PADRES FAIL TEST IN LOSS, FALL TO 1 1/2 BACK : COLORADO 5, SAN DIEGO 4.Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer When the San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. Padres spent the first 2-1/2 months of this season alone in first place, it was natural to raise several questions about staying power. Would two old warhorses in the starting rotation, Fernando Valenzuela Tewksbury was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 19th round of the 1981 draft. , hold up down the stretch? Could a no-name bullpen maintain its overpowering performance? In the very teeth of a pennant race Tuesday night, the Padres received some answers. And didn't like them one bit. After Valenzuela squandered squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. an early two-run lead against the Colorado Rockies For the National Hockey League team (1976 – 1982), now known as the New Jersey Devils, see . The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. They are in the West Division of the National League. , the Padres watched in dismay as the bullpen faltered in the middle innings and their closer, Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (October 13, 1967 in Bellflower, California) is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played for the San Diego Padres since 1993. He bats and throws right-handed. , was tagged for Dante Bichette's game-winning home run in a 5-4, 11-inning loss at Jack Murphy The name Jack Murphy can refer to:
The Padres, eagerly anticipating the weekend's three-game series with the front-running Dodgers in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , had talked about the importance of taking care of business in two games at home against the Rockies, but their first step in that endeavor was a headlong stumble. The loss dumped the Padres (88-70) 1-1/2 games behind In sports, the phrase games behind, often abbreviated as GB in tables, is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division. the Dodgers in the West and allowed the Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (French: Les Expos de Montréal) were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1969 until 2004. After the 2004 season, the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. to creep to within 1-1/2 games of them in the wild-card chase. ``You can't concern yourself with that,'' said third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker Ken Caminiti ``No pressure. It's easy to say. It's a little harder when you're out there.'' Hoffman, who leads the team with 39 saves, was called on to get out of a jam in the 10th and then was kept in the game for the 11th. With one out, his first pitch to Bichette was planted in the left-field seats, the 31st home run of the season for the former Angels outfielder. ``It was a changeup up in the zone, and he just jumped on it,'' said Hoffman, who added of San Diego's plight: ``We know where we stand. If everyone else wins, add it up.'' At least the Padres didn't go quietly. They had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the 11th against the Rockies' Bill Swift, but pinch-hitter Chris Gwynn ended the threat and the game by lining into a double play. When it was over, they looked back in agony at their wasted chances - 13 men left on base, six of them in scoring position. ``That's the ballgame,'' said Tony Gwynn, who went 3 for 5. ``We had a whole bunch of opportunities early to cash in, and it came back to haunt us.'' San Diego got off to a brisk start on Steve Finley's two-run home run in the first off Colorado ace Kevin Ritz. But the Padres' pitching staff wasted little time in giving it back - and then some. Valenzuela, in his first start since getting raked by the Dodgers last Thursday, was tagged for three consecutive hits - two of them doubles - to start the fourth inning, as the Rockies tied the game 2-2. The 35-year-old lefty was gone an inning later, and hasn't exactly reserved some of his best work for the stretch drive. Valenzuela, who participated in nine pennant races during his time with the Dodgers, is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA over his last three starts. Another graybeard, Tewksbury, followed him to the mound, but he got in trouble to start the seventh. And the bullpen's rescue of him was nearly disastrous - a hit batsman by ex-Dodger Al Osuna, a run-scoring wild pitch by Doug Bochtler - as Colorado scored twice to take a 4-2 lead. WILD FINISH A look at the NL playoff race and the chase for the league batting title: Dodgers (1 1/2 game up in West): Beat San Francisco 6-2 Padres (1 1/2 games up for wild card): Lost to Colorado 5-4 Expos (1 1/2 back for wild card): Beat Philadelphia 6-2 Mike Piazza, Dodgers: 0 for 3, walk, run scored (.342) Ellis Burks, Colorado: 1 for 5, run scored (.338) Tony Gwynn, San Diego x: 3 for 5, run scored (.353) x - does not have enough plate appearances to qualify. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Box Photo: (1) San Diego's Ken Caminiti is tagged out by Rockies second baseman Eric Young. Associated Press (2--color) Burks (3--color) Gwynn Box: WILD FINISH (see text) |
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