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TURN BACK THE CLOCK - June 10, 1998 by Jason Martinez posted 6/10/08 If you've been following along with the 'Turn Back the Clock' feature, then you know that I like to incorporate a related theme to the current state of the team. While the 1998 Padres have very little in common with this year's team, you might notice a very familiar final score on this day in baseball, June 10, 1998 at Qualcomm Stadium. Padres ace Kevin Brown faced off against Cincinnati Reds pitcher Pete Harnisch, who was in the midst of one of his finest seasons (14-7, 3.14 ERA) as a pro. Although Harnisch had a career record of just 6-5 with a 2.69 ERA against the Padres, I don't remember Padre hitters ever having much success against him. He did throw two career shutouts against them. On this day, the Reds jumped out to an early lead against Brown in the top of the 2nd. After singles by Dmitri Young and Melvin Nieves (yes, that Melvin Nieves), the Reds took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Pat Watkins. Watkins and Nieves each had three hits on the day against Brown. History lesson: Watkins played parts of three major league seasons, all with Cincinnati. He finished his career with a .236 batting average and 2 home runs in 116 games. Most Padre fans know Nieves' story. A big-time power prospect with the Braves, he was the key to the deal that sent Fred McGriff to Atlanta. After batting .207 and striking out 119 times in 300 career at bats with the Padres, he was dealt to Detroit in a deal that brought over pitcher Sean Bergman. After two decent seasons in Detroit (44 HR's in 790 AB's), he was traded to Cincinnati for Paul Bako. 1998 would be his only season with the Reds and his last season in the major leagues. Since 1998, he was signed and released by the Reds, Rockies, Tigers, and Nationals, and signed and sold to Japan by the Twins. Back to the game. Harnisch kept a Padres offense, playing without an injured Tony Gwynn, in check through the first five innings, allowing just a double to Quilvio Veras and a single to Chris Gomez. But in the 6th, 3rd baseman Ken Caminiti tied the game with a solo HR to deep right field. Reds reliever Jeff Shaw replaced Harnisch in the 8th and allowed a leadoff single to Veras, his second hit of the game. Veras went to third on a throwing error by Shaw on an attempted pickoff. With one out, 1st baseman Wally Joyner gave the Padres the 2-1 lead with an RBI single. Note: Joyner was money in these situations. As the current batting coach, his team is not very good, to say the least, in these situations (runner on 3rd, less than two outs) One run lead, heading into the 9th. Trevor time, right? Wrong. Remember Kevin Brown. The guy did not like to be pulled from the game. He was a warrior. Even if he had the best closer in the game ready to go, he was not coming out. At least not on this day. After allowing a leadoff single to Nieves (yes, another hit for Nieves), Brown struck out Watkins and induced pinch-hitter Lenny Harris to ground into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play. Final score: 2-1 The 1998 Padres finished the regular season with three 2-1 victories. The 2008 Padres had four consecutive 2-1 victories from June 4th-June 7th. See, I found a relation. Brown's record improved to 6-3. He finished the season with an 18-7 record and seven complete games. The Padres record improved to 41-25, tied for 1st place. By June 12th, they were in 1st place all by themselves and did not relinquish that lead for the remainder of the season. has been a broadcaster for the White Sox ever since. |