NewsHeadley's miscue opens door for Astros
Third baseman's error leads to six-run fourth in Padres' loss
By Corey Brock / MLB.com
07/02/09 2:15 AM ET
SAN DIEGO -- The irony is that before Brian Moehler grounded a ball toward Chase Headley at third base on Wednesday, the Padres third baseman already knew what he was going to do with it in case that scenario actually happened. To be sure, though, Headley envisioned a far different outcome than the one that led to his throwing error during a six-run fourth inning that vaulted the Astros to a 7-1 victory over the Padres at PETCO Park. Headley, making his third start of the season at third base, threw away a ground ball by Moehler with the bases loaded that allowed three runs to score as the Astros clinched at least a split a four-game series that concludes on Thursday. No, this had really nothing to do with the fact that Headley, originally a third baseman who was converted into an outfielder before the 2008 season, hasn't seen much playing time at the hot corner. It had to do, he said, with a moment of hesitation. "I was thinking before the play happened that if I get a ball, I'm going to third base with it," Headley said of the play, which occurred with two outs in the inning. "But I came in before the pitch a few feet and I didn't think I had enough time to get back. I ended up rushing the throw over there." With the Astros already leading, 3-1, Headley cleanly fielded the ball that was hit to him by Moehler, who allowed one run over six innings for the victory. But Darin Erstad was moving on contact and by the time Headley got the ball, his only play was first base. But his rushed throw got past Adrian Gonzalez and allowed three runs to score. "It's hard to second guess if I had enough time or didn't have time," Headley said. "That hesitation gets out of an athletic position." San Diego starter Walter Silva (0-2) allowed three earned runs in four innings, which was certainly better than his last time out against Texas on June 27 when he yielded eight runs in 2 1/3 innings. "A little better," Silva said. "The first couple of innings, I was in command of my pitches. But one inning ... everything changed." San Diego manager Bud Black was encouraged by the way Silva started the game and the three scoreless innings he threw before running into trouble in the fourth inning. "He was crisp at the outset. You saw 10 consecutive outs. Early count outs, all pitches, retired the first 10," Black said. "Then the four consecutive singles. He could have wiggled out of there, but the one error came back to bite us. "I like the way he bounced back from his last start, as far as getting in the strike zone early. His pitches looked a little crisper tonight, so that's a good sign from Walter. His fate could have been a lot different. He pitched better tonight." But not well enough, error or not, to secure the Padres fifth consecutive quality start -- which is six or more innings with three or fewer runs. The pitchers before him, Chad Gaudin, Kevin Correia, Josh Geer and Josh Banks, had pulled that off during a stretch where the Padres went 3-1. The only quality start at PETCO Park came from Moehler, who entered the game with a 6.05 ERA. He pitched well against the Padres in May and did so again on Wednesday, striking out eight despite four walks. "I'm more upset with the walks than anything else," Moehler said. "I don't like throwing that many pitches out there. Too many walks and the strikeouts come with the territory. To me, a couple of strikeouts and no walks would have been better." The Padres managed five hits against Moehler and a pair of relief pitchers, two by Tony Gwynn and two more by Eliezer Alfonzo, who hit his first Padres home run during the second inning for a brief 1-0 lead. That lead evaporated in the fourth inning, when the Astros pieced together four singles in succession by Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Geoff Blum and set the stage for Headley's error. Headley refused to blame the error on his limited playing time at third base, where he has received periodical work when Kevin Kouzmanoff hasn't been in the lineup. He said that no matter how many reps at third, how many pregame ground balls, there sometimes are things that happen that make a routine play difficult. On Wednesday, it was a fleeting moment of hesitation. "It's the overall feel of a throw," Headley said. "In the outfield, the throw is the same each time. In the infield, there are so many different throws. It's an instinctual thing."Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
