PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Mitchell Hits Third Homer

SAN DIEGO —  San Francisco left fielder Kevin Mitchell was hounded by reporters when he showed up Thursday. He was booed loudly by the crowd. And he got a lot of stares from the Padres.

So what happens?

He hit his third home run in three days and drove in two runs, including an RBI single in the 10th inning of the Giants’ 11-9 victory.

Mitchell became the first Giant since Willie Mays in 1971 to homer in the first three games of the season. Mays homered in the first four games, a major league record.

“I just wanted to go out there and have fun,” Mitchell said. “Whatever happened (Wednesday night) is over.”

And the fans?

“It didn’t bother me at all,” he said. “It kind of motivated me to play more.”

Mitchell triggered the bench-clearing fracas in the fourth inning Wednesday night when he took exception to an inside pitch thrown by Padre starter Bruce Hurst. He charged the mound, threw a forearm shiver into Hurst, and the chaos began.

“I’ve never gone after anyone before,” Mitchell said. “I wouldn’t have gone out, but the ball hit me, man. It don’t matter what friends you have over there, once you step over the white line it’s a whole different game.”

Said Hurst: “I’m not going to carry this thing on. I don’t want the thing to be (sensationalized). It’s over. Let’s forget it.”

Mitchell also hit five homers this spring.

“If he doesn’t hit one every game,” joked Giant Manager Roger Craig, “I’ll be disappointed.”

While the Giants were blasting their three homers, including six the past two days, it was Padre second baseman Marty Barrett’s pinch-hit, ninth-inning homer in his National League debut off Dave Righetti that had everyone talking.

Barrett had not hit a home run since May 18, 1989, when he connected against Mike Witt of the Angels. He had gone 365 at-bats without a homer. And although he was batting .300 off Righetti (six for 20), he never had hit a homer off him.

“What do you think the first words out of my mouth were--that’s exactly it,” said Righetti, able to laugh afterwards. “I had a 3-2 count, and Bip Roberts on deck. I wasn’t going to walk Barrett.

“But I didn’t think Marty was going to put a home-run swing on the ball, either.”

Said Barrett, who hit 17 homers in 3,362 at-bats in the AL: “What a thrill, what a thrill. You talk about the World Series, and all that, but this ranks right up there.

“But I really didn’t know it was gone. I knew it might be over Mitchell’s head (in left field), but I really didn’t think it was gone until (first base coach) Rob Picciolo yells, ‘It’s gone. It’s gone.’

“You know, even then, I didn’t know it was gone.”

Tony Gwynn’s first-inning triple Thursday brought him to within one of the club record of 63 triples set by Gene Richards. ... The Giants’ 19 hits were the most allowed by the Padres since April 27, 1990, when the Pittsburgh Pirates had 19. . . . Giant third baseman Matt Williams, who has all of 12 stolen bases in his career, became the first player to steal a base off Santiago this season. He stole second base in the seventh inning, getting a huge jump off reliever Wes Gardner. . . . The Padres moved back their Tuesday and Friday night games to 7:35 p.m. to accompany ESPN-TV.