Padres Stir Up Memories With 5-2 Victory

SAN DIEGO —  It has been four years since the summer of 1984, when all was wonderful for the fans at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. The memories have faded with each subsequent season.

Those longing to recapture the feeling should have seen this home stand. The Padres haven’t turned in a similar performance since the National League championship days of Goose and the Garv, Graig Nettles and Dick Williams.

A 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in front of 14,632 fans Wednesday night gave the Padres a 7-1 record for this stop at home, their best since ‘84, when they went 8-2 from July 24 to Aug. 1.

“In ‘84, everything seemed to go right for us,” said Eric Show, who pitched his ninth complete game and improved to 11-10. “That’s the way it is now. Everything is going our way.”

The list of heroes Wednesday was again a long one. But three who stood out most were players who remember ’84 fondly.

Show was first and foremost, shutting out the Phillies on 7 hits through eight innings and making only 82 pitches to that point.

In the ninth, the Phillies scored twice on a walk, two singles and a bloop double by pinch-hitter Keith Miller. With two runners aboard and two outs, Phil Bradley came to the plate, representing the tying run.

Pitching coach Pat Dobson walked to the mound while ace reliever Mark Davis warmed up in the bullpen.

“He said there’s been a lot of funky stuff happening,” Show said. “He said, ‘I’m going to leave you in here.’ I didn’t complain.”

Show got Bradley on a grounder back to the mound.

Show’s effort was just another in the long line of fine outings by the Padre staff during the home stand. The numbers: 73 innings pitched, 14 earned runs, 50 strikeouts and 19 walks. A 7-1 record and a 1.73 earned-run average.

Tony Gwynn, who won his first National League batting title in ‘84, regained the lead in this year’s batting race Wednesday, going 2 for 3. Gwynn singled in the first inning and hit his seventh home run of the year in the third.

Gwynn is now at .324, two points ahead of Atlanta’s Gerald Perry.

“The great thing is the way this team is playing and the way the response is,” Gwynn said. “It seems like the there’s a murmur in the crowd every time something happens. That hasn’t happened in a long time.”

Since 1984, maybe?

“It didn’t even happen that much that year until the end of the season,” Gwynn said. “We really are just playing good, solid baseball right now.”

And what would any victory be lately without some contribution from Carmelo Martinez, 1984’s starting left fielder and the hero of this home stand.

Martinez singled in the first to give the Padres a 1-0 lead, his 10th game-winning RBI of the season and fourth in the past sixth games.

Then, he followed Gwynn’s homer in the third with one of his own, his 11th, third in two games and fourth in five. It was the first time Padres had hit back-to-back home runs since May 4, when Keith Moreland and Benito Santiago connected against Chicago’s Rick Sutcliffe.

As has become the norm, Martinez’s locker was surrounded by reporters afterward.

“Boy, you guys have been here a lot lately,” Martinez said. “All I’m doing is coming to the plate at the right time.”

And coming through, just as everybody seems to be doing these days.

“Right now, these guys don’t believe anybody can beat them,” Manager Jack McKeon said. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to go undefeated, but we are playing with a lot of confidence.”

And, don’t look now, but the Padres are now in sight of the .500 mark (they’re 62-64) and are just 10 games behind the front-running Dodgers in the National League West.

Anybody else thinking about 1984?

“It said today on the board that we’ve got the best record (46-34) in the National League since May 28 (the day McKeon took over as manager from Larry Bowa),” McKeon said. “So, I guess, if you go by those standings, we still have a shot to win it.”

He laughed. These days, everybody is having a pretty good time.

Padre Notes

Pitcher Dennis Rasmussen threw for 15 minutes Wednesday afternoon, then walked into Manager Jack McKeon’s office and asked if he could start Friday in Montreal. Rasmussen has been sidelined since Aug. 17 after pulling a hamstring in his last start against Montreal here. McKeon told Rasmussen he’d think about it, but pitching coach Pat Dobson said later that Rasmussen won’t start again until Tuesday night in New York. “I wanted him to throw until he was fatigued, and then I wanted to simulate him covering first base,” Dobson said. “He felt it (the hamstring) just a little. If everything goes along as it should, he’ll be ready to go Tuesday. All it will amount to is that he misses one start.” Dobson said Rasmussen will throw lightly Friday and again on Sunday. . . . The Padres leave today for a four-city, 11-game trip that will include their final nine games this season against Eastern Division teams. The Padres will play only against the West after visiting Montreal for three games, New York for three and Philadelphia for three. The Padres, 29-34 against East teams, finished 19-17 against the East at home. . . . Losing a ground ball in the lights? Likely story? Not if you’re Chris Brown trying to field Ricky Jordan’s high-chopper to third in the fourth inning Wednesday. Brown looked into the lights above the stadium and had to turn away from Jordan’s bouncer, which rolled off Brown and down the left-field line for a double. . . . Roberto Alomar’s bunt single in the first inning Wednesday gave him a 10-game hitting streak, tied for the longest in his career. . . . Pitching matchups for the Montreal series this weekend: Andy Hawkins vs. John Dopson Friday, Jimmy Jones vs. Bryn Smith Saturday and Ed Whitson vs. Pascual Perez Sunday. . . . The Padres haven’t swept an entire home stand since April 1982, when they went 7-0 against the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants. After sweeping seven, the Padres went to Amarillo, Tex., on an off-day to play their double-A team and were shut out, 6-0. . . . McKeon again insisted the Padres would not be making any trades in the near future. But someone in town did make a trade Wednesday--the Phillies. They sent outfielder Mike Young to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league pitcher Alex Madrid.

PADRES AT A GLANCEScorecard

FIRST INNING Padres--With one out, Alomar bunted safely. Gwynn singled to center, Alomar taking third. Martinez singled to center, Gwynn stopping at second. Moreland singled to left, Gwynn scoring and Martinez stopping at second. Santiago singled to center, Martinez scoring and Moreland stopping at second. Brown flied to center. Thon forced Santiago. Three runs, five hits, two left.

THIRD INNING

Padres--Gwynn homered to center, his seventh. Martinez homered to left, his 11th. Moreland grounded to the pitcher. Santiago grounded to catcher. Brown grounded to second. Two runs, two hits.

NINTH INNING

Phillies--Jordan singled to second. Parrish walked. James singled to left, Jordan scoring. Jeltz flied to center. Daulton, batting for Turner, struck out. Miller, batting for Bedrosian, doubled to left, Parrish scoring, James stopping at third. Bradley grounded to pitcher. Two runs, three hits, two left.