Pads just no match for angry Penny

Gonzalez's HR trot infuriates pitcher

San Francisco Giants' Juan Uribe, left, scores from third base on a wild pitch as San Diego Padres starting pitcher Clayton Richard, right, waits for the throw during the second inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Monday, Sept. 7, 2009. ( AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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San Francisco Giants' Juan Uribe, left, scores from third base on a wild pitch as San Diego Padres starting pitcher Clayton Richard, right, waits for the throw during the second inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Monday, Sept. 7, 2009. ( AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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Twenty-seven outs shy of a no-hitter, Brad Penny gave up a game-opening single by Padres leadoff man Everth Cabrera.  Six outs later, Cabrera's hit was changed to an error. 

So this was how it was going to be. 

Maybe it was just the lingering memory of the Padres getting no-hit by Jonathan Sanchez in their last visit to AT&T Park at work, but for nearly half of yesterday's game, there was a palpable sense in the sun-splashed, sellout crowd of the possibility of another no-hitter by a Giants starter against San Diego.  And after that was gone, spoiled by Will Venable's fifth-inning triple, Penny started acting like every Padres hit was a personal insult. 

The Giants won easily 9-4, but even a comfortable lead didn't keep Penny from flashing his anger at the Padres bench in what otherwise was a terrific start by the resuscitated right-hander.  Specifically, it was the solo home run struck by Adrian Gonzalez in the sixth that had Penny glaring at the slugger as he circled the bases and yelling at the Padres dugout. 

“He popped off after Adrian's home run,” manager Bud Black said. “ I'm not sure quite why. . . .  Adrian's done the same thing 36 times this year.  So I don't know what the hell he was looking at.” 

Apparently, Penny thought Gonzalez was slow in taking off on his home-run trot. 

“I got a little carried away,” Penny said. “ I was excited.  I was having fun out there.  I'm a guy who wears my emotions on my sleeve.  Somewhere I got away from that.  There's got to be a line in between how far I go . . . . 

“I don't know, you're down six runs, you're going to sit there and watch a home run.  Watch it if you hit it, I guess, right?” 

Later saying he'd never had a pitcher react so animatedly to one of his post-homer trots, Gonzalez heard Penny screaming at him as he rounded third and went to touch home plate, whereupon Penny removed his cap and aimed his vitriol at the Padres as a team. 

“I didn't do anything wrong,” Gonzalez said. “ I did the same thing I do pretty much after every homer.” 

The Giants got two homers from Juan Uribe, the first a two-run shot in San Francisco's five-run third off starter Clayton Richard, the second a three-run blast in the seventh against Edward Mujica.  Thus, Penny departed the game with a 9-2 lead, having allowed just three hits and striking out six over seven innings.  Nick Hundley's two-run homer in the ninth came off reliever Alex Hinshaw.