Rose Beats Padres With a Hit in Ninth

SAN DIEGO —  Next to Pete Rose’s office couch was a poster, a collage of his own evolution.

There’s Pete with a crew cut. There’s Pete sliding head first into third. There’s Pete with stringy brown hair. There’s Pete with gray hair. There’s Pete with brown hair again. There’s Pete with the Phillies. There’s Pete with the Expos.

He walked into the office then, his office. His hair was part gray, part brown. It’s supposed to look distinguished, but it doesn’t.

Pete Rose is Pete Rose. He will not change. Instead of just playing hard, he plays and manages hard. On Sunday, he came up against Goose Gossage in the ninth with a tie score and a runner on second. Five pitches later, he singled to left to give the Reds a 3-2 win.

In many ways, he is like the rookie with the crew cut. Except he’s 44 and has 4,153 hits. But he remembers everything, the little things.

Hey, Pete, what happened out there in the ninth?

“First one was a fastball, called strike,” he says 45 minutes after his hit, which left him 39 short of Ty Cobb’s all-time hit record. “Second one is fastball, ball. Next one is fastball swing and fouled. Next one is fastball swing and foul. Next one is fastball, base hit.”

Next, he picks up his bags and leaves, gone quickly so he can catch the team bus and Ty Cobb. He’s a menace to pitchers, this Pete Rose. Even at age 44.

He put Gossage in a bad mood. Gossage came in during the ninth, relieving Andy Hawkins (11-2) after Hawkins had walked Eddie Milner.

“I brought in a fresher arm,” Padre Manager Dick Williams said. “That’s what we’ve got him for. It didn’t work this time.”

With runners on first and second and one out, Gossage wanted a ground ball. He got one, too, but the ball seemed to have 20/20 vision as Rose squeezed it past third baseman Kurt Bevacqua and shortstop Garry Templeton. Nick Esasky, who had singled to begin the inning, scored easily.

“Not much to say guys,” said Gossage, visibly impatient. “You saw what happened. He just hit it on the ground.”

Pete Rose grounders do that.

And the Reds believe in him. They are playing above their heads, maybe, but they are also six games above .500, just four games behind the first-place Padres. They won two of three this weekend.

“They took three of four from us in Cincinnati, and probably took us lightly this time,” said pitcher Tom Browning, who started and gave up just two hits in seven innings. “We proved we’re a legitimate contender, that we can play with them.”

Reds catcher Dave Van Gorder, who hit a home run Sunday that tied the game at 2-2, thinks Rose is neat.

“He’s done this a couple times now,” he said. “He did it off Bruce Sutter. Tied the game with a single. Ask him. He’ll tell you he lives for those situations, when the pressure’s on and people booing him.”

Rose, as a manager, is inspiring. His players say this, and he likes to hear it.

“Dick Williams doesn’t care if his players like him,” Rose said. “He just wants their respect. I want my players to like me. That matters to me.”

Pete Rose, the manager, is fun to watch. In the fourth inning, his center fielder Milner seemingly caught a high fly ball hit by Terry Kennedy, but then dropped it at the last second and the error led to a Padre run, making the score 2-1. Rose hadn’t been watching, looking instead to see if Kennedy had touched first base. Milner argued. Rose turned to second base umpire Harry Wendelstedt, who had made the call, and said: “Harry, you ever missed a one?”

Wendelstedt: “Yeah, I missed one in 1966.”

Later, when Browning tired, Rose had to make a pitching switch. In the dugout, Padre third baseman Graig Nettles, a friend, was sitting there with his bat, ready to pinch-hit if Rose brought in a right-hander. Rose looked right at Nettles and pointed to his left arm, signaling for left-hander John Franco to enter.

“I wasn’t going to let Nettles beat me,” Rose said.

As for Williams, he also had his decisions to make, like the dilemma of whether to bring Gossage in. Hawkins had given up 10 hits, but only two runs. Williams walked out in the ninth and asked Kennedy how Hawkins was throwing.

“He doesn’t have anything left,” Kennedy said.

Hawkins left.

Hawkins got the loss, his second straight. And if you’re asking why, notice that the Padres averaged 6 runs a game during his first 11 wins. In his two losses, they’ve averaged 1.5.

So it came down to Rose vs. Gossage.

Gossage appeared to have the edge since this game had started late in the afternoon, and the shadows near home plate made it difficult for hitters to see.

“You know he’s coming right at you with smoke,” said Rose, who had singled to left-center off Hawkins in the fifth. “It was really hard to see, too. And people have a tendency to think you’re making excuses when you say that. Sure, I’ve never hit in a game when I couldn’t see the ball, but there are times like this when you can’t see the rotation . . . I have to see the rotation on the ball.

“Goose is tremendous, but I don’t care how old I am, he’s not going to blow me away. He’s got his fastball down. He wanted a double-play ball.”

And Rose hit his single.

Same old Pete.

Padre Notes Kurt Bevacqua, who has started 10 games at third base, started ahead of Graig Nettles Sunday. Why? First, Tom Browning, the Reds starter, is a left-hander and so is Nettles. Second, Manager Dick Williams said the excessive heat was a factor, considering Nettles is 41. Williams didn’t say if he plans to platoon Bevacqua and Nettles the rest of the season. . . . Mistake of the Day: Jerry Royster thought he walked in the first inning and ran to first, but umpire Jery Crawford singled for him to return. The count was 3-2.

Padre Notes Kurt Bevacqua, who has started 10 games at third base, started ahead of Graig Nettles Sunday. Why? first, Tom Browning, the Reds starter, is a left-hander and so is Nettles. Second, Manager Dick Williams said the excessive heat was a factor, considering Nettles is 41. Williams didn’t say if he plans to platoon Bevacqua and Nettles the rest of the season.

PADRES AT A GLANCE

Scorecard SECOND INNING Padres--Martinez walked. Templeton flied to right. Hawkins sacrificed. Royster doubled to right center, Martinez scoring. Gwynn grounded to first. One run, one hit, one left.

FOURTH INNING Reds--With one out, Parker singled to right. Krenchicki walked. Concepcion singled to right, loading the bases. Oester flied to left, Parker scoring with Krenchicki out in a rundown. One run, two hits, two left.

Padres--Kennedy reached second on Milner’s two-base error. Martinez grounded to shortstop, Kennedy taking third. Templeton singled to left, Kennedy scoring. Hawkins sacrificed. Royster popped to first. One run (unearned), one hit, one left.

FIFTH INNING Reds--Van Gorder homered to left, his second. Browning bunted for a hit. Redus popped to third. Milner forced Browning. Rose singled to left-center, Milner taking third. Parker flied to left. One run, three hits, two left.

NINTH INNING Reds--Esasky singled to left. Redus sacrificed. Milner walked. Gossage replaced Hawkins. Rose singled to left, Esasky scoring. Parker forced Rose. Franco grounded to the pitcher. One run, two hits, one left.