The Padres will not finish with the best record in the National League. That was determined even before Tuesday night's 3-2 loss to the Dodgers before 29,225 at Dodger Stadium.
The Atlanta Braves, with a 4-1 victory over the Florida Marlins, officially ended the Padres' hopes of finishing with the best record and the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs that goes along with it.
So the Padres, barring a collapse by the Houston Astros, will finish with the third best record and therefore will begin the playoffs on the road. But that's OK, players and coaches said, because they've made themselves at home on the road this season.
"We are fully prepared to start on the road," Manager Bruce Bochy said. "We have no problem with that."
The Padres over the long haul have shown they can win on the road, compiling the third-best record in the NL at 42-35.
Their place in the postseason notwithstanding, some Padres are disturbed because they seem to have collapsed in the final month of the season. They lost for the 15th time in their past 23 games, and some are starting to wonder whether their recent poor play will carry over into the postseason.
"This is a bad slump," catcher Carlos Hernandez said. "We've been playing bad. We have to find a way to start winning because that isn't a very good way to start the playoffs."
Dodgers starter Chan Ho Park limited the Padres to a pair of runs on six hits in eight innings, and closer Jeff Shaw overcame a rocky ninth to notch his 45th save.
Third baseman Adrian Beltre, playing for Bobby Bonilla, had the key blow, a three-run home run with two outs in the fourth inning that gave LA a 3-1 lead. San Diego made it 3-2 with a run in the eighth and got the potential tying run to second with none out in the ninth, but Shaw bore down to get the final three outs.
The Padres have struggled recently because their offense has struggled, and little changed in the opener of a two-game series against the Dodgers. San Diego entered Tuesday hitting .217 in its previous 22 games and had scored an average of 3.36 runs during that stretch.
Against Park and Shaw, they managed just eight hits, although Bochy said he saw some positive signs.
"You wouldn't know it, but yeah, we had some good swings," he said. "And that's the first step.
"But we definitely want to get our bats going."
Park (14-9) struck out six, walked one and won for the third time in his past four starts.
"Chan Ho pitched well," Dodgers manager Glenn Hoffman said. "He was pretty much in control all night."
Beltre likely will start the Dodgers' remaining five games at third because Bonilla said before the game he will not play the rest of the season because of a sore left shoulder, ankle and Achilles' tendon.
After consecutive walks to Mark Grudzielanek and Charles Johnson, Beltre hit the first pitch from losing pitcher Joey Hamilton (13-13) deep over the wall in center field. It was his seventh homer of the season.
NOTES -- Padres right-hander Andy Ashby will start tonight instead of Saturday as originally scheduled so he can start the second game of the playoffs, likely to be on Oct. 1, on his usual four days' rest. Ashby will pitch again Saturday but may not start and will throw only two or three innings. Padres manager Bruce Bochy is considering bringing back No. 1 starter Kevin Brown on three days' rest to pitch the third game of the playoffs . . . Dodgers third baseman Bobby Bonilla has played his final game of the season. Slowed by a sore left shoulder, wrist and Achilles' tendon, Bonilla decided Tuesday to forgo the remaining six games so he can devise a rehabilitation program to strengthen his wrist, shoulder and Achilles'. He said he will begin his off-season program after consulting with the Dodgers' medical staff. Bonilla, who came to the Dodgers in the May 15 trade that sent Mike Piazza to Florida, batted .237 with seven homers and 30 runs batted in over 30 games with his new team. He batted .249 with 11 homers and 45 RBI overall . . . As expected, Dodgers right-hander Darren Dreifort said he will not pitch again this season because of soreness in his shoulder. Dreifort went 8-12 with a 4.00 ERA in his first season as a starter . . . Dodgers right fielder Raul Mondesi said his home in the Dominican Republic was not damaged by Hurricane Georges, which ripped through the Caribbean island Tuesday, but several houses in his neighborhood were damaged or destroyed.
Published 9/23/1998