Hawkins Sharp Again as Padres Beat Pirates

SAN DIEGO â€”  So maybe last Sunday’s one-hitter wasn’t just some lightning bolt. So maybe 1988’s Andy Hawkins can strike twice in the same place.

The Padre pitcher with 13 wins in the past two seasons won his third in the past month Friday, taking the Padres to a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in front of 20,522 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The sometimes maligned, sometimes forgotten starter was helped by a couple of guys in the same boat. Chris Brown hit a two-out, two-run single, and Marvell Wynne added an RBI double. Those two helped the Padres to an early 5-1 lead they never lost.

And, of course, there was the mandatory incredible appearance by reliever Mark Davis, who replaced Hawkins with one out and the tying runs on second and third in the seventh and struck out the next two hitters, en route to 2 scoreless innings and his third save in three save situations.

That gives Davis 18 consecutive scoreless innings, 2 innings shy of the club record for relievers. His five strikeouts Friday give him an incredible 28 strikeouts during that span. Overall he has 29 strikeouts, fifth in the league. He is the only reliever in the top 10.

But this night, much like his one-hitter Sunday against Houston, was the property of Hawkins. And not only did he drive in a run himself with a two-out RBI single in the fourth. He drove home the point that even after the lousy end of 1986, and lousy and injury-marred 1987 (3-10) and lousy 1988 spring and first regular-season game, he is ready to forget if you are.

“The big one was last week against a team that’s given me trouble (Astros) the last couple of years. That’s what got my confidence up,� Hawkins said. “I really came out feeling I was going to do well tonight.

“Last year, as far as I’m concerned, never happened. I just washed it out of my mind. I’m getting to be more like the ‘84-85 model.�

During those two years, Hawkins was 26-17 with outstanding performances in both the ’84 playoffs and World Series. Indeed, Friday night, he was looking more like that.

“Andy threw well, outstanding,� Manager Larry Bowa said after the 3-hour 18-minute marathon. “His concentration is as good as it’s been since I’ve been here. He’s healthy. It’s hard to go out there when you’re not healthy.�

He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth and two hits until the sixth. Until the seventh, he allowed only five balls to leave the infield. He is 3-1 with a 4.31 ERA, but in his last two starts, he is 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA.

And this was not just another start. This was a Pirate team that came in with the best record (15-5) and most powerful bats in the National League. They led the league in doubles (41) and triples (8) and were third in home runs (21).

Individually, they had the league leader or co-leader in nine of 11 offensive categories.

The five Pirates in the starting lineup who had faced Hawkins before had a combined career batting average of .479 against him.

So what happened?

Whatever it was, Bobby Bonilla, the league’s co-leader in homers (7) and RBIs (18), went 0 for 3 against Hawkins. League-leading hitter Mike LaValliere went 0 for 3. And so on.

Hawkins allowed just one hit over the first five innings, giving him a streak of just seven hits allowed in a 21-inning stretch. He allowed his first run in the fourth after a lead-off walk to Barry Bonds, and a balk that moved Bonds to second and an RBI single by Andy Van Slyke.

But after a walk to Sid Bream, Hawkins toughened. He left both runners stranded by getting R.J. Reynolds on a flyout. He then retired 6 of the next 7 hitters and entered the seventh with a two-hitter.

Then came problems, which brought Davis, which brought success.

With the Padres leading, 5-1, Bream led off the seventh with a single to right. Reynolds followed with another single to right. The LaValliere flied out to left, and then into the box stepped dangerous Al Pedrique, hitting .105 at the time. But don’t laugh. Last year, he led the major leagues by hitting .458 with runners in scoring position. It happened again. He lashed a shot into the right-field gap, scoring Reynolds in what amounted to an RBI double.

Now for Davis. He went to 2 and 2 on pinch-hitter Darnell Coles, who entered with a .545 average with runners in scoring position. But then on a near-perfect outside curveball, he struck Coles out.

Up came Bonds, whose bat looked huge, considering that nobody in the National League hit the Padres harder than he last season (.447, five homers). Davis calmly struck him out, too.

“I’m not really thinking about what’s going on. I’m just out there,� he said. “I’ve had stretches like these before, but never as far as stats are concerned. Strikeouts, they’re just coming right now.�

The Padre offense, which struck first with a first-inning homer to left field by John Kruk, his third, was nonetheless given a huge break. For the second time in three games, an opposing starter left early because of injury. This time it was Brian Fisher, who made one bad pitch in his first two innings, a fastball that Kruk powered over the left-field fence. When it came Fisher’s turn to bat with two out and none on in the third, he was nowhere to be found. Turns out he strained his right shoulder, a new injury for him and a dreadful one for the Pirates, considering that he entered as their top pitcher at 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA.

He was replaced by rookie Vincente Palacios. . The Padres racked him around for four runs on seven hits in his four innings.

