Padre Relievers Get the Blame for Another Loss

The bullpen, a source of mounting frustration for the Padres, is going to have to solve its problems internally.

The relief corps is unlikely to undergo a change in personnel in the near future, Manager Dick Williams said Wednesday night after a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Expos.

If he knew of a reliever who could supplement Goose Gossage, Williams probably would send out a distress call immediately.

But there’s no one in the farm system who merits a second look at the moment, according to Williams.

And he isn’t ready to juggle his five-man starting rotation, even though Dave Dravecky has been an outstanding reliever in the past.

Left-hander Craig Lefferts replaced Dravecky in the eighth, and one inning later surrendered a solo home run to Andre Dawson that accounted for the victory by the Expos in front of a crowd of 20,187 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Dawson, whose home run was his seventh of the year but his first since May 4, had beaten Goose Gossage with a two-run double last night.

Lefferts, a reliable middle-inning reliever last year, has not pitched enough to regain mastery of his out pitch, a screwball, according to pitching coach Galen Cisco.

“Well, he’s getting the work now,” Williams said. “I’m not sure what Dawson hit, but it was a pitch up in the strike zone.”

Lefferts said he hopes the team will show some patience with him.

“I need to get my confidence back,” he said.

“It’s a merry go-round, isn’t it? They need to have confidence in me. It will turn around sooner or later. I just hope it’s sooner.”

The Padres, who have lost three straight after winning seven in a row on a recent Eastern trip, close their three-game series with the Expos with a 1:05 game today.

Williams will make some changes in his lineup as right-hander Andy Hawkins takes the mound in pursuit of his 10th win without a loss.

Terry Kennedy, who took the night off Wednesday, will be behind the plate, while Kurt Bevacqua will play third and Mario Ramirez will be at shortstop.

The Padres have hardly exhausted their store of confidence, but the frustration was palpable in the locker room Wednesday night.

“This isn’t a good way to begin a homestand,” right fielder Tony Gwynn said. “We probably should have won Tuesday night, but we only got six hits tonight and you won’t win many with one run. It’s certainly not time to push the panic button yet.”

Dravecky started and allowed only four hits through seven innings before leaving for a pinch hitter with the score tied, 1-1.

He had gone 7 innings to defeat the Expos, 8-2, May 18.

“I felt very good,” Dravecky said. “My control was much better than it has been. I was around the plate most of the night.”

Dravecky was asked if he put pressure on himself to pitch nine innings since the bullpen has been struggling.

“I was just taking it one inning at a time,” he said. “I’m always shooting for a complete game. But I have all the confidence in the world in our bullpen.”

Dravecky, who struck out four and walked two, didn’t permit a hit until Jim Wohlford’s two-out single to right in the fifth.

Meanwhile, the Expo starter, rookie Joe Hesketh, stifled the Padres after permitting a pair of first-inning singles and another single in the second. He went seven innings before yielding to Tim Burke in the eighth. Jeff Reardon began in the ninth to earn his 14th save.

Before Wohlford’s hit, Hesketh, who waked in the third inning, was the only Expo who reached base.

Hesketh retired 10 consecutive hitters before Garvey looped a single to short center with two out in the sixth.

Kevin McReynolds then slashed a double down the left-field line to provide a 1-0 lead for Dravecky.

The lead quickly vanished, as many have of late.

The Expos tied it in the seventh when Dawson led off with a single and moved to third on a single by Hubie Brooks. Dawson scored as the Padres turned a double play on a Tim Wallach grounder to Garry Templeton.

“Dawson hit a slider that was down, but over the middle of the plate,” Dravecky said. “I jammed Brooks, and he hit it back up the middle. I might have had a shot to get it, but the way I fell off the mound (on his follow through) I couldn’t reach the ball.”

Dravecky, who has served as both starter and reliever in recent seasons, is in the starting rotation for keeps--at least temporarily, according to Cisco.

“We plan to go with the five-man rotation for awhile,” Cisco said. “Our starters have been giving us six or seven strong innings, and we want that to continue.”

The problem has been the relative lack of dependability from the bullpen. With the exception of Gossage, the relief corps has been a liability.

“When the time comes for us to go to our bullpen, the guys have been feeling the pressure,” Cisco said.

“Our hitters have been swinging well, and our starters giving us such a good effort, but our bullpen has not been containing the other team. In that sense, our relievers have been at a low.”

PADRES AT A GLANCE

Scorecard SIXTH INNING Padres--With two out, Garvey singled to center. McReynolds doubled to left, Garvey scoring. Nettles flied to left. One run, two hits, one left.

SEVENTH INNING

Expos--Dawson singled to left. Brooks singled to center, Dawson taking third. Wallach grounded into a double play, Dawson scoring. Driessen doubled to the right-field corner. Wohlford was walked intentionally, then was forced out at second on Fitzgerald’s grounder to short. One run, three hits, one left.

NINTH INNING

Expos--With Lefferts pitching, Dawson homered to left. Brooks flied to center. Wallach flied to right. Driessen flied to center. One run, one hit.