Padres Fall to Pirates : Pittsburgh Scores Four in Seventh for 4-0 Victory

SAN DIEGO â€”  By the seventh inning, Pittsburgh pitcher Mike Bielecki was crouching over to keep himself loose.

This way, he wouldn’t lose.

And Bielecki, who underwent back surgery right before this year’s winter meetings, made it as far as the eighth inning Friday night until the stiffness made a mess out of his windup. Two Padres got on base, so he left.

Pirate relievers Pat Clements and Jim Winn came on to retire Jerry Rosyter, Tony Gwynn and Kevin McReynolds in succession, and the only Padre rally on this night wasn’t really a rally after all.

So Bielecki didn’t lose. The final was Pittsburgh 4, the Padres 0.

The unlucky loser was Dave Dravecky, who went a little more than six innings. Four little Pirate singles in the seventh led to four big runs. The game-winner was Tony Pena’ single. With Mike Brown on second, Pena knocked one so hard at first baseman Steve Garvey’s head that Garvey fell on his rear end. The ball rolled on, and Brown scored.

On came the insurance runs. First, Joe Orsulak scored on Sid Bream’s sacrifice fly to left.

Next, Sammy Khalifa ripped a ball to right. Gwynn came charging in, but could only trap it. Gwynn threw to third in an attempt to get Pena and almost did, but umpire Bob Engel ruled Pena safe. Meanwhile, Khalifa was hung up in a rundown between first and second. Third baseman Graig Nettles, who at first stared at Engel over the call at third, threw to shortstop Garry Templeton. Khalifa ran back and forth, and that’s when Pena decided to try for home.

He beat Templeton’s throw.

“We didn’t execute that as well as we should’ve,� Padre Manager Steve Boros said. “The concern should be for the guy on third. With one out, the third base coach will send him. . . . He was too far down the line before Tempy could make a play.�

Dravecky, who was never smooth Friday because he resorted back to some bad spring training habits, exited. The fourth run scored on Jim Morrison’s single off Tim Stoddard.

Afterward, Boros had a simple explanation for the loss.

“It’s pretty tough to win when you don’t score any runs,� he said.

This was Bielecki’s fault. The speed gun says he throws in the 90s.

Funny, but doctors figured he’d be throwing in the 60s or 70s.

After going 19-3 in the minors in 1984, he hurt his lower back and couldn’t do much in 1985. But he didn’t tell anyone his back hurt. Why? He didn’t want to go down to the minors again.

He went down anyway.

He used to take eight or nine aspirin just to pitch.

Finally, he told the doctors he had a backache, and it was discovered he had a ruptured disc. In November, he had surgery.

In December, he was still lying down all day.

“To be honest,� Pittsburgh Manager Jim Leyland said, “we weren’t counting on him in spring training. But he got himself physically ready to make the ballclub. And he had to make it in the (starting) rotation. Because, with his back troubles, we couldn’t afford to put him in the bullpen, where he’d have to get up and down all the time.�

He became the fifth starter after giving up only one earned run this spring.

“I wasn’t supposed to be pitching until July,� said Bielecki, a 26-year-old rookie. “. . . I kept waiting for something to hurt.�

Friday, the Padres were the ones hurting.

Besides that rally in the eighth, only one runner reached scoring position. That was in the second inning. With Terry Kennedy on second, Nettles hit one down the first-base line, seemingly a sure double. Bream, the first baseman, dove. The ball found his glove, and he threw Nettles out, while Kennedy only got to third. He was stranded there as Templeton flied out.

“If it’s 1-0 Padres, he (Dravecky) is probably tougher,� Bielecki said. “So that play by Sid was probably the turning point.�

In spring training, Dravecky struggled because he was rushing his pitches. But once the season started, batters kept rushing back to the dugout with their heads down. Before Friday, he was 2-1 with the top earned-run average in the league--.075.

And though he had trouble Friday, he retired 10 straight at one point. Entering the seventh, it was 0-0, a Bielecki-Dravecky pitching duel.

But the seventh was Dravecky’s undoing.

And maybe it was Bielecki’s, too.

“When we scored all those runs, the inning was like a half an hour long,� Bielecki said. “It (his back) tightened a little. When I’d crouch like that, it would pull (the back muscles) out.�

He smiled.

The back is back.

Padre Notes A San Diego television crew was all over Pirate pitcher Rick Rhoden Friday night, almost as if it knew something. What? Had Padre General Manager Jack McKeon finally finalized a deal for Rhoden? No. But Rhoden, who has asked the Pirates to trade him, did say he’s hoping McKeon keeps working on it. “I don’t think I’ll be here (with the Pirates) all year,� Rhoden said. “I think I’ll be traded. I just don’t know when. Now’s the best time to get something for me, though. I’m not getting any younger (he’s 32). If they wait, they might run the risk of me not having a good season. I’ve always liked the San Diego team, and it’s a great organization. Any person would be stupid not to want to play here. . . . I told them (the Pirates) at the end of last season that I’d like to be traded. It’s just time to move on. I’ve been with good some teams and some bad teams here. It’s just time to move on.� . . . One off day was enough for Tony Gwynn, who re-joined the lineup Friday night. He had fouled a ball off his right shin Wednesday, so he was wearing a shin guard while batting. . . . Several Pirate personnel were asking Manager Steve Boros how Bip Roberts was doing. Roberts is a former Pirate. Boros said: “He’s struggling . . . but he’ll be playing Saturday (today).� And Roberts is ready. He still hasn’t had that first major league hit (0 for 20). “But I ain’t thinking about it, man,� he said Friday. “That’s all I’d been doing. I’d been thinking too much. Nobody out here was thinking as much as I was, and that’s why everyone else is off to good starts. I just ain’t thinking anymore. The worst thing I can do is make an out. Shoot, I’ve made 20 straight, so it’s no biggie.� Bob Hertzel of the Pittsburgh Press made Roberts feel better. “Hey, Bip’s hitless, and so is Pete Rose.� Roberts: “Seems like the people here are supportive of me. When I get that hit, I’m sure everyone will come down on the field to congratulate me.