The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 16

SPORTS SAN DIEGO COUNTY EDITION Eos Angeles ffiunes CCtPARTIII SEPTEMBER 25, 1989 1 Padres Wonder 4 What After Benes Shuts Out Dodgers Again McKeon said of Benes, "he's in complete control of the game. I've never seen a guy come up from our organization and dominate like he has." Benes, if you recall, is the one who triggered the Padres' pennant surge on the night of Aug. 23 with his first major league victory, and has not let the Padres down since. The Padres are 7-0 in his past seven starts, in which Benes has 122 ERA. Just what kind of confidence does McKeon have in him? If we made the playoffs and played against Chicago," McKeon said, "I wouldn't hesitate to start him the first game." So, uh, just how much does it bother you now the way Benes was handled this season? "It makes me sick," McKeon said.

Can you blame him? Benes, the No. 1 pick in the 1988 June free-agent draft wasn't even invited to the Padre major league camp. McKeon protested, but it was Plssss sss PADRES, Page 1 decision Sunday, outpitching 1988 Cy Young winner Orel Hershiser for the second consecutive time. Benes, who did not allow his first hit until Hershiser's single with one out in the sixth, yielded just four hits in 74 innings. He struck out seven and allowed just two men to reach second.

And when he tired in the eighth, on came Mark Davis, who used one pitch to get out of a two-on, two-out jam and finished the game for his major league-leading 42nd save. "Every time he goes out there," Jury? McKeon, who often has wondered this these past weeks, said almost in a whispen "I don't know what we'd have done had we had him all year. I really don't But I sure wish I could have had the chance to find out "Especially in light of what's happened now. There's no telling where we'd be." Andy Benes, the kid who was supposed to be back home in Evansville, rod, resting for the winter, won his sixth consecutive By BOB NIGHTENGALE Timet Staff Writer When the question came up Sunday afternoon. Padre Manager Jack McKeon winced, closed his eyes and waited for the pain to subside.

He has avoided even thinking about it. What good does it do now, he tells himself? All it does is cause aggravation and heartache. Besides, the damage already is done. Now, just moments after the Padres' 1-0 victory Sunday after noon over the Dodgers, the topic again arose. Considering that the Padres (86-70) who have won 24 of their past 30 games, and 26 of 33 are still five games behind the San Francisco Giants with just six remaining, would they still be in this predicament if pitcher Andy Benes had been with the Padres all season? Or, what would have happened if Benes had just joined the team in June, when starter Eric Show suffered a season-ending back in- Rams Stop Packers in Time Chargers Put a Roadblock on the Chiefs Defense Intercepts Five; Bernstine Scores Twice jg-; CM ft jj Mf By CHRIS DUFRESNE Times Stof Writer What exactly do you do with a 31 -point lead? The Rams oWt know.

They looked at it coddled it loved it They spat and shined it They sat it on a couch and analysed it They talked to it It talked back. "We couldn't really Jose thit thing, could wer Impossible. It's halftime. The game's over. You know it The Green Bay Packers know it But what about those voices? By BRIAN HEWITT Tim Staff Writer SAN DIEGO When the Kansas City Chiefs arrived at their San Diego hotel Saturday.

15 of their rooms were not ready. This was not a surprise. The Chiefs do not travel welL The only thing they have in common with the road is accidents. Take a set of 3-week-old quintuplets away from home, and they will be more comfortable than the Chiefs in a strange ism SAMS, Page After a ragtag pregame controversy over one of his shoes, new Charger punter Hank Desk has big day in his NFL debut Page 15 A. This Rally Not Enough for Raiders town.

The Chargers know this to be happily true. Before Sunday, their defense had not taken the ball away once, and they had not won a game. Against the Chiefs, they intercepted five Steve DeBerg passes, rushed for 200 yards and improved to 1-2 with a 21 -6 victory. "When you sit at home and draw it up, this is the way you'd like it to take place," said Dan Homing, the first-year Charger coach. "We took the ball away on defense, controlled it on offense, kicked the ball out of trouble when we had to and went away with a win.

