Bowa at Loss, So Are Padres

SAN DIEGO —  The Padres scored more than their usual two runs Monday night. They scored three.

But Cincinnati left fielder Kal Daniels drove in four runs, and against the Padres, four is usually more than enough. The Reds went on to win, 12-3, and Larry Bowa, Padre manager, went on like a broken record.

As usual, when asked what’s left for him to do, he said, “I keep coming to the park, thinking we can win. At some point in time, you’d think pride would come into play. That’s all I can say.”

As usual, when asked if the Reds were that good, he said, “It’s not only the Reds (who look good against the Padres). Pick a team.”

As usual, he criticized his pitching and said, “When your starter can’t give you six innings, what are you supposed to do?”

So the Padres are 2-12 and falling faster and faster. On Monday night, pitcher Storm Davis--who gave up only one run to the Giants last week--gave up five runs in a little more than three innings. Because the Padres average 2.5 runs per game, none of the 11,295 people in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium were exactly holding their breath for a Padre victory.

There were as many boos as balls and strikes.

“I can’t explain it,” Davis said when asked what happened. “I’ll be up until 4 o’clock tonight trying to think of an answer.”

Name a Red, and you’re naming someone who contributed. In the second inning, center fielder Eric Davis singled and third baseman Buddy Bell tripled--one of three Red triples Monday night. Bell then scored on a ground out.

In the fourth inning, the Reds broke a 2-2 tie with three runs. In succession, catcher Bo Diaz singled, first baseman Dave Concepcion singled and second baseman Ron Oester (4 for 4) tripled. Daniels also added a triple in the inning.

In the sixth inning, Oester singled, Daniels singled and shortstop Kurt Stillwell singled--all at the expense of reliever Greg Booker. Craig Lefferts replaced Booker, and his first pitch was sent over the right-field wall by Red right fielder Dave Parker.

And so on.

The Reds made all the catches, too. In the eighth inning, Carmelo Martinez lined hard down the third-base line, and Bell leaped up and found the ball in his glove.

In the bottom of the ninth with two outs and shortstop Garry Templeton on second, Luis Salazar hit a ball to deep right-center. Center fielder Leo Garcia, a late-inning substitute for Davis, ran, leaped and caught it.

Game over.

If you want Padre highlights, there were two or three. They mostly came in the second inning, when the Padres scored two of their three runs.

First baseman Steve Garvey, 5 for 35 (.143) before the game, started the inning with a single to left, and he then ran to second on a wild pitch. With two outs, pitcher Davis lined one up the middle. Oester stopped it before it reached the outfield, but his desperation throw to first hopped away from first baseman Concepcion and Garvey scored. The official scorer was kind enough to credit Davis with a hit--his first as a major leaguer.

Davis then scored his first major league run on Joey Cora’s single to center.

Bowa, as usual, had no answers. . . .

On what he can possibly do to get the team going: “You have a headache, you take an aspirin. You have a cold, you take an aspirin. You have a cough, you take cough syrup. But I don’t know what to do about this.

“If somebody comes up with a formula, throw it on my desk. I have no idea. Sheesh, this is amazing. Then, you watch a team like Milwaukee, who we kicked the (heck) out of (in spring training). And they’re winning.”

One the good Padre jokes he’s heard: “The Padre diet. You lose weight. You only eat when they win.”

On why he won’t decorate his office: “I’m living out of my suitcase with this team.”

Someone told him that the Los Angeles Clippers finished 53 games out of first place, and when someone wondered if it could be done again in pro sports, Bowa said: “Bite your tongue!”