Hoyt Returns to Scene of the Crime : His Winning Streak Ends in Padres’ 4-2 Loss to Cardinals

SAN DIEGO â€”  Pitcher LaMarr Hoyt merely shrugged off the coincidence after the Padres’ 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in front of 38,762 fans at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium on Sunday.

The Cardinals snapped Hoyt’s 11-game winning streak. His last loss was May 15, also against the Cardinals at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

“That’s just one of those things,� Hoyt said. “If I can wait to lose another game before they come here again, I’ll be happy. They just happened to be the team here both times.�

There were a couple of differences in Hoyt’s two losses to the Cardinals.

May 15, he gave up eight runs (seven earned) in one-plus inning. Sunday, he gave up four earned runs in seven innings.

When Hoyt lost in May, the Padres were in first place. Now, they trail the Dodgers by 4 1/2 games and are a half-game in front of third-place Cincinnati.

Hoyt was going through a personal struggle when he lost to the Cardinals in May. It was his fourth loss in six decisions, but since then he had been perfect until Sunday.

St. Louis pitcher John Tudor was also struggling in May. Like Hoyt, Tudor has turned around his season in the past 2 1/2 months.

Tudor, who was 1-7 through May, has since won 11 of 12 decisions. He has pitched three shutouts in six starts this month while allowing six runs in 49 innings.

“I pitched well my first couple of games, then things started happening,� Tudor said. “I started putting myself into

holes. I’m not doing that anymore, and the team is playing great behind me. I have benefited from being the member of a hot ballclub right now.�

The Cardinals have won seven of eight games, including three of four from the Padres. They lead the New York Mets by 3 1/2 games in the National League East. San Diego has lost seven of eight.

Each day, St. Louis had a different hero against the Padres. Sunday’s star was Darrell Porter, who hit a two-run double and solo home run.

Porter had been watching most of the season from the bench because of injuries and ineffectiveness, but he hasn’t complained.

“You can have a blast over on the bench watching these guys,� he said. “When the season started, my opinion was that a lot of guys would need to have the best years of their careers for us to do well. These guys are doing that.�

For much of the season, leadoff hitter Vince Coleman has been the St. Louis catalyst. However, after getting four hits in Thursday’s game against the Padres, Coleman has been quiet.

Willie McGee, the No. 2 hitter, started two rallies Sunday. He singled in the first inning and scored on Porter’s two-run double. He tripled in the seventh and scored on Tom Herr’s ground ball.

“People are always asking me who the most important player on our team is,� Cardinal Manager Whitey Herzog said. “To me, everyone has to pick up each other. Coleman had four hits here the first game. Take that away and he has struggled. We’re fortunate we’ve been able to win without hitting.�

The lack of clutch hitting was the Padres’ problem in their latest loss. San Diego’s runs came when Tony Gwynn scored on a Graig Nettles grounder in the fourth and Kevin McReynolds scored on a Garry Templeton single in the seventh.

Until the ninth, Steve Garvey was the only other Padre to get past first base. He was stranded at third in the fourth inning and at second in the eighth.

With one out in the ninth, Terry Kennedy singled to left and Jeff Lahti replaced Tudor. McReynolds welcomed Lahti with a single to right. However, Lahti, the Cardinal bullpen ace, earned his team-leading 12th save by retiring Templeton on a popup and striking out pinch-hitter Bobby Brown.

After the game, Padre Manager Dick Williams discussed some possible changes in his lineup, specifically concerning the leadoff spot.

--He could move Tony Gwynn from second to leadoff. That’s a distinct possibility down the road.

--He also could move Garry Templeton from eighth to first. That is not much of a possibility because Williams thinks Templeton’s chronically troubled knees are remaining healthy by batting eighth, where he is not required to run so much.

“I’m going to leave him right where he is,� Williams said. “He’s doing well there. There’s no telling if he’d be productive hitting or stealing bases leading off.�

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Padre Notes Sunday could be considered a wild day for LaMarr Hoyt. He had walked just 15 batters in 154 innings before Sunday, a ratio of 0.88 walks per nine innings. But in seven innings against the Cardinals, he walked two . “He walked two?� Manager Dick Williams asked in somewhat disbelief. “That was very unusual.� . . . Hoyt said there’s no secret in keeping Vince Coleman off the bases. “Coleman can run fast, but he can’t steal first base,� he said. “That’ll be his problem. Until he learns to hit offspeed pitches, he’ll have problems in this league.� Coleman was 0 for 5 on Sunday with three strikeouts. . . . Kevin McReynolds was 2 for 37 on the home stand before getting hits in his final two at-bats Sunday. . . . Kurt Bevacqua is 0 for 12 as a pinch-hitter since getting a game-winning hit against the Dodgers on April 27. . . . The Padres are off today before beginning a nine-game trip Tuesday night at Atlanta. It will be a seven-game trip if major league players go on strike. “We played poorly the last time we were on the road,� Williams said. “It looked like it would be good for us to get home. We had the All-Star break and still didn’t get out of this at home.� The Padres, who have lost 15 of 22 games, were 4-7 on this home stand.

PADRES AT A GLANCE Scorecard

FIRST INNING Cardinals--With one out, McGee bunted for a hit. McGee stole second. Herr walked. Clark fouled to third. Porter doubled to right, McGee and Herr scoring. Pendleton singled to second, with Porter thrown out at the plate. Two runs, three hits, one left.

FOURTH INNING Cardinals--Porter homered to right, his fourth. Pendleton grounded to short. Van Slyke flied to left. Smith grounded to second. One run, one hit.

Padres--With one out, Gwynn singled to center. Garvey doubled to left, Gwynn stopping at third. Nettles grounded to first, Gwynn scoring with Garvey taking third. Martinez grounded to third. One run, two hits, one left.

SEVENTH INNING Cardinals--With one out, McGee tripled to left-center. Herr grounded to short, McGee scoring. Clark fouled to the catcher. One run, one hit.

Padres--With two outs, McReynolds doubled to left. Templeton singled to right, McReynolds scoring. Bevacqua, batting for Hoyt, flied to center. One run, two hits, one left.