That's exactly how it ought to be." For the Chiefs (1-2), it was exactly the way it has been for more than two years. They have lost eight consecutive games away from Arrowhead Stadium and 16 of their past 18 on the road. They are 3-24 in their past 27 AFC West road games. Don't look for either of these teams in the playoffs. But don't look for Henning in the unemployment office just yet An embattled Henning finally witnessed the kind of defense he was told he had inherited when he took this job last February.

And his running game, led by Please see CHARGERS, Page ISA ByMARKHEISLER Timet Staff Writer DENVER Having pulled off professional football's third-biggest rally in their last appearance, the Raiders arrived in Mile High Stadium Sunday apparently intent on breaking the record. They put on an amazing comedy of errors try two fumbled snaps, three interceptions, three consecutive holding penalties on tackle Rory Graves and a 12-men-on-the-field penalty against the de-fense-and fell behind, 28-0, but it was all for naught This year's rally VDRBCONPAOMOMB UtAattfal The imposing presence of Charter Leslk O'Ned forces Chief quarterback Stw De Angels Fade the More They Fall Division Hopes on Ropes as Indians Rally in Ninth Chang Beaten by Krickstein for L. A. Title By JOHN WEYLER Timet Staff Writer BLUE JAYS KEEP LEAD Toronto and Baltimore lose, leaving the Blue Jays ahead in the AL East Page 14. By THOMAS BONK Timet Staff Writer CLEVELAND This 11 -game trip will find its place in Angel history near Dave Henderson's infamous home run in the 1986 playoffs.

The Angels left Anaheim Sept 14, four games behind the first-place Oakland Athletics with series against three of the fiveworst teams in the American League. Further, Oakland provided the Angels with four opportunities to close the gap during the past IVi weeks. But the Angels blew three of them and virtually any chance of winning the West division. It may not be equal the collapse of '86 Please see ANGELS, Page 14 1 (j 6 IF U.S. Finds Water in Ryder Cup In 14-14 Tie, American Chances to Win Go Kerplunk Aaron Krickstein ran to the net and angled a backhand volley into the corner of the court Even before the ball landed, he shouted three words.

"Ididitr Krickstein said it loud enough so that everyone could hear. "Maybe to show people I can still win some he said. "You know, some people had written me off and didn't give me a fair shot "I was just kind of being myself, for all the work coming back, that I could do it" He did it all right What Krickstein did was beat Michael Chang, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, Sunday to win the VolvoLos Angeles tournament at UCLA when once again he probably should have lost In his semifinal Saturday night Krickstein was behind, 1-6, 2-5, to Brad Gilbert stared down seven match seven match points and won. Less than 24 hours later, Krickstein Please see TENNIS, Page 16 By RANDY HARVEY Timet Staff Writer FAKXlAJt tTOHY Nancy Lopes gets 42nd LPGA victory. Rick Walter! story, Page 3.

SUTTON COLDFIELD, England Jack Nicklaus was not present Sunday at The Belfry, but the American players who were here as the 28th Ryder Cup sizzled and then fizzled to an anticlimactic conclusion no doubt could hear his words burning their ears. Nicklaus long has contended that pros on the U.S. tour today have a tendency to wilt under pressure because they so seldom experience it Translation! The modern tour is so lucrative that players can win hundreds of thousands of dollars without having to win a tournament Please see RYDER, Page 16 LOMSHCPLtR LMAncriMThM Aaron Krickstein (above) makes backhand return during 2-6, 64, 62 victory. Ml tnclanapola 13 Atlanta 9 Ptat Pag 9 New York Jets 40 Miami 33 PtM tea Pag 7 Sen Diego 21 Kansas City 6 San Francisco 38 Philadelphia 28 Please Me Page 4 New York Giants .38 Phoenix 7 Please see Pag Washington 30 Daftas 7 Please see Pag 5 Pittsburgh 27 Minnesota 14 Pleas see Pag 6 Chicago 47 Detroit 27 Pleat see Pag 6 Tampa Bay 20 New Orleans 10 Pleas see Pag 7 Morning Briefing Page 2 Mike Downey 3 Baseball Roundups 14-15 San Diego County 1SA-B The Day In Sports 17-18 Seattle 24 New England 3 Pleas see Pag 8 Buffalo 47 Houston 41 (OT) Pleas se Pag 9 Standings, Summaries PtetatPag 18.