Padres Lose, 17-10; Bowa Rips Hawkins After His Short Stay

SAN DIEGO — When you lose, 17-10--in baseball, not football--there are going to be some feelings hurt. And Thursday, the grouchiest of all was--guess who?--Padre Manager Larry Bowa, who was feuding with Andy Hawkins, not to mention the rest of his pitching staff.

Hawkins (0-4) had a no-hitter entering the fourth inning Thursday at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, but he had a six-hitter just minutes later, and he never saw the light of the fifth inning.

The St. Louis Cardinals scored eight runs in that fateful fourth inning alone--on nine hits. And Hawkins was so ineffective that Bowa--who was angry with Hawkins to begin with--said afterward: “I’ve read where he (Hawkins) has had problems with managers before. Don’t you think it’s time he took a look in the mirror and said, ‘Maybe I better adjust?’ ”

Hawkins could not be found for a rebuttal Thursday, but there’s some background here. Last Sunday in Chicago, Hawkins complained about Bowa’s managing. In the fifth inning, Marvell Wynne was on first base and Kruk on third with two outs, and Garry Templeton was at the plate. The Padres trailed, 2-0, at the time, and there were two strikes on Templeton.

So Bowa had Wynne steal second, which left first base open. The Cubs then walked Templeton intentionally, so they could face Hawkins, who popped out to end the inning.

Hawkins complained that Bowa should have forced the Cubs to pitch to Templeton.

Bowa, who said he made the move so the top of the batting order would lead off the next inning and maybe get a rally going, still was steamed about Hawkins’ second guess Thursday, even before the game. And after Hawkins gave up base hit after base hit to the Cardinals, Bowa elaborated.

“I knew they’d walk Templeton (last Sunday),” Bowa said. “What I wanted was to try to get him (Hawkins) a win, but he’s too stupid to understand that. He thought I was running us out of an inning, but . . . I was trying to let the man (Hawkins) get up and hit, so we can turn the whole lineup over again, and maybe be able to score three or four runs. I think I bent over backwards to get him (a victory). . . . Some guys worry too much about me, instead of worrying how to get people out.”

What really bothers Bowa about Hawkins--and most of the other starting pitchers--is their inability to make adjustments. Bowa even held a meeting before Wednesday’s game, reminding pitchers to be especially careful with their pitch location.

“A couple starters think they know everything, and they can’t even get past the fifth inning,” Bowa said after Thursday’s game. “ . . . Those four guys (in the starting rotation) are getting paid a lot of money to get people out, and they’re not doing it. I take that back. Ed Whitson has given me a good effort every time out, but the other three (Eric Show, Storm Davis and Hawkins) haven’t done (anything).

“Show has had a couple good outings, (but) all I’m saying is, I think it’s time we quit talking and did something about it. The bottom line is, we should read the numbers. They aren’t doing the job. They can’t blame the pitching coach, the manager, the coaches . . . “

Bowa, asked if he might start using a five-man rotation, said: “No need to go to five starters when your (first four) starters only go 3 or 4 innings. The way they’re pitching, they could go on two days’ rest.”

But Thursday, point the blame everywhere, because when it wasn’t the pitcher’s fault, it was the shortstop’s or the third baseman’s or the right fielder’s.

In that big fourth inning (when every Cardinal got on base except right fielder Curt Ford, who was 0 for 2 in the inning), there were two outs and two men on when Cardinal catcher Steve Lake lined a hit down the right-field line. Right fielder Tony Gwynn ran to field it, but he ran too far, and the ball rolled past him. Lake, who had two RBIs and a triple, eventually scored on pitcher Bob Forsch’s double to right-center. Forsch had two hits in the game.

Later, in the fifth inning, shortstop Templeton booted Ozzie Smith’s ground ball, which loaded the bases. Then Terry Pendleton lifted a pop fly to shallow left, and Templeton was there to catch it but lost the ball in the sun. Two runs scored.

With the bases loaded in the seventh inning, reliever Jimmy Jones walked in a run and was replaced by Greg Booker, who hit Willie McGee in the leg--forcing in another run. That same inning, Cardinal second baseman Jose Oquendo came up with the bases loaded and grounded to third baseman Randy Ready. He fielded it but threw way over second base, and two more runs came in.

Midway through the seventh, the score was 14-0.

“I take my hat off to Jones and Booker,” Bowa said. “I don’t care how many hits they gave up or how many runs they gave up; they showed a lot of class by staying out there and taking a kicking. They don’t complain, and I’m sorry I had to do it. Like I said, it’s a shame a starting pitcher can’t get you into the sixth and seventh innings.”

Still, in a span of three innings, the Padres made the score almost respectable. Rookie Stan Jefferson--in his first at-bat after being taken off the disabled list before the game--hit a two-run home run in the seventh. And, also in the seventh, catcher Bruce Bochy--also in his first at-bat since coming off the disabled list--hit a three-run homer.

St. Louis’ Skeeter Barnes, in his first major league at-bat since 1984, hit a three-run homer in the eighth. But John Kruk hit a three-run homer in the ninth off Cardinal reliever Ray Soff. Also, Ready and Steve Garvey--3 for 3 as a pinch-hitter since being benched last weekend--each added RBI singles.

The 10 Padre runs and 17 hits were season highs, but the Padres recorded their 23rd loss, a major league high.

“You get 10 runs in a ballgame, and you’re not even close,” Bowa said, rolling his eyes.

Padre Notes Infielder Tim Flannery--who twisted his right ankle Wednesday when he inadvertently stepped on a ball during batting practice--has torn ligaments on both sides of his ankle, it was announced Thursday. Flannery, who has never been on the disabled list before, will miss anywhere from three to six weeks, and he also says it could be as many as six months before he can surf again. “I’d like to call a mulligan and start the season all over again,” Flannery said Thursday. “This thing hurts. At about 3:30 this morning, it started pounding, and I didn’t go back to sleep. By morning, I never thought I’d walk on it ever. I won’t be able to surf for a while.”