Gwynn Says Padres Can Make It a Race

In Tony Gwynn’s appraisal, the San Diego Padres are only two games away from being back in the NL West race.

Buried in fourth place for much of the first half and 13 games behind San Francisco on July 6, the Padres are the top team in baseball since the All-Star break.

They’ve vaulted past Colorado into third place and, after an 8-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday afternoon in San Diego, they’ve won 12 of 15 since the break.

Craig Shipley homered in the first inning and hit a two-out, two-run single to break a tie in the sixth for the Padres, who won their fifth in a row and pulled within seven of the Giants.

More important to Gwynn, the Padres are only two games shy of .500.

“For us to get back to .500 is really important,” Gwynn said. “We’ve picked a good time to start playing well. You can’t really say you’re in it until you’re at .500. A lot of people will say you’re in it now; some people are going to say you’re not in it at all.”

Ken Caminiti and Shipley hit consecutive homers in the four-run first inning. Shipley finished three for five with three runs batted in. Caminiti, who had a two-run homer, was two for four with two runs scored.

It was a big game for Shipley, who has missed 57 games because of injuries to his left hamstring and right hip flexor. He was making a spot start at second in place of Quilvio Veras, his first start since June 6.

Pittsburgh’s Jason Kendall set a career high with four hits, including a leadoff home run in the ninth. Kevin Young had three hits for the Pirates, who lost their third consecutive game.

Gwynn, who didn’t start because of a slight hamstring injury, pinch-hit for reliever Jim Bruske (3-0) and singled in a run.

Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 23rd save.

Colorado 7, Chicago 1--Jamey Wright pitched a six-hitter and Dante Bichette went three for four with five RBIs as the Rockies won at Denver.

Wright (5-6) struck out five, walked three and gave up one run for the first complete game of his career and his first victory since May 3.

Sammy Sosa was three for three with a single, double and home run for the Cubs, whose two-game winning streak ended. Sosa walked in his other plate appearance and has a career average of .344 against Colorado, with 17 home runs and 33 RBIs.

Bichette’s two-run homer, his 15th, highlighted a three-run first inning for the Rockies.

Colorado’s Larry Walker went two for three and raised his average to .394.

Sosa led off the second with a 471-foot home run to straightaway center on Wright’s first pitch. Sosa’s 20th of the year was the third-longest home run ever at Coors Field. (St. Louis’ Ray Lankford at 483 feet, and Walker at 475, are the only players to hit longer ones.)

Steve Trachsel (5-8) worked the first six innings for the Cubs, yielding four runs on five hits and three walks. Trachsel is 0-5 on the road this year and hasn’t won a road game in 13 starts dating to Sept. 23, 1996.

Trachsel retired 13 batters in a row after Vinny Castilla’s two-out single in the first inning before walking Neifi Perez and Walker to open the sixth. He got Andres Galarraga to ground into a double play, but Bichette drove in Walker with a double into the right-center field gap as the Rockies extended their lead to 4-1.

Houston 10, Montreal 5--Chuck Carr got three consecutive hits, including a go-ahead single in the seventh, as the Astros beat the Expos for their sixth victory in a row.

Carr, who doubled in the fourth and hit his first homer of the season in the fifth, broke a 5-5 tie when he singled in the game-winning run off Anthony Telford (2-3).

“This is a good time to get going, instead of getting too hot early in the season,” Carr said. “If I was hot early, they’d be trying to figure out how to pitch me. Now, I’m ready to go.”

The Astros won for the 13th time in 16 games, including four in a row over the Expos, to take a 4 1/2-game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central.

Tom Martin (3-2) earned the victory in relief, yielding one hit in 1 1/3 innings.

Montreal’s Pedro Martinez retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced, giving up only a solo homer to Luis Gonzalez, his seventh, to start the second inning.

“I felt strong, but I didn’t have spirit,” Martinez said. “They were ready to swing. I was a little flat. My legs were heavy even though I was throwing the ball hard. They are a team on a tear. They are ready to play any team and they are playing fundamentally well.”

The Astros got to Martinez for three more runs in the fourth. He pitched six innings, allowing five runs and five hits with four strikeouts.

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BESTS OF THE DAY

BATTING

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Player Team Performance Team’s Result Dante Bichette Colorado 3 for 4, double, homer, 5 RBIs Win Chuck Carr Houston 3 for 5, double, homer, 3 runs Win Craig Shipley San Diego 3 for 5, 3 RBIs Win Jason Kendall Pittsburgh 4 for 4, homer, 3 RBIs Loss

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PITCHING

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Player Team Performance Team’s Result Rick Reed New York 8 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs Win Pedro Astacio Dodgers 8 shutout innings Loss

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