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 Padres riled up heading into Game 3
Posted: Monday October 19, 1998 11:57 PM
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The San Diego Padres are not only feeling better, they're feeling a bit feisty. The flu bug that bothered the Padres in losing the first two games of the World Series at Yankee Stadium seems to be clearing up. Now they've got to do something about the bad baseball that plagued them in giving up nine runs in each of the first two games against New York. "I want to win," Tony Gwynn said before Monday's workout at Qualcomm Stadium. "There's nothing in the rules that says you can't win four of the next five. I know that not a lot of teams have done it, but we want to get back in and make a run and win the thing. "I'm not going down without a fight, and we're at that stage where we have to fight." Game 3 is Tuesday night at Qualcomm Stadium, with the Yankees starting David Cone against Sterling Hitchcock. Bacterial and viral infections have been going around the Padres' clubhouse, and it has afflicted mostly pitchers. Kevin Brown said he pitched the opener with a sinus infection and Andy Ashby, who lasted only 2 2-3 innings in Sunday night's 9-3 loss, had a cold and a sore throat. Hitchcock said he was still congested Monday but otherwise felt fine. He'd better be, because pitching coach Dave Stewart is going to be watching closely to see how the left-hander pitches against the Yankees. Stewart said he was edgy on Monday, both because his staff has been second-guessed so much and because it hasn't pitched well. Stewart wasn't happy that Ashby didn't throw any inside pitches in allowing 10 hits and seven runs, four earned. "I didn't see one guy get jackknifed off the plate or one guy's feet move," Stewart said. "That's uncharacteristic of this staff. "It's going to change tomorrow," Stewart said. "If we're going to lose the game, we're going to lose firing our pistols. Right now, we're just laying down." Stewart said he had no idea why Ashby didn't pitch inside. "It's tough to deal with nine runs going up on the board two days in a row, and nobody was making adjustments on their own. I thought we were more prepared," he said. Hitchcock was named MVP of the NL championship series after beating Atlanta's Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. He also beat Randy Johnson as the Padres clinched the division series over the Houston Astros. "This team has survived all year on our pitching staff and our defense," Hitchcock said. "And we've got to get back to throwing the ball like we're capable of. And I think things will turn around. I've got a lot of confidence in the guys." Manager Bruce Bochy said the Padres haven't decided if they'll start Brown on three days' rest in Game 4 on Wednesday night or go with Joey Hamilton. Brown has been taking antibiotics and said he was feeling better on Monday. One Padres pitcher who hasn't thrown yet in the World Series is Trevor Hoffman, who tied the NL record with 53 saves this year. Qualcomm Stadium will be rocking Tuesday, and the crowd, expected to be about 64,000, will really get loud if it hears AC/DC's "Hells Bells" announcing Hoffman's arrival on the mound. "I'd just like to hear it," Gwynn said. "I'd like to get Hoffy in there one time."
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