Padres 5, Expos 4. The Padres started a career-long mediocrity whose claim to fame is throwing a complete game and allowing no hits but still taking the loss. The Expos started the best pitcher in franchise history. But while Andy Hawkins was even more unimpressive than usual in 1984, Steve Rogers was rapidly approaching the end of the line himself, so the matchup was more even than might have been expected.
By the way, does it strike anyone else as odd that Captain America spent his entire (excellent) career pitching for a Canadian team? Just me? On to the game, then.
Hawkins was spotless in the first. Rogers was... otherwise. Alan Wiggins led off with a single and stole second. Tony Gwynn walked, and he and Wiggins pulled off a double steal of second and third. Graig Nettles walked to load the bases; Steve Garvey hit into a force at home, but Terry Kennedy singled in a pair of runs to open the scoring. Kevin McReynolds flied out, Carmelo Martinez singled in the inning's third Padre, Garry Templeton walked to load the bases once more, and Hawkins flied out to bring a rough inning to a merciful close.
Montreal responded in the second when Terry Francona singled and Tim Wallach homered, reducing the deficit to a run. Rogers worked around a walk in the bottom of the inning, and Hawkins allowed singles to Rogers and Pete Rose in the top of the third, prompting his team to pull him from the game. Sid Monge walked Bryan Little to load the bases for the heart of the Expo order; Tim Raines hit into a force at home, but Andre Dawson hit a sac fly to short, bringing in Rose with the tying run.
Yes, that was a popup to the shortstop, scoring the 41-year-old Pete Rose. Charlie Hustle indeed.
Rogers loaded the bases in the third on singles by McReynolds and Martinez and a walk to Templeton, but Bobby Brown lined into a double play at first to help him escape. Dave Dravecky allowed only a Doug Flynn single in the fourth, while Rogers walked Wiggins, who stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored the go-ahead run on a Garvey flyout. Dravecky was perfect in the fifth and sixth; Rogers was replaced by Greg Harris, who worked around a walk in the fifth, then got into and out of trouble in the sixth: Wiggins singled and stole second, then Gwynn walked, putting two Padres on with nobody out. Harris then picked Wiggins off, and got a K/CS double play from Nettles and Gwynn to end the inning.
The Expos tied the game in the top of the seventh when Wallach doubled and Flynn singled, with a Martinez error on the play allowing Wallach to come home. Flynn represented the go-ahead run, but would end the inning planted on second. Andy McGaffigan allowed a leadoff double to Garvey in the bottom of the seventh, and McReynolds hit into an error by Rose in left; Garvey reached third on the play, but McReynolds was thrown out trying to take second, helping to defuse the threat.
Raines greeted Goose Gossage with an eighth-inning single and moved to second on a groundout before being left there. McGaffigan notched the first two outs in the bottom of the eighth, then walked Wiggins; Wiggins then stole second and moved to third on catcher BJ Ramos's throwing error, and scored the go-ahead run on Gwynn's single. Gwynn also stole second, but Nettles popped up to end the inning. The single-run lead proved sufficient, however, as Craig Lefferts allowed a leadoff hit to Ramos and a steal by pinch runner Miguel Dilone, but kept the tying run at second to end the game.
Boy, was there baserunning in this game or what? Pete Rose's scoring on an infield fly was probably the most impressive instance, but not the most decisive. Bobby Ramos was not usually too bad about throwing out basestealers (which is why he had any semblance of a major league career despite an utter lack of hitting ability), but Alan Wiggins stole five bases (five!) in this game, and Tony Gwynn added another two. Unsurprisingly, the five steals by the San Diego second sacker were a career high (he only had one other game with as many as four), and they set him up to score the first and last Padre runs in a hard-fought one-run victory.
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