Gwynn Goes 5 for 5 as Padres Top Braves, 7-6, for 7th Straight Win

SAN DIEGO — Sometimes, when you’re Tony Gwynn and you’ve led the National League in hitting since Christmas Eve and nobody even notices you unless you get 56 straight ground-ball singles or go 0 for a month, you need nights like Tuesday’s.

In front of 15,034 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, Gwynn tied a club record with the second five-hit game of his career. Tied a club record with four runs scored. Stole two bases to tie his season high of 37. Hit his sixth homer of the season.

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He also scored the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth as the Padres defeated the Atlanta Braves, 7-6, for their season-high seventh straight win.

The accolades: “Tony Gwynn,” said Padre Manager Larry Bowa, “is as close to being a perfect player as you can get.”

“We’ve tried everything on him,” said Braves Manager Chuck Tanner, who has seen Gwynn hit .563 (27 for 48) against his club this season. “And nothing works.”

“One thing for sure,” said Ed Whitson, Tuesday’s starting Padre pitcher. “He has proved he’s in the same category as the top three hitters in the world: (Don) Mattingly, (Wade) Boggs and himself. And not in that order.”

What does Gwynn say? Well, the fans gave him a standing ovation after his seventh-inning homer gave the Padres a 6-4 lead. They cried for a curtain call. Gwynn did not respond. He knows better.

“I don’t believe in that,” said Gwynn, who is now hitting a league-leading .368, seven-hundredths of a point behind American League leader Boggs of Boston. “We’re up, 6-4, and I go out there and next thing, we’re down. When I got out there later, in the ninth, I kind of tipped my hat to them.”

The Braves came back with two runs in the eighth to tie it and set up Gwynn’s heroics in the ninth.

He started the final inning by hanging with a 2-and-1 changeup from Braves reliever Gene Garber and driving it to left field. One pitch to Marvell Wynne later, he stole second.

Wynne then laid down a perfectly dead bunt, moving Gwynn to third. An intentional walk (John Kruk) and hit-by-pitch (Chris Brown in the thigh) later, the bases were loaded for Benito Santiago.

Tanner brought in left fielder Gary Roenicke, positioned him over second base to give the Braves five infielders, and hoped for the best.

Three pitches later, he got the worst. Santiago hit a grounder that found about the only hole in that infield--between shortstop and third--and Gwynn scored the game-winner.

“It was a great defensive play,” Gwynn said. “You’ve got Garber, a ground-ball pitcher, and you never know what will happen.”

Said Tanner: “I thought of using seven infielders.”

The Padres had not won seven straight in more than two years. The club record for consecutive victories is 11, set in 1982.

They move to within 3 1/2 games of fifth-place Atlanta and 12 1/2 games behind National League West-leading Cincinnati.

“Like I said earlier in the year,” Gwynn said, “I talked about us reaching the .500 mark (the Padres are 21 games under), but we’re getting closer to getting out of last place, and that’s all that matters.”

After hitting singles in the first, third and fifth innings, Gwynn broke his bat on a 2-and-2 foul in the seventh.

He slammed the bat to the ground because it was his last one.

“I had to run back into the clubhouse and get a bigger bat, one that I’m not comfortable with,” he said. “I was upset, but then, well, maybe I’ll use these bigger bats from now on.”

Maybe. On the first pitch he faced with that bigger bat, Gwynn hit his crowd-raising homer. But the Braves came back with their two runs in the eighth.

The Padres barely escaped in the top of the ninth, when reliever Mark Davis walked lead-off pinch-hitter Roenicke and then swiped and missed at Dion James’ perfect bunt, putting runners on first and second with none out.

Oberkfell then bunted directly to Davis, and the pitcher could have thrown Roenicke out at third, but decided to turn and throw to first. There were runners on second and third and one out, and by the groan of the crowd, the Padres’ doom was certain.

Gerald Perry then grounded sharply to Brown, who was playing in, and the third baseman held the runners while throwing him out at first. After the intentional walk to Dale Murphy to load the bases, the lefty Davis got the left-handed hitting Ken Griffey on a grounder to second base to save things.

The Padres looked like they were going to pull it out in the eighth, after Garry Templeton legged out a single on a deep grounder to shortstop Paul Runge. Then Tim Flannery placed another grounder between first and second for a single, putting runners on first and second. But then Shane Mack, making his first plate appearance of the game after taking over center field in the eighth for defensive purposes, had a terrible time. On four pitches he struck out, looking. Stanley Jefferson followed with a weak foul pop to Oberkfell.

Padre Notes Manager Larry Bowa said Tuesday that he was so worried about his bullpen, he might be willing to “sacrifice a game so they could get some rest.” Strange sentiment, considering the Padres were coming off their eighth complete game this season, a two-hitter Monday by Jimmy Jones. “But what people don’t understand,” Bowa said, “is that just because a pitcher doesn’t get into the game, doesn’t mean he isn’t up throwing. Some of our guys are up and down in the bullpen all night.” Take Monday, for example. Although Jones allowed just four baserunners, he was in trouble just enough, and his history of fading in the middle innings was just fresh enough, that both Goose Gossage and Lance McCullers were up throwing. Game conditions or not, it’s still pitching. “What we really need is a 10-1 game--either way,” Bowa said. “Not that I want to lose, but we need a game where these guys can stay seated.” In five games before Monday, the bullpen worked 18 innings and allowed just two runs, with 17 strikeouts. But, that’s a lot of innings for five relievers, some of whom are accustomed to facing one or two hitters per outing. Entering Tuesday’s game, the workaholic remains Mark Davis, who has pitched in 19 of 31 games since joining the club from the Giants. Fellow former Giant Chris Brown has appeared in just one more game (20). The other former Giant, Keith Comstock, had worked in 10 of the last 24 games. McCullers has appeared in seven of the last 11 games. . . . Whatever happened to pitcher Andy Hawkins? He’s still on the disabled list--where he has been since July 26--with tendinitis in his shoulder. “It’s not really changed,” said Hawkins of his right shoulder, which he is treating with rest. “It’s still too early to tell.” Asked whether Hawkins would pitch again this season, Bowa said, “It’s up to him. We’ll have to see how he feels.” . . . Although they will never hit as many homers as they allow this season, unless the season lasts until Christmas, the Padres have already hit 10 in 10 games this month. Not bad, considering they hit just 12 in April and only 12 again in May. They now have 73 this season and soon should pass the Cardinals (74) to climb out of the National League cellar.