Padres Once Again Are Homer Pigeons : Baseball: Mets hit two, and New York pitcher David Cone is in control until ninth. It all adds up to a 6-4 Padre loss.

The routine is six weeks old now. You’ve seen it plenty of times. The Padres are in the field one minute and presto, outfielders are craning their necks watching balls fly over their heads, and pitchers are stomping their feet in disgust.

Yes, it’s the home-run ball, and once again Saturday night, it was home runs by the other guys that did in the Padres, who lost, 6-4, to the New York Mets.

There was Kevin Elster’s three-run home run in the third inning, and Howard Johnson’s bases-empty homer in the fifth inning that proved to be much more dramatic than the fireworks that the crowd of 36,577 witnessed in the post-game display.

Count ‘em. The Padres now have given up a whopping 43 home runs and have not gone two consecutive games without allowing a homer. In comparison, the Mets and Atlanta Braves are the only teams in the National League who have given up as many as 30.

Secretly during the off-season, the Padres considered tearing down the inner wall at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium to prevent fewer home runs, Padre Manager Jack McKeon said. But at this rate, maybe they should use a bulldozer to raze the grandstands and push them back another 100 feet.

“I think it’s something that’s going to have to be addressed in the off-season,” McKeon said, “but there’s nothing we can do now but get better pitching. Those home runs are getting us every time.”

Pat Dobson, the Padre pitching coach, said he’s not so sure it’s so much the poor pitch selection of his staff as it is that the ball is acting quite funny.

“The ball’s juiced,” Dobson said, “there’s no doubt in my mind. This place is a bandbox anyway, but every time pitchers start pitching well, they do something to screw with them.

“They lower the mound. They issue warnings not for them to pitch inside. And now, they juice the ball.

“Just once I’d like to see them do something for the pitchers.”

Dobson may have a point. Take a look:

In 213 National League games this season, 322 home runs have been hit. Last year through 213 games, 268 homers were hit.

In the American League, there have been 418 home runs hit in 247 games. Last year, through 246 American League games, there were 346 homers.

It was Padre starter Andy Benes, who had allowed home runs in just one of his previous seven starts, who was the victim this night. Of course, with the way Mets starter David Cone was pitching, and the way his defense was playing behind him, he didn’t have much of a chance, anyway.

The right side of the Padres infield--first baseman Joe Carter and second baseman Roberto Alomar--made four errors that led to three unearned runs. And the offense stepped right in and did their share when Cone set down 21 consecutive batters after Bip Roberts’ leadoff triple in the first inning. By the time they rallied in the eighth and ninth innings, it was much too big of a lead of overcome.

“It’s a little tough to come back when the opposing pitcher retires 21 straight hitters, and you can’t keep the ball in the park,” Benes said.

Oh, Benes tried for a while to keep up with Cone, matching him pitch for pitch until he looked around and saw that his defense had abandoned him.

Alomar allowed Darryl Strawberry’s grounder to squirt through his legs to open the second inning, but Benes recovered by striking out the side. He wasn’t so fortunate in the third. After retiring catcher Todd Hundley, he gave up an infield single to Cone, who just so happens to be leading the Mets with a .385 batting average. Gregg Jefferies then hit a bouncer to Joe Carter, who got to set to field it for a double-play but watched in disbelief as it caromed off his glove for an error.

“It could have been for two, it should have been for two,” Carter said. “I just didn’t make the play. That cost us three runs right there, and that was the difference in the ballgame.”

Next up was Kevin Elster, who has the unique stat of batting .311 (seven for 22) with seven RBIs as a No. 2 hitter and .099 (nine for 91) with eight RBIs when batting elsewhere. He just so happened to be batting second in the lineup Saturday night.

He also just happened to hit his fourth homer of the season, a three-run shot over the left-field wall for a 3-1 Met lead.

The Mets added another run in the fourth, courtesy of Carter again. This time, with runners on first and second with two outs, Carter booted Cone’s ground ball. Jefferies made him pay the price with a run-scoring single to right.

Benes gave up another run in the fifth. The only difference this time was that he had only himself to blame when Howard Johnson led off with his eighth homer of the season.

It proved to be too late before the Padres finally generated any offense. They ended their drought by reaching base in the eighth and ninth innings and even mounted a rally, chasing Cone in the ninth.

With the Padres trailing, 6-2, Gwynn singled with one out, Alomar doubled and Carter drove them home with a single to left center.

Now, all they needed was a home run to tie the game. Fat chance. The other guys were in the field, remember?

Jerald Clark struck out for the second out, Benito Santiago singled to center, and pinch-hitter Darrin Jackson struck out, ending the game.

“We’re not going to win too many games like that,” Gwynn said. “We just came back too late. I always thought Cone was one of the best in the game anyway. I was shaking my head just warming up in the bullpen because I knew what kind of stuff he had.

