The Fun-Loving Padres Ease Past Braves, 7-5

SAN DIEGO —  If Jack McKeon promised anything when he took over as Padre manager one week ago, it was that little in the past mattered. This was his team, and he would manage his way.

That meant his lineups, his strategy, his philosophy of win and have fun. His hope, of course, was that results would show on the field.

It was this recharged group of Padres who made their home debut under McKeon Friday night. And what they delivered in a 7-5 victory against the Atlanta Braves was exactly what McKeon promised.

“Fun is winning, and winning is fun,” McKeon said. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

No one was calling this beginning of a new era in Padres baseball, but what the crowd of 15,071 (10,773 paid) at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium saw in this welcome of McKeon’s style of baseball to San Diego was a team not bound by convention.

For evidence look no further than behind the plate, where for the first first time since a 1-0 victory against St. Louis April 26, Benito Santiago was catching for Eric Show.

Mark Parent, a 26-year-old rookie catcher, had been behind the plate in Show’s previous six starts, and the two had begun to develop a close working relationship. McKeon did not break up the combo in his first game as manager after taking over for Larry Bowa last Saturday; Bowa had made out the lineup before he was fired. But there was no such arrangement this time.

“I didn’t know I was supposed to catch Parent,” McKeon said in mock seriousness. “I am the manager, and I will put the catcher I want to on the field.”

But if Show felt at a loss, he did not show it in earning his fourth victory in nine decisions and raising his lifetime record against the Braves to 12-2.

“I don’t own the Braves,” Show said. “It’s just a matter of little luck.”

Show held the Braves scoreless through five innings, and had Keith Moreland been able to hang on to leaping try at stopping Dale Murphy’s two-run homer in the sixth, Show might have been headed toward a complete the game.

But he was replaced by Mark Davis following a two-out single by Ken Oberkfell in seventh after allowing three runs on eight hits and striking out six.

Davis got Gerald Perry to fly to center to end the inning. After the Padres picked up a run in the eighth on Santiago’s single to lead, 7-3, Davis got into immediate trouble in the ninth.

Murphy opened by hitting a homer to right that was bookend to his earlier shot. This time it was Tony Gwynn trying to leap high to prevent the high fly from dropping just inside the foul pole and just behind the 327-foot mark on the outfield wall.

“I thought my first home run was in Moreland’s glove--at least off his glove,” Murphy said. “The one Tony tried for, almost the same way. That was kind of strange.

“Normally I’m pretty sure when I’ve hit one out. Both of those were very doubtful.”

Davis allowed another run to score before striking out Ron Gant and pinch hitter Ted Simmons to end the game and earn his team-high seventh save in seven save opportunities.

Show allowed the leadoff runners to reach base in each of the first two innings but got out of the jams without a run with the help of two strong throws by Gwynn in the first and a sharp double-play ground ball to shortstop Garry Templeton in the second.

After center fielder Albert Hall singled to open the game, Oberkfell stroked a ball down the right-field line. Gwynn fielded it just in front of the Braves bullpen and threw to Templeton covering second in plenty of time to get Oberkfell as he tried to stretch the hit into a double.

Hall advanced to third, but Gwynn kept him from going any further when Perry flied out to right. Gwynn made a strong throw to the plate that kept Hall from trying to score. Show then got Murphy to ground out to third to end the inning.

The Braves again threatened in the second when left fielder Dion James walked to open the inning, and shortstop Andres Thomas singled with one out. But Gant grounded to Templeton to start a double play that ended the inning.

Show struck out the side in the third and the fifth and retired the Braves in order in the fourth again with the help of a strong play in the field.

This time it was a diving catch for the second out by center fielder Marvell Wynne on a rapidly dropping line drive by Murphy that seemed destined for the gap in right-center field.

While Show held the Braves scoreless through five innings, Braves starter Kevin Coffman never did find the plate.

Coffman, who had lost four of his past five decisions and walked five batters each in three of his past four starts, was wild from the beginning.

He walked two batters in the first but pitched himself out of it by getting John Kruk to ground out to third to end the inning. He allowed a leadoff double to Randy Ready in the second but again avoided a run by retiring the next three batters on ground balls.

But Coffman’s wildness finally caught with him in the third. With one out, Roberto Alomar and Gwynn walked before advancing to second and third on Coffman’s team-high eighth wild pitch of the season. Moreland then lined a double down the left-field line and into the Padres’ bullpen, scoring Alomar and Gwynn.

The wildness continued in the fourth when he walked Santiago to start the inning. Santiago scored on Templeton’s triple, and after Show knocked in Templeton with a single to right, Coffman was replaced by Charlie Puleo.

Wynne greeted Puleo by knocking his third pitch over the right-field wall for his team-high seventh home run and 21st and 22nd runs batted in of the season. The homer tied Wynne’s season best he hit with Pittsburgh in 1983 and matched in 1986 with the Padres.

What makes the feat so incredible is not just that Wynne has done so in the first week of June, but he did it in only 83 at bats. It took him 366 at bats in 1983 and 288 in 1986 to hit seven homers.

Wynne’s homer gave the Padres a 6-0 lead.

The Braves cut it in half in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Perry and a two-run homer by Murphy that barely cleared the left-field fence. Murphy’s ball was hit high and deep. Moreland leaped at the fence and appeared to momentarily have the ball within his grasp, but it dropped over as his glove hit the top of the 8-foot 2-inch wall.

A stunned Moreland turned and faced the Padres bullpen, his hands on his knees, his back turned as Murphy circled the bases.

“I thought I caught the ball even after I came off the fence,” Moreland said. “I leaped up and held my glove up like I caught the ball. When I looked in my glove to pull the ball out, it wasn’t there. I was the most surprised person in the ballpark.”

Padre Notes

Ed Whitson, who has lost five of his past six starts, will not take his regularly scheduled start Sunday against Atlanta and instead will start Tuesday against Cincinnati, pitching coach Pat Dobson said. Andy Hawkins, who would have started Monday, will pitch Sunday and Mark Grant, would have started Tuesday, will pitch Monday. The break will allow Whitson time to rest an ankle he injured May 14 against Montreal and give him the opportunity to possibly work out of the bullpen, Dobson said. “It will give him a chance to work on some things in a game situation,” Dobson said. “It might be just what the doctor ordered.” . . . Starting time for Monday’s game has been moved to 7:05 p.m. from 5:10 p.m. The earlier start was in case ABC decided to televise the game.