Kruk Feeling Fine as Pinch-Hit Homer Wins for Padres, 2-1

SAN DIEGO —  John Kruk didn’t start at first base for the Padres Saturday night because of a stiff right shoulder.

“It’s nothing serious,” Manager Larry Bowa said. “He’ll be back in there tomorrow.”

Nothing serious, indeed. The injury gave Kruk so little pain that he appeared as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning, and POW! He took a strike from relief pitcher Don Robinson, then hit the ball over the fence in left-center for a home run that gave the Padres a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

A crowd of 33,821 turned out for Steve Garvey Night at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, and it was fitting that Garvey’s successor at first base broke up the party on a happy note.

Actually, Kruk had shared Garvey’s old position with Carmelo Martinez for much of last season, and it was Martinez for whom he batted on this memorable occasion.

The pinch-hit homer was the first by a Padre since last July 10, and who hit that one? None other than Kruk, off none other than Robinson, then with the Pittsburgh Pirates, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

“He’s my buddy,” Kruk said of Robinson. “There’s only two of us left in the big leagues from West Virginia this year. He was the biggest thing in West Virginia until Mary Lou Retton came along. I’m about 20th.

“I hit the home run on a split-finger pitch, and that’s the first one I’ve ever hit (for a home run) in my life. I was just trying to get on base (he was leading off), and they were going to bunt me around. I didn’t swing hard. I just tried to punch it to left and run.”

Kruk’s heroics made a four-hit pitching job by Ed Whitson and Mark Davis pay off for the Padres’ fourth victory in 11 games.

Whitson yielded the four hits in seven innings, the only damaging one being a home run by Will Clark in the first. The Padres tied the score in the seventh when Garry Templeton tripled in a run off former teammate Dave Dravecky.

Davis finished with two hitless innings. He walked two batters in recording his first victory, but struck out three, running his season strikeout total to 19 in 11 innings.

“We’re not scoring runs, so we need something to pick up the slack,” Kruk said. “If our pitchers pitch like this the whole year, who knows what can happen?”

The home run was the second of the year for Kruk, who led the Padres with 20 last season.

Asked if he considered himself a home-run hitter, Kruk said, “No way. Mike Schmidt and Reggie Jackson are home-run hitters. I’m a punch-and-run.”

As far as his injury was concerned, Kruk said, “I could have played. The shoulder was just a little inflamed. I hurt it diving for a catch against the Dodgers.”

Bowa said he had used a pinch-hitter for Martinez because Martinez had been idle most of the time in the early season.

“It’s tough to keep your stroke when you’re not playing regularly,” Bowa said.

Also, Martinez hadn’t been hitting. His three hitless trips to the plate Saturday night left him 1 for 18 for the season--.056.

The home run with which Clark gave the Giants a quick lead in the first inning would have caused twice as much damage but for the strong arm of Padre catcher Benito Santiago.

Brett Butler opened the game with a walk, but was doubled trying to steal second as ex-Padre Kevin Mitchell struck out. Santiago’s throw to second baseman Randy Ready beat the fleet Butler handily. Clark then hit Whitson’s first pitch into the right-field seats for his third home run of the season.

After that, Whitson was in total charge. He gave up only a double to Butler in the third, a single to Bob Melvin in the fifth and a single to Mitchell in the sixth. Mitchell also was caught stealing, being beaten so badly on a pitchout that he retreated toward first before being tagged.

Meanwhile, the Padres mounted two mild threats and one major one before finally catching up with Dravecky.

Tony Gwynn singled with one out in the first, took second on a balk, and was left there. Templeton led off the third with a single, was sacrificed to second by Whitson, and was left there. Then in the fifth, Santiago led off with a single and Brown followed with a walk, but after a force play and a sacrifice left runners on second and third, Stan Jefferson struck out.

Dravecky retired Martinez and Santiago in the seventh before the Padres struck for the tying run. Brown singled and raced home when Templeton’s liner fell out of left-fielder Jeffrey Leonard’s reach for a triple. With the lead run just 90 feet away, Dickie Thon batted for Whitson and popped out.

The Padres muffed another chance to go ahead in the eighth when Ready and Keith Moreland failed to drive in Jefferson from second. Jefferson had singled and moved up on Gwynn’s sacrifice.

But Davis completed another great outing with a one-two-three ninth, and Kruk did the rest. Padre Notes

The Giants, defending champions of the National League West, enjoy the luxury of a surplus of starting pitchers. As a result, Manager Roger Craig has moved Atlee Hammaker to the bullpen, and he thinks the left-hander can develop into a first-class reliever. Craig said, “He got an easy save last night (his first ever), but I wouldn’t be afraid to bring him in as a closer.” Asked if the Giants might trade a pitcher to bolster themselves elsewhere, Craig said, “We think our 24-man roster is as good as anybody’s. Maybe somebody has a better starting eight, but we’re pretty deep. About the only thing we don’t have is speed on the bench.” . . . Andy Hawkins will start for the Padres against the Giants’ Kelly Downs today in the finale of the series and the home stand. The Padres then will go to Los Angeles for four night games against the Dodgers before returning home Friday night to meet the Houston Astros.