Friday, May 21, 1999SCOUTING REPORT
Reds (19-18) at Padres (16-23)
• Where: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
• When: 10:05 p.m. today and Saturday, 5:05 p.m. Sunday.
• Radio: WLW-AM (700).
• TV: Fox Sports Net Ohio, today and Sunday.
At the plate
Lacking a true power hitter and nobody truly reliable in the batting order besides Tony Gwynn (.348), the Padres rank near the bottom of almost every major offensive category. Gwynn needs 25 hits to become the 22nd player in history with 3,000. The Reds limited him to 1-for-4 efforts in each of the three games last weekend in Cincinnati.San Diego has relied heavily on former Red Reggie Sanders to provide stability in the outfield, where he has split time between left and center. He's likely to play left field against the Reds, since Ruben Rivera has returned from a back injury.
Eric Owens, another ex-Red, provided some much needed offense (7-for-18, two homers, five RBI, eight runs scored) while filling in for Rivera in center, so he has resumed taking grounders during infield practice, reflecting manager Bruce Bochy's desire to keep his bat in the lineup.
On the mound
• Today: Brett Tomko (1-1, 5.86 ERA) vs. Woody Williams (1-2, 3.55).• Saturday: Pete Harnisch (3-4, 3.69) vs. Heath Murray (first '99 start).
• Sunday: Steve Parris (2-0, 4.80) or Steve Avery (2-3, 2.56) vs. Matt Clement (0-4, 4.58).
The Reds won't face Andy Ashby, San Diego's top starter (5-2, 3.70). Instead, they'll again face Williams, who pitched well (seven innings, three runs of which two were solo homers by Mike Cameron) but lost to Tomko 3-0 last Sunday.
Murray, promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas after recording a 4-1 mark with a 2.32 ERA, replaced Stan Spencer in the rotation and on the roster. Clement, the No.1 pitching prospect in San Diego's organization, appears to be enduring growing pains.
Outlook
The Reds are about due for a win or two at Qualcomm Stadium. They lost all six games they played there last year.Left fielder Greg Vaughn should get a noisy reception when he comes to the plate tonight. Vaughn played for the Padres from 1996-98 and helped them win the NL pennant last year by collecting 50 homers and 119 RBI.
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