Diego on June 13. The left-hander, who is struggling to stay in the majors at 36, is 0-4 with a no-decision and a 5.56 earned-run average for the Cardinals.

Monday’s performance was his worst. Valenzuela, pitching for the first time in 11 days, gave up two hits, walked six and hit a batter in 2 2/3 innings, matching his shortest start of the season.

“Six walks in 2 2/3 innings is really too many,” said Valenzuela, who had not walked more than four in a game this season. “I think something’s wrong. My arm felt pretty good. That’s the reason I don’t understand what’s going on. It’s my style to be more around the plate. I didn’t have it tonight.”

Valenzuela hit a batter and walked three consecutive batters in Cincinnati’s three-run third inning, which had only one hit. It could have been worse: Valenzuela walked the bases loaded with one out in the second without giving up a run.

“He had one escape in the second,” Manager Tony La Russa said. “You can’t put guys on base with walks in this league. That was the first time his control was that off.”

The three runs were too much for the Cardinals to overcome. Kent Mercker (7-6) survived solo homers by Gary Gaetti and Ray Lankford to help the Reds beat the Cardinals for only the third time in eight games.

Gaetti homered for the fifth time in five games and Lankford added his second homer in two games, cutting the deficit to 3-2 in the sixth.

Valenzuela threw only 30 strikes in 67 pitches.

Atlanta 10, Philadelphia 6--The Braves hit two grand slams in a game for the first time since 1987, using the homers by Tim Spehr and Ryan Klesko at Atlanta to rally from a 6-0 deficit for their eighth consecutive victory over the Phillies this season.

Spehr, called up from Triple-A Richmond on Saturday, homered into the left-field stands in the fifth inning to pull the Braves within 6-5.

The next inning, after Billy Brewer (0-2) replaced Phillie starter Tyler Green, Klesko hit another grand slam to put the Braves ahead. Atlanta’s last two-slam game came on May 2, 1987, by Dion James and Graig Nettles.

Rico Brogna homered for Philadelphia, which has lost 23 of 26.

Pittsburgh 5, New York 4--The Pirates pulled off the comeback this time, rallying three times before Jason Kendall’s run-scoring double in the eighth inning gave them a victory over the Mets at New York.

The Mets had won six of seven, all after trailing, and had rallied from a 6-0 deficit the night before to win 7-6 in 10 innings at Atlanta. They also had won six of their first seven against the Pirates.

But the NL Central-leading Pirates rallied with four consecutive hits in the eighth to win it.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BESTS OF THE DAY

BATTING

Player: Ryan Klesko

Team: Atlanta

Performance: 2 for 5, 2 home runs, 5 RBI, 2 runs

Team’s Result: Win

Player: Tony Gwynn

Team: San Diego

Performance: 3 for 4, single, double, triple, 3 RBI

Team’s Result: Win