Padres lose opener; Peavy out for rest of postseason

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Tuesday, October 4, 2005 10:48 PM PDT ∞

ST. LOUIS ---- The Padres' chances of knocking off the powerful St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs were dealt two severe blows on Tuesday.

And their 8-5 loss in Game 1 of the National League Division Series was far from the worst development. Ace pitcher Jake Peavy went to the Busch Stadium mound with undisclosed pain in his rib cage and left it with a fractured rib, likely putting him out for the rest of the playoffs.

"I could not think about throwing a baseball right now," said Peavy, who could be shelved for four to six weeks. "The thought makes me cringe."

The Padres cringe at the thought of having to win three of four games against the Cardinals without another start from their young star, who would have pitched in a possible Game 4 at Petco Park. They will send Pedro Astacio to the mound to oppose St. Louis left-hander Mark Mulder in Game 2 on Thursday at 1 p.m.

Padres doctors weren't ruling out a quick recovery by Peavy, but they didn't sound optimistic.

"We'll see how he feels in the next couple of days," trainer Todd Hutcheson said. "If he's feeling better, we'll see how aggressive we are with treatment options."

Said Peavy after returning to the stadium from the hospital: "Don't count me out just yet."

After pitching in discomfort while getting rocked for eight runs in 4 1/3 innings, Peavy received an X-ray at the stadium. The X-ray turned up negative.

In the eighth inning, Peavy was taken to a local hospital, where an MRI revealed a fracture of his eighth rib on the right side.

"Obviously, I was sick," Peavy said when asked his reaction. "I knew what that meant. I just knew that it was probably over."

Peavy divulged that he first injured himself last Wednesday, during the raucous celebration of the Padres' division-clinching victory over San Francisco at Petco Park. He believes that he bruised his ribs when he and his teammates were jumping around on the field after the final out.

"I probably took an elbow," he said. "I never thought it would be like it turned out today. We did everything we could to get ready."

Peavy didn't make another start for the rest of the season, but he was able to throw his regular bullpen session between outings and take batting practice. He said he informed manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Darren Balsley of the injury but admitted that they might not have known the severity.

Peavy said he felt pain in his ribs on every one of his 70 pitches Tuesday.

According to Hutcheson, however, the fracture probably didn't occur until the third inning. Facing Larry Walker with the bases loaded in a 1-0 game ---- Jim Edmonds had homered in the first ---- Peavy caught his spike in the dirt during his delivery and landed awkwardly, unleashing a 50-foot wild pitch that brought home David Eckstein. Hutcheson visited the mound to check on Peavy.

"I just wanted to make sure he was all right," Hutcheson said. "He said, 'Oh yeah, I'm fine.'"

Peavy intentionally walked Walker to reload the bases, then allowed a Reggie Sanders single that skipped away from diving first baseman Mark Sweeney for a 4-0 Cardinals lead.

Clearly laboring by the fifth, Peavy gave up one-out singles to Edmonds and Pujols and walked Walker. That set up the knockout punch, as Sanders worked a 3-0 count before lifting a fastball into the left-field seats for the sixth grand slam in NLDS history.

Sanders was the last batter faced by Peavy, whose eight runs allowed tied a career worst established in his rookie year of 2002.

"I knew it was bad when I came out of the game and I had trouble breathing," said Peavy, 24, who went 13-7 with a 2.88 ERA and a league-best 216 strikeouts this season. "I thought I would be A-OK. But you can't simulate game speed."

Peavy, who has pitched through several injuries or illnesses this season, said he never considered leaving the game earlier.

"I'm not going to be thought of as being soft," he said. "I didn't think I was being selfish by staying in the game."

After the game, Padres teammates weren't immediately aware of how serious Peavy was hurt.

"Obviously, if we lose him for the rest of the series, that's going to be a big blow for us," center fielder Dave Roberts said. "To lose one game, we can find positives. But to lose an ace, that would be tough."

Assuming Peavy can't pitch, the Padres would probably bump Adam Eaton up from a potential Game 5 start to Game 4. If a deciding game is necessary, Bochy could bring back Astacio on three days of rest or use Brian Lawrence or Clay Hensley.

After falling behind 8-0 against St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter, a potential Cy Young Award winner, the Padres rallied furiously in the final three innings and even brought the winning run to the plate in the ninth.

But they came up short and now face a steep uphill climb without their best pitcher.

"We have confidence in the other guys, too," Sweeney said. "Thursday is an important game for us. We don't want to go back home down 0-2."

Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at b_hiro@hotmail.com.