Gwynn Has a Field Day If Not a Judgment Day

SAN DIEGO —  The defendant’s husband had a pretty good day against the plaintiff.

Tony Gwynn, whose wife is being sued by Hideo Nomo, had three hits and an RBI off the Dodgers right-hander and pitcher Joey Hamilton homered as the banged-up San Diego Padres won, 4-1, Thursday for their seventh consecutive victory over the Dodgers.

The Gwynn-Nomo matchup was merely a side note, though, as the Padres swept the Dodgers in San Diego for the first time since June 10-12, 1988, and won four consecutive games for the first time this season.

“I go out in the outfield in the first inning and I hear a lot of the innuendo, but business is business,” Gwynn said about Nomo’s suit. “I’ve got a job to do and he’s got a job to do, and today was our day. We played pretty well. All the other stuff will work itself out.”

Nomo sued Alicia Gwynn and her San Diego-based A.G. Sport Inc. last week in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming she sold several products bearing Nomo’s name and picture to Medicom Inc., based in Japan, for $350,000 and a percentage of each item sold.

The suit asks at least $465,000 in general damages and $1 million in punitive damages.

Padres manager Bruce Bochy didn’t think Gwynn was going to be able to play after he strained a muscle in his side during an at-bat Wednesday night. But Gwynn said he felt fine Thursday morning, and wasn’t about to take his first day off this year.

“If I can make it through last year, I can make it through anything,” said Gwynn, who won his seventh National League batting title last year despite two foot injuries. “I’ll go out there and play until I can’t play. When I can’t play, I’ll tell Bochy I need a day. Right now, I think I’m swinging too good not to be in the lineup. So I plan to be in the lineup.”

Gwynn went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .387. He has collected three hits four times in the last six games and 10 times this season.

The Dodgers lost a season-high fifth straight.

“It’s just a tough time right now,” manager Bill Russell said. “Today we hit the ball hard but it’s at people. We try to manufacture runs and we’re just not able to.”

San Diego’s winning streak against the Dodgers includes a sweep in Los Angeles on Sept. 27-29 that gave the Padres the NL West title.

Hamilton (3-1) and Nomo (5-3) had each allowed only three hits when the Padres right-hander drove an 0-and-1 pitch 392 feet into the seats in left field for a 2-1 lead with two outs in the fifth.

In his second start back from the disabled list, Hamilton became the third straight San Diego starter to go at least seven innings, giving much-needed rest to the bullpen. He allowed four hits and one run in seven innings, struck out five and walked three. Rookie Will Cunnane pitched the eighth but ran into trouble in the ninth, allowing consecutive two-out singles. Doug Bochtler then came on and got pinch-hitter Mike Piazza to fly to right for his first save.

Nomo also went seven, allowing four runs and eight hits with seven strikeouts.

Gwynn beat out a grounder with one out in the sixth for his third straight hit, but was thrown out trying to steal second. Wally Joyner walked and scored on Archi Cianfrocco’s double, and Cianfrocco scored on Trey Beamon’s single.

San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the first when Chris Gomez doubled and scored on Gwynn’s single.

Los Angeles tied it on Todd Zeile’s leadoff homer to left in the second, his seventh, on a 3-and-0 pitch.

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* IT’S NUTS: Peanut vendor Richard Aller, who has worked at Dodger Stadium since it opened, was fired for buying . . . peanuts. A1