Nady has torrid day at the plate

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Monday, April 4, 2005 9:31 PM PDT ∞

DENVER ---- Sometimes a hitter's hot March is nothing more than fool's gold, the product of dry desert air or the low stakes of spring training. Padres outfielder Ryan Klesko recalls leading the Cactus League in batting a few years ago, then turning around and posting an average below .200 the very next month.

If Opening Day is any indication, Xavier Nady won't follow that pattern. The Padres' top bench player, who will be the regular center fielder until Dave Roberts comes off the disabled list, slugged two home runs and drove in four runs in a 12-10 loss to Colorado on Monday.

Nady had little trouble carrying over his plate exploits from March, when he hit .357 and led the Padres with five homers and 14 RBIs.

"I felt like I improved on things that maybe in the past led to some slumps or bad adjustments," Nady said after his first career multihomer game.

"Hopefully, I put a few things together that will transfer into the season ---- seeing the ball better or getting better judgment of the strike zone. It's only one game. We've got a long way to go."

Padres hitting coach Dave Magadan adopted the 26-year-old Nady as his pet project of the spring, helping him reduce the loop in his swing and his high leg kick at the plate. Just as important is the mental change Nady has undergone from being a valued prospect to a vital member of the club.

"To be able to relax and play this game is much more soothing," he said. "In the past, I felt like I had to do a few things to stay in the lineup and produce. Now I feel part of the group and feel like I will produce when I get the opportunity. You can't have all that pressure on yourself."

After walking and grounding into a double play in his first two at-bats, Nady hit a three-run homer to right-center field in the sixth inning and a solo shot to left in the seventh. Both traveled an estimated 382 feet; only one was a Coors Field special.

"The one I hit to left I didn't think had a chance," Nady said. "I thought it was going to be caught."

Opening Day spectator

While his teammates were leisurely changing into their uniforms or lounging on the clubhouse sofas before the game, Roberts was furiously pedaling on an exercise bike.

Rather than seeing the first pitch of the year as the Padres' leadoff batter or starting in center field, Roberts opened the season on the disabled list with a left groin injury.

"This is a big day of the season," Roberts said. "Obviously, that's why I did everything I could to be prepared. But the reality is that I'm not ready, and we have the luxury of having a lot of depth."

Roberts is optimistic that the stint on the DL will eliminate the groin as an issue for the rest of the season.

"It was the right move. I don't want it to linger," he said. "I think it's unfair to put the team in that position."

Short hops

The Padres hit back-to-back homers twice in the same game for the first time since July 22, 1999 at San Francisco, when Reggie Sanders and Phil Nevin went deep in the first inning and Ben Davis and Damian Jackson followed in the third. Their five homers were a club record for Opening Day. ... The Padres fell to 16-21 in season openers. ... The team will make available to the public about 1,000 additional tickets for their home opener on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The tickets will go on sale today at 9 a.m. and can only be purchased online at padres.com or by calling 1-877-FRIAR-TIX. There is a limit of four tickets per person.