“And tonight, he had it all.”

The Padres have also been humbled by Cone before, on Aug. 29, 1988. The only hit he allowed in that game was a fourth-inning double to Tony Gwynn at Shea Stadium in a 6-0 Mets’ victory. It was a performance that occurred in the middle of his 20-3 season, when he posted the sixth-best winning percentage in major league history.

This time, he needed a victory more than ever. Not only had the Mets lost eight consecutive road games, but Cone was looking for his first victory after six starts and a rainout.

“It didn’t come easy,” Cone said. “All the personal stuff aside, this team needed a win in a big way. I got into a groove, and really, that’s as good as I can throw.”

The victory also was special because Cone’s parents, Ed and Joan Cone, took a flight out from Kansas City this weekend to see their son pitch in person for only the time time in a Mets uniform.

The first time?

“They saw me pitch in Game 2 of the playoffs against the Dodgers,” Cone said. “That’s one I don’t care to remember.”

Cone lasted just two innings in that start, yielding five hits and five earned runs in the 6-3 defeat. It also was the game the Dodgers say awoke them, not because of their hitting performance against Cone but because of his critical comments about the Dodgers that appeared in a New York newspaper the morning of the game.

“It wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done,” Cone said.

Then, there was the game two weeks ago in Atlanta when Cone began arguing a call at first base with Bob Davidson, forgetting to call timeout while two runs crossed the plate. Not only did he suffer humiliation in New York over the incident, but he also was ridiculed this past week in the Tank McNamara cartoon strip.

“I made the big-time with that one,” he said.

Padre Notes

The New York Yankees, who have been scouting the Padres for the past 10 days--with George Bradley, vice president, in town last weekend and Dick Tidrow here this past week, are interested in acquiring reserve outfielder Jerald Clark, according to sources. Jack McKeon, Padre manager and vice president/baseball operations, acknowledged that he recently spoke with Harding Peterson, Yankee vice president and general manager, but said that no trade specifics have been discussed. The Yankees, sources say, have talked with several several clubs about acquiring another hitter, with right-handed reliever Eric Plunk and lefty Greg Cadaret the trade bait. The Padres likely would accept either for Clark, who is more suited for the American League, according to scouts. . . . There had been rumors in New York that the Yankees were interested in re-acquiring third baseman Mike Pagliarulo, which surfaced because principal owner George Steinbrenner ordered shortstop Alvaro Espinoza to quit wearing No. 13, Pagliarulo’s number. The rumors were denied by McKeon and Peterson. “I had some friends from New York calling me about it,” Pagliarulo said. “I said, ‘Hey, I don’t want to hear that stuff.’ I’m just getting straightened out now, where everything’s finally going good for me. That’s the last thing I want to hear.” . . . Padre first baseman Jack Clark (strained lower back) took batting practice for the second consecutive night Saturday and said he is improving. Clark, who has been dressed in uniform Friday and Saturday, is eligible to come off the disabled list Monday, but probably the earliest he will return is Thursday in New York. . . . Kansas City Royal pitching Coach Frank Funk, bewildered by reliever Mark Davis’ problems, telephoned Pat Dobson, the Padre pitching coach, for advice. Davis, who left the Padres in December for a four-year, $13-million free-agent contract, is 1-2 with a 6.50 ERA, yielding 23 hits and 13 walks in 18 innings. He already has blown four saves this season, equaling his total in his 1989 Cy Young season, when he was successful in 44 of 48 opportunities. Just how much did Dobson mean to Davis? Take a look at the stats. Davis, pitching without Dobson for five-plus years: 32-54, 18 saves, 4.35 ERA; Davis, pitching with Dobson for two years: 9-13, 72 saves, 1.94 ERA. “He’s really down right now,” said Padre reliever Mark Grant, who talked with him earlier this week. “Things just aren’t going good.” . . . Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn was selected as the Cedars Sinai Medical Center’s baseball man of the year. He will honored in a ceremony June 16 at the Century Place Hotel in Los Angeles. . . . The Padre reliever with the quickest release to home plate, according to the Mets? Mark Grant at 1.12 seconds with his fastball and 1.40 seconds with his breaking ball. The slowest? Pat Clements, 1.58 seconds with his fastball and 1.69 seconds with his breaking ball. . . . The Mets have dropped Ron Darling (1-3, 6.84 ERA) from their starting rotation and replaced him with Bob Ojeda (0-2, 2.45 ERA), who will start Tuesday against the Dodgers. . . . Padre pitchers Ed Whitson (35) and Eric Show (34) celebrated their birthdays Saturday. . . . The Padres will conclude their home stand at 1:05 p.m. today. Dennis Rasmussen (3-2) will pitch against Sid Fernandez (2-4).