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 Padres teetering on the edge
Posted: Wednesday October 21, 1998 02:02 AM
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The bounces really seemed to be going the San Diego Padres' way this time. After two devastating losses at Yankee Stadium to open the World Series, the Padres were on the verge of closing the deficit to 2-1 against New York on Tuesday night. There was center fielder Steve Finley making a sliding, acrobatic catch of leadoff hitter Chuck Knoblauch's fly ball in the first inning. And shortstop Chris Gomez having the ball pop out of his glove on Derek Jeter's liner -- which had RBI single written all over it -- only to snare it again with the leather and flip to second baseman Quilvio Veras for an inning-ending double play. How about Tony Gwynn's single bouncing past first baseman Tino Martinez to score the first run in a three-run rally in the sixth? It might as well have been a mirage, because the Padres are now on the cusp of being embarrassed again in the World Series. And this time, they might not even win a game. At least they did that in bowing out of the 1984 World Series in five games to Detroit. For the second time in three games against the Yankees, the Padres took a three-run lead into the seventh. They ended up losing 5-4 Wednesday night and trail the Yankees 3-0. Until the NL championship series between San Diego and Atlanta, no team had ever forced a Game 6 after trailing a playoff series 3-0. San Diego won that series in six. Now the Padres need a miracle. "We're disappointed, but until they win four, we just have to keep fighting," said Gwynn, the only player left from that '84 team. "I know the history; no one has come back from a 3-0 deficit. But we've come too far this year. We're not giving in." Gwynn said he can't fault the Padres for their effort, especially the way they scrapped for three runs on just two hits off David Cone in the sixth. And he couldn't get away without crediting the Yankees, who "have done what they need to do. Period." As diplomatic as that was, it's not a good sign for any kind of a Padres rally, because the Yankees even got to sure-thing closer Trevor Hoffman, who gave up Scott Brosius' three-run homer with one out in the eighth. Hoffman, who hadn't pitched since the NLCS clincher on Wednesday night, came into his first World Series game accompanied by AC-DC's "Hell's Bells" blaring over the public address system. The Padres were up 3-2 with one on and no outs in the eighth, and the crowd of 64,667 went wild. With one out, Hoffman walked Martinez. Brosius, who hit a solo shot off starter Sterling Hitchcock in the seventh, then rang up the reliever, driving a 2-2 pitch over the 405 sign in straightaway center. The shot seemed to suck the air out of Qualcomm Stadium, leaving just enough for pockets of Yankees fans to cheer. Three batters later, Hoffman, the loser, walked off the field hanging his head, the Yankees up 5-3. Hoffman blew just one save in the regular season but has two in the postseason, although he did bounce back and win the NLCS opener at Atlanta. Hoffman bounced a 1-1 slider to Brosius. The homer came on a 2-2 pitch. "You put yourself in a hole by not making quality pitches in that situation and you pay for it," Hoffman said. After Greg Vaughn hit a sacrifice fly to pull within one in the eighth, Ken Caminiti fouled a ball off his leg, then swung so hard at strike three that he fell down. The Padres were 90 feet away from tying it with two outs in the ninth, but Andy Sheets struck out. Now it's up to ace Kevin Brown to extend the best season in franchise history. The Padres, who won 96 regular-season games, eliminated 100-game winners Houston and Atlanta in the first two playoff rounds. It would take a monster upset to bring down the Yankees, who won an AL-record 114 games.
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