Gwynn Gets 1,500th Hit; Padres Tied in 14th

SAN DIEGO — With a sharp single to center that appeared to have started a game-winning rally in the 12th inning Wednesday night, Tony Gwynn collected his 1,500th hit as a major leaguer in this, his eighth season.

The hit proved to be only the beginning of another missed golden opportunity for the Padres--on a night when there were many.

So what does it mean for Gwynn?

“Not a damn thing,” Gwynn said before the game. “Just one more step to where I (eventually) want to go. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal myself. With Tempy’s 2,000 hits, now that’s a big deal. God willing, if I can a few more years, I can get to 2,000. After that, we’ll see.”

The Padres and all that was left of 14,271 in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium earlier thought they had a come-from-behind, extra-inning victory over the Montreal Expos.

But it was not to be.

So on they played into the night.

The score was 3-3 into the 14th inning.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Padres thought they had a victory when home plate umpire Joe West called a balk on Expo pitcher Tim Burke with Bip Roberts on third.

But the base umpires conferred and said that Burke had not balked.

It was another one of those games the Padres and their fans have become accustomed to this season. The Padres again loaded the bases in the 12th, but the threat ended when Garry Templeton grounded out to shortstop.

From the early innings on, this one had a little bit of a lot.

Starting with Padre starter Bruce Hurst and relievers Greg Harris and Craig Lefferts, there was some good pitching, bad pitching and clutch pitching.

Hurst was troubled early then came on strong, retiring the 18 of the last 21 batters he faced. Harris seemingly was in trouble throughout his three innings, but he escaped unscathed in the runs-against column.

Likewise, Lefferts appeared shaky, but in the end, he did his job--one inning, no runs.

This game featured many threats and blown opportunities, which in a 3-3, 14-inning effort, means a bunch of hits and men left on base.

The Expos appeared to have Hurst on the ropes early, jumping to a 3-0 first-inning lead and placing runners on first and third with no one out in the second.

In the first, Otis Nixon, who was a career-best four for four Tuesday with four runs batted in, singled and stole second. With two outs, Tim Wallach doubled to right center, driving in Nixon.

For Wallach, the National League leader in doubles, it was his 32nd and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. During that streak, Wallach, who was four for six, is 18 for 44 for a .409 average. Always tough against the Padres, he is 15 for 30 (.500) lifetime.

Andres Galarraga, another hot Expo, followed Wallach with his 14th home run and 62nd and 63rd RBIs of the year. It came on a 2-0 pitch and landed in the third row of seats just inside the left-field foul pole.

Then to open the second, catcher Mike Fitzgerald walked, and Spike Owen doubled to right. It looked as if Hurst, who had been pitching the best he has all season in his last four games, might be headed for an early shower.

But Hurst got tough. He struck out pitcher Kevin Gross. He struck out Delino DeShields. And he struck out Nixon.

After that, Hurst yielded just one more hit until being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the seventh. Including the three strikeouts in the second, Hurst retired 18 of the final 21 batters he faced.

Hurst did have control problems throughout, however. Of his 104 pitches, only 56 were strikes. By the fifth inning, he had already reached his season-high of four walks. In his last five starts covering 36 innings, Hurst had only five walks combined. He finished Wednesday with four walks and four strikeouts.

The three runs scored off Hurst, who lowered his ERA to 3.57, snapped a rather unusual streak. Hurst had allowed just three earned runs in his last four starts, all of them coming on solo home runs.

Wasting little time, the Padres battled back to tie it, 3-3, with single runs in the first three innings.

Gwynn drove in Bip Roberts, who had singled to open the inning, with a sacrifice fly in the first. Benito Santiago scored on a double play in the second. And Gwynn drove in Roberto Alomar in the third with a single to right.

For Alomar, his single up the middle extended his hitting streak to six games.

After going down in order in the fourth, the Padres threatened again in the fifth when Hurst singled to left and Roberts walked with one out. But they were stranded by Alomar, who struck out, and Gwynn, who lined to right.

In the seventh, with Phil Stephenson on second after a single and his second stolen base of the year, Roberts tapped back to the mound to end the inning.

In the eighth and ninth innings, it was Montreal’s turn to threaten.

Harris, on in relief of Hurst in the eighth, gave up back-to-back singles to right by Tim Raines and Wallach. After Galarraga flied to center, pinch-hitter Larry Walker walked to load the bases.

Fitzgerald then lined a shot toward left that Pagliarulo somehow managed to snare while outstretched to his left.

It was clearly the defensive play of the game and received the loudest ovation from a mostly non-vocal crowd.

To end the inning, Harris struck out pinch-hitter Tim Foley.

In the ninth, pinch-hitter Mike Aldrete singled to open the inning, but DeShields failed to sacrifice him to second, instead popping up to Pagliarulo. Harris struck out Nixon, but then Raines singled to right center, and Aldrete advanced to third.

Again, Harris rose to the occasion, as Wallach flied to center.

Padre Notes

Eddie Williams, outrighted to triple-A Las Vegas Friday to make room on the Padre roster for Benito Santiago, finally reported to the team Wednesday in Portland, according to the Stars. Williams, who cleared waivers, was scheduled to report Sunday when the Stars were in Tacoma but instead was deciding whether to become a free agent. . . . Jack Clark did not start at first base for the fifth consecutive game because of a sore right hamstring suffered last Thursday in Atlanta. Clark is listed as day-to-day. Manager Greg Riddoch said he hopes to have Clark back in the lineup by Friday. . . . Eric Show threw 3 1/3 shutout innings Tuesday after requesting a trade Sunday in Houston. Said Show before Wednesday’s game: “I’ll do my best in whatever capacity they want me to pitch here. Once again, I’m sorry about how all this turned out. These are things that have been known for a long time. None of this is new to anyone here. I’m not a head case. If anybody else would have been put through what I’ve been put through, they would have said the same thing.”

Heading into Wednesday’s game, the Padres were just 19-35 against NL East teams, the lowest percentage in the league. The Padres have lost 22 of their past 25 against the East. . . . Entering Wednesday’s game, the Padres were 28-31 at home. The Expos had the same record on the road. . . . In 1989, the Padres led the National League in one-run games at 30-18. This season, they are 15-17. . . . With the 8-3 victory Tuesday, the Expos have won the opening game in 16 of their past 22 series.

When Montreal’s Otis Nixon singled in the first inning, it marked the 10 consecutive time an Expo center fielder had reached base. Nixon struck out his second time up. Four for four with a walk and four RBIs Tuesday, Nixon hit safely in five consecutive at-bats. Dave Martinez, playing center field Sunday, was three for three with five RBIs. . . . Nixon, who homered for the first time in nearly five years and for only the fourth time in his six-year career Tuesday, went 1,807 days between home runs. . . . The Padres have hit just one home run (by Joe Carter) in 10 games, their longest drought of the year.

Today’s game, at 1:05, is the ninth of 10 businessman’s specials. The scheduled pitchers are Ed Whitson (9-7) for the Padres and Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd (7-4) for the Expos. Whitson is second in the National League in ERA at 2.62, Boyd is seventh at 2.99, but just third on the Expos behind Mark Gardner (2.85) and Dennis Martinez (2.92). . . . General admission tickets for Saturday’s T-shirt Night are on a reserved basis. All ticket-buyers will receive a T-shirt upon entering the stadium.