Jackson Homer Gives Padres Win : Baseball: Three-run shot in the 10th inning beats Pirates.

SAN DIEGO — Sure, Padre outfielder Darrin Jackson knew he was on a roll. He was in midst of the longest hitting streak of his career. Still, he had something to prove.

So Jackson shaved. He cut off the goatee that he started growing at the outset of his hitting streak just to prove to his wife, Darlene, that he really can put aside his superstitions.

Clean-shaven, Jackson went out Tuesday night and dispelled any myths by hitting a two-out, three-run homer in the 10th inning, providing the Padres with a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Ah, the end of any silly superstitions, right?

“Well, not exactly,” Jackson said, slightly embarrassed. “You see, I shaved off my goatee to prove I wasn’t superstitious. I even put on a different pair of spikes than the ones during my hitting streak (lasting 14 starts, and a career-high nine games.)

“But then I got nervous. I panicked. I couldn’t help myself. I had to put on my old hitting shoes. I just couldn’t go cold turkey.

“The hitting shoes are going to stay, now.”

Jackson, who went three for five and raised his batting average to its highest point (.241) since opening day, rescued the Padres from what loomed as a horrifying defeat.

Padre stopper Randy Myers, who has been pitching on the edge of disaster the past 10 days, blew a 3-2 lead in the ninth that cost starter Greg Harris yet another victory.

Harris (1-4) who could possibly have five victories this season if not for Myers, watched in disbelief as Myers blew his third save and fourth lead of the season. Incredibly, all of the blown leads have occurred in games Harris has started, with Myers yielding a 16.50 ERA in five games that Harris has pitched.

Still, after allowing only four hits and two unearned runs in six innings, Harris felt relief. He left after the sixth because of a stiff lower back, but it was his finest performance in a month after yielding a 10.61 ERA in his last four starts. Harris revealed after the game that his back actually has been bothering him the last month, which has led to improper pitching mechanics.

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Harris said. “People can tell you what’s wrong all they want, but it’s different when you see it yourself. People don’t go good for awhile, and then terrible for awhile, and then good.

“It’s just unbelievable how (good) I feel.”

The only sour aspect of Harris’ performance, of course, was that he was left without the victory. Myers, who entered the game at the start of the ninth to a chorus of boos from the crowd of 11,709, was greeted with a double from Steve Buechele. Don Slaught followed with a looping single into shallow left field, scoring Buechele, and Slaught was able to ramble to second on the throw home.

The troubles continued when Jose Lind sacrificed Slaught to third, bringing up pinch-hitter Jeff King. Myers, showing he’s still at his best in times of extreme danger, induced a popup from King and Cecil Espy, ending the inning.

“I think anyone would be more effective (by pitching regularly),” Myers said.

Responded Padre Manager Greg Riddoch: “I don’t know how to do that when a guy is throwing a shutout. You could interrupt the shutout, but we’re here to win games.”

Padre rookie Tim Scott took over at the start of the 10th, and avoided a hairy situation to end the inning when he struck out pinch-hitter Dave Clark with runners on first and second. Moments later, he received his first major-league victory.

Pirate reliever Dennis Lamp was able to retire the first two batters in the bottom of the 10th--including Padre third baseman Gary Sheffield, ending his 18-game hitting streak--but surrendered a double to catcher Benito Santiago, his fourth hit of the game. Lamp intentionally walked Kurt Stillwell. He fell behind 3-and-0 to Jackson, and threw the next one over the heart of the plate.

Jackson sent the ball sailing into the left-field seats for his sixth homer of the season, and the third-game winner of the season.

“I’ve been feeling good the last few weeks, actually,” Jackson said. “It’s just tough to stand out on this team when you’ve got Sheffield, Fred (McGriff), Tony (Gwynn) and Tony (Fernandez).

Ever so quietly, Santiago also has been on a tear. He has a 10-game hitting streak in which he’s batting .425, raising his batting average to a season-high .263.

“People aren’t noticing what I’m doing,” said Santiago, who drove in the Padres’ second run in the first inning. “That’s good. Let’s keep it that way, nice and quiet. Before they know, they’ll look at the numbers and way, ‘Wow, Benny’s back.’ ”

The Padres also hope the worst of their pitching is behind them. They now only need to find a No. 5 starter, and are expected to let Frank Seminara become the next pitcher to try the role. Seminara has struggled his last three starts in triple-A Las Vegas, but is 5-2 with a 3.68 ERA.

The Padres, who have the league’s second worst ERA at 3.94, know they’re going to have to rely heavily on their pitching if they’re going to contest this year’s pennant race.

Simply, the Padres realize that no matter how well their offense performs, they’ll go only as far as their pitching allows.

Indeed, no team in the history of divisional play has ever won a championship with an inferior pitching staff. The worst ERA yielded by a National League divisional champion is the 3.91 allowed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1987--the year of the home run.

Dismiss 1987 as an aberration, and the worst ERA by a National League West champion was the 1982 Atlanta Braves, who yielded a 3.82. The worst by a National League East champion was the 1984 Chicago Cubs, who lost the pennant to the Padres.

“I don’t think you have to have great pitching, but you have to have solid pitching,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager. “They’ve pitched some fine games this year, but when they’ve pitched poorly, they’ve pitched very poorly.

“There are nights you can give up three or four runs and win, but not five, six or seven.”

Indeed, the Padres have surrendered five or more runs in 21 games this season.

“Hopefully,” McIlvaine said, “those days are over.”