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From: clarinews@clarinet.com
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Subject: Padres 3, Reds 1, 10 innings
Keywords: baseball, men's professional
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Date: 21 Sep 89 05:08:52 GMT
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	CINCINNATI (UPI) -- The Cincinnati Reds' woes continue to mount
while their losing streak continues to grow.
	San Diego's Padres, who are surging to a possible National League
West showdown with front-running San Francisco, dealt Cincinnati its
ninth straight loss Wednesday night, 3-1 in 10 innings, to assure the
Reds of their first losing season since 1984, when they finished 70-92.
	Now 12 games under .500 at 70-82, Cincinnati appears headed for a
fifth-place finish in the NL West unless fourth-place Los Angeles
falters.
	Veteran righthander Ed Whitson, coming back from a strained bicep
tendon in his right arm he suffered last Thursday in Atlanta, held the
Reds at bay for eight innings, limiting them to three hits, but it took
an error by third baseman Luis Quinones to open the floodgates in the
10th inning, when the Padres scored twice to snap a 1-1 tie.
	``We just can't score any runs,'' said interim Reds manager Tommy
Helms after another good effort by starter Tim Leary was wasted.
``Tonight we get one run, and that came on a wild pitch. Our pitching
has been decent, but we've got to put some points on the board.''
	Talking about Quinones' error, which permitted Jack Clark to score
from third in the 10th with the winning run, Helms noted that ``errors
are a part of the game and Luis had plenty of time. He made the right
play but his throw to the plate was way wide.''
	Padres manager Jack McKeon credited Clark with smart baserunning on
the game-winning play. ``That was the key,'' said McKeon, ``because
Clark got himself in the line of the throw and was able to score.'' San
Diego added a second run on Carlos Martinez' fielders choice grounder on
which Benito Santiago crossed the plate.
	``Whitson was outstanding, he was super,'' McKeon declared. ``It
was one of the better-pitched games we've had all year and I hated to
take him out. I was hoping he could go five innings and he probably
could have gone 12.''
	Whitson, 16-11 with a 2.62 earned run average, said he actually
felt stronger in the seventh and eighth innings than he had early in the
contest. ``I'd say my velocity was the best it's been all year and I
just made one bad pitch, that  wild pitch, when I squeezed my silder and
tried to throw it too hard.''
	With the Reds now within one of their longest losing streak of the
season, a 10-game skid from July 16-26 that saw them fall 10 under .500
at 45-55, Helms had no excuses to offer.
	``We took Leary out after six innings because of a blister on his
hand,'' Helms said. ``He's been doing a great job, but we just haven't
been getting him any runs. I just hope our hitters aren't pressing too
hard, because we just had four hits tonight and you can't win many games
with that kind of offense.
	``Nothing's working for us right now but we'll still put a team out
there tomorrow and see what happens.''
	Leary, obviously discouraged after failing to win since Aug. 11,
settled for his third no-decision in his last four starts, with Norm
Charlton, 6-3, saddled with the loss.
	``Here's the blister,'' said Leary, as he held up the middle finger
of his right hand. ``It started bothering me in the middle innings and
it limited my pitching selection because I still could throw fastballs
but I had no feel for my split finger delivery.''
	Leary, 8-13, called 1989 ``one of those tough years that you have
to put behind you,'' adding that ``you try not to think too much, but
I've had quite a few sleepless nights lately.''
	Greg Harris, 7-8, who hurled the ninth inning for the Padres, got
credit for the victory, with Mark Davis earning his 41st save and second
in two nights to continue to pace the majors in that department.
	After Quinones reached first on an error leading off the 10th,
Davis induced pinchhitter Barry Larkin to ground into a double play and
fanned Jeff Richardson to end the game.