Padres Dusted Off by Drabek : Pirate’s Pitcher Had No-Hitter for Eight Innings

PITTSBURGH â€”  The Padres, a no-hitter waiting to happen, eluded justice by just three outs Sunday.

Carrying all those jokes about their rotten bats a little too far, precisely eight innings too far, they needed a pinch-hit ground single by Randy Ready in the ninth to break up a no-hitter by Pittsburgh’s Doug Drabek.

One out later, Marvell Wynne hit a two-run homer as the Padres barely saved face in a 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh in front of 21,974 in Three Rivers Stadium.

“With Kruk (John) and Gwynn (Tony) gone, and the way we’ve been playing, I’m surprised somebody hadn’t no-hit us earlier,� Padre Manager Larry Bowa said.

Kruk has missed three games and will likely miss two or three more with a sore shoulder.

Gwynn had a cast put on his sprained thumb before Sunday’s game and he could miss as much as a month.

The Padres have the second worst batting average in National League (.228) and are ranked last in the major leagues in runs with 73.

Sunday Bowa wasn’t just upset about Gwynn and Kruk, he was downright mad at the healthy players who aren’t producing. He benched .194-hitting shortstop Garry Templeton for the first time this season for reasons other than a rest.

Bowa was to meet with General Manager Jack McKeon Sunday night in St. Louis, the Padres next destination, and he said he would ask for changes.

“We’ve got to get some people out of here who aren’t playing well and who are comfortable with their contracts,� Bowa said. “If we are going to flounder, we might as well do it with the kids. If we are going to take a kicking like this, let’s take it with the kids, who you can teach. Not with veterans who should know how to play the game, but aren’t.

“We’ve got two kids down there (triple-A Las Vegas) who are hitting over .400. What the hell, let’s get them up here.�

Bowa’s math is off, but he meant well. One is already on his way. Outfielder Shane Mack (.379) will will replace Gwynn. The other is shortstop Mike Brumley (.390) who, if Bowa won his battle, would replace Templeton. Considering Templeton’s million-dollar guaranteed contract, that probably won’t happen until Templeton can be traded. Templeton, who said he was surprised by Sunday’s benching, said he would do whatever they wanted.

“It’s not my decision. If they want to move me and it’s in their best interests, fine,� he said. “But right now I’m happy being a Padre, and would like to end my career with the Padres.�

Drabek, 25, nearly made his career Sunday, but even until Ready stepped up in the ninth, pinch-hitting for reliever Greg Booker, nobody knew how Drabek was doing it. Here was a two-year veteran who, entering this game, had allowed an average of 8.5 hits per nine innings in his career. This season he had a 4.50 earned-run average and was coming off the worst back-to-back starts by a Pirate pitcher in 1988, having allowed nine earned runs in 10 innings in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The Padre hitters said that Sunday he was pretty much the same.

“Good stuff, but not no-hit stuff,� said catcher Benito Santiago, who went 0-for-2.

Said an 0-for-4 Carmelo Martinez: “He was throwing strikes, but that was it. I don’t know how he no-hit us for that long.�

Even Drabek admitted, “I did not have exceptional stuff.�

With a 2-and-2 count to start the ninth, with the crowd roaring at every pitch, Ready made certain Drabek finally paid for that stuff. He took an outside slider and poked it just to the left side of second base. Shortstop Al Pedrique dove and grabbed it, but by that time he rose to his knees for a throw, Ready was within a step of first. The fact that the throw was high didn’t matter.

What may have mattered, it was later discovered, was that before the game, the Pirates had already decided to send Pedrique to their minor league team in Buffalo. A better fielder, such as Rafael Belliard, the Pirates other shortstop, might have made that play closer.

PADRES AT A GLANCE

SIXTH INNING

Pirates--Bonds reached second on second baseman Alomar’s fielding error. Catcher Santiago threw wild to second on an attempted pickoff, Bonds taking third. Lind struck out. Van Slyke grounded out to the pitcher. Bonilla doubled to left, Bonds scoring. Bream doubled to left, Bonilla scoring. Reynolds grounded out to first. Two runs, two hits, two errors, one left.

SEVENTH INNING

Pirates--Ortiz reached first on third baseman Brown’s throwing error. Ortiz was caught stealing. Pedrique singled to right, advanced to second on Drabek’s sacrifice bunt. Bonds was intentionally walked. Lind doubled to left, Pedrique and Bonds scoring. Comstock replaced Jones. Van Slyke flied out to center. Two runs, two hits, one error, one left.

EIGHTH INNING

Pirates--Bonilla singled to right. Comstock balked him to second. Bream struck out. Reynolds doubled to left, Bonilla scoring. Booker replaced Comstock. Ortiz singled to right, Reynolds scoring. Pedrique singled to center, Ortiz to second. Drabek struck out. Bonds’ grounder to second forced Pedrique at second. Two runs, four hits, two left.

NINTH INNING

Padres--Ready, pinch-hitting for Booker, singled past shortstop. Alomar flied to left. Wynne homered to right, his third, Ready scoring. Brown grounded out to shortstop. Martinez flied to center. Two runs, two hits, none left.