It started in the fourth, with one out, when Benito Santiago singled to left, one of his two hits this night. He was followed by Wynne, who drove the ball through the left-field gap and to the wall for an RBI double. One out and an intentional walk to Garry Templeton later, Hawkins made good on Bowa’s decision to let him bat for himself by punching the ball to right for a single and another run.

The 3-1 lead was cemented in the next inning when, with bases loaded and two out, Brown had his third hit since rejoining the starting lineup Thursday. This time he poked a 1-and-1 pitch into right field to score two runs. Kruk added the closer in the eighth with an RBI single after Pirate pitcher Bob Kipper had walked, of all people, Mark Davis. And after Davis, of all people, had stolen second.

Padre Notes

As expected, infielder Tim Flannery was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a sprained ligament in his right ankle. The Padres hurriedly recalled left-handed hitting outfielder Randell Byers from triple-A Las Vegas, putting him on a plane from Vegas that was scheduled to land in San Diego at 6:30 p.m., a half-hour before the start of Friday’s game with Pittsburgh. In Las Vegas, Byers was hitting .250 in 18 games with 6 doubles, 2 triples and 9 RBIs. Why not recall Shane Mack, who has hit in all 19 Las Vegas games, good for a .379 average? Or better yet, why not recall another infielder, namely Mike Brumley, who is leading Las Vegas with a .433 average? It’s a matter of needs. The Padres need an outfielder because of the recent Stan Jefferson demotion, and they need a left-handed hitter who can pinch-hit, because the only one they have, Marvell Wynne, has become a platoon starter. That leaves Byers, 23, who because of defensive deficiencies has a better future as a pinch-hitter or designated hitter. He proved that this spring with a .348 average culled mostly off a 5-for-11 mark as a pinch-hitter. Byers has one month of big league experience, last September, during which he hit .313 in 10 games.

And where does all of this leave Flannery? Sore and cautious. Flannery hurt the ankle, appropriately, warming up to pinch-hit in the club’s home opener April 12 against the Dodgers. He was jogging up the carpeted runway leading from the dugout to the clubhouse when he felt the ankle pull. Doctors cannot prove that it has anything to do with his off-season surgery on the same ankle, which was needed because of ligaments torn early last season. And it certainly is nowhere near the seriousness of last year’s injury. But because he rushed last year’s recovery, only missing 25 days of what was the worst season of his career (.228), he’s not going to rush this. “I’m not going through a year like last year,� Flannery said. “The doctors said I could play, but it would be irritated and hurting all year long. If it’s hurting, I can’t run, and my main weapon is my hustle, so I’m not doing the club any good. I think if I give it 15 days, it will be 100% healthy.� Flannery said he has tried everything, including two cortisone shots and five acupuncture treatments in the last nine days.

Ed Whitson’s left ankle was wrapped and bandaged Friday, but he was walking without help, and promised, “I’ll be back for my next start, are you kidding me?� Whitson was hit in the ankle in the second inning Thursday by a Vince Coleman line drive. He left the game two batters later and headed straight for the Scripps Clinic hospital, where X-rays showed nothing serious. Whitson, known for pitching through all sorts of pain, is next scheduled to pitch Tuesday here against Chicago.

PADRES AT A GLANCEFIRST INNING

Padres--With two out, Kruk homered to left, his third. Moreland grounded to second. One run, one hit.

FOURTH INNING

Pirates--Bonds walked. Bonds was balked to second. Lind grounded to the pitcher. Van Slyke singled to left, Bonds scoring. Bonilla flied to center. Bream walked. Reynolds flied to center. One run, one hit, two left.

Padres--With one out, Santiago singled to left. Wynne doubled to left, Santiago scoring. Brown grounded to shortstop. Templeton was walked intentionally. Hawkins singled to center, Wynne scoring, Templeton stopping at third. Gwynn lined to second. Two runs, three hits, two left.

FIFTH INNING

Padres--With one out, Kruk walked. Moreland singled to right, Kruk stopping at second. Santiago flied to left. Wynne walked to load the bases. Brown singled to right, Kruk and Moreland scoring, Wynne stopping at third. Templeton flied to center. Two runs, two hits, two left.

SEVENTH INNING

Pirates--Bream singled to left. Reynolds singled to right, Bream stopping at second. LaValliere flied to left. Pedrique doubled to right, Bream scoring and Reynolds stopping at third. Davis replaced Hawkins. Reynolds scored and Pedrique moved to third on a balk. Coles, pinch-hitting for Palacios, struck out. Bonds struck out. Two runs, three hits, one left.

EIGHTH INNING

Padres--Davis walked. Gwynn flied to center. Alomar struck out. Davis stole second. Kruk singled to center, Davis scoring. Abner grounded to first. One run, one hit, one left.