Hurst Remains a Padre Puzzle as Astros Win

Sitting alone in front of his locker Wednesday night with his head buried in his hands, Padre pitcher Bruce Hurst once again had no answers.

Oh, he mumbled a few words. He shrugged his shoulders for most of his responses, alternating by nodding his head for others.

“If I knew all of the answers,” Hurst said, in a tone barely audible, “I’d give them to you. But you’re asking me questions I don’t have the answers to.

“I just can’t throw strikes, it’s pretty evident.”

Hurst undoubtedly has become the biggest enigma in the Padres’ perplexing season. The Houston Astros became the latest team to abuse him, winning, 9-1, and sending Hurst to the showers after the fourth inning.

The same man who averaged 16 victories a season for the past three years and was considered the ace of the staff, Hurst not only is 4-7 with a 4.67 ERA this season but having difficulty just pitching long enough to qualify for a victory. He has not pitched longer than six innings in any of his past five starts.

And instead of showing any signs of improvement, Hurst is getting worse and worse, with no remedy in sight.

Certainly, there were plenty of suggestions offered Wednesday in the clubhouse:

--Fellow pitcher Ed Whitson: “He just needs to relax. He’s putting so much pressure on himself that he’s hurting himself.”

--Padre Manager Jack McKeon: “We could put him in the bullpen to work out his problems, but we’ll have to sit down and talk about it.”

--Padre pitching coach Pat Dobson: “He should pull a John Kruk tonight, a large Domino’s and a 12-pack in the room. A good buzz wouldn’t hurt him. When I struggled, I’d skip the pizza and just go for the beer.”

Dobson’s suggestion generated laughter in an otherwise sullen clubhouse. Hurst, as all of his teammates know, does not drink. He never has, and he said he never will.

The only trouble is, the way he’s pitching now, he’s liable to drive Dobson and McKeon to hard drinking.

This is a guy who was the most highly sought free agent in all the land after his 1988 season with the Boston Red Sox, when he went 18-7. The Padres bid for his services, and when Hurst accepted their $5.25-million offer, the entire organization celebrated. And Hurst said that he had found Utopia.

But after compiling a 15-11 record and 2.89 ERA last season, Hurst hardly resembles the same pitcher in 1990.

Since pitching his only complete-game victory May 12 against Montreal, Hurst is 2-3 in his past nine starts with a 6.11 ERA. His only victories in that span are five-inning outings against the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. And only once in that time did he pitch longer than seven innings.

The problem, Hurst says, certainly is nothing physical. And there’s nothing really wrong with his delivery, Dobson said, except that he has a bad habit of not following through in his motion.

The problem, the Padres say, is his confidence. His teammates never have seen him more depressed. It’s almost as if he’s a beaten man, Dobson said, when he takes the mound.

“Basically, the past five weeks, it’s like he has a lot on his mind,” Dobson said, “he’s just not himself. I don’t know what’s going on in there, I don’t think anybody does.

“Here’s a guy who makes a lot of money and is very proud of himself, but he gets down on himself very easily. He’s just lost his confidence. Everything’s eating away at him right now.

“It’s part of the toughness at the major league level, to suck it up, to say, ‘Let’s get it done.’ But it’s not happening. You put undue pressure on yourself, and it becomes a domino effect. Before you know it, you’re fried before you start.

“And, unfortunately, that’s what’s happening now.”

Really, you can say his problems all began the opening game against the Dodgers, when he pitched a no-hitter for six innings and then wound up losing, 4-2, on Hubie Brooks’ two-out, two-run homer in the eighth.

He lost his first three decisions for the first time in his career, and then when it appeared that he was improving, along came the night of May 28. He was pitching a no-hitter for six innings against the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium, coasting along with a 5-0 lead.

Then, as if there were a different person wearing his uniform in the seventh, he collapsed, yielding five runs in the inning before being pulled from the game.

“Ever since that game,” Dobson said, “he hasn’t been the same.”

Hurst, who lasted just 1 1/3 innings Sunday against the Atlanta Braves--the shortest stint of his Padre career--looked Wednesday as if he might turn around the season with this game. When his teammates left to the field for batting practice, Hurst stayed in the clubhouse for a while working on his delivery, throwing imaginary baseballs. He warmed up in the bullpen, feeling great.

And when he took the mound, he really thought he could dominate. Come on, these are the Astros, he told himself. Not only are they the worst-hitting team in the major leagues, with a .240 batting average, but their only power-hitter, Glenn Davis, is on the disabled list.

He opened the game by throwing a first-pitch strike by Eric Yelding, got ahead of him in the count, 1-2, and then watched as Yelding dropped a bunt, down the third-base line, that third baseman Mike Pagliarulo could not field.

Hurst’s shoulders slumped. A look of disgust crossed his face. Although Hurst denies it, Dobson said it was as if Hurst was thinking, “Oh no, here we go again.”

And sure enough, it happened. After Billy Doran fouled out to left, Hurst walked Ken Caminiti and yielded a two-run double to Glenn Wilson. The Astros were up, 2-0, and by the time Hurst left the game, it was 4-0.

You’d have thought that the lead wouldn’t be invincible, particularly considering that Astro starter Jim Deshaies had not beaten the Padres since Aug. 9, 1986, losing his last eight decisions. In the month of June, he was 0-3 with a 9.17 ERA, yielding six home runs in the past 12 innings.

But the Padres managed just seven singles for the game, and for the 10th time in Hurst’s 16 starts, the Padres came away losers.

“I wish there was some simple solution to fix Bruce,” McKeon said, “but there isn’t. I’m just like everyone else, I guess.

“I don’t know what the hell is wrong with him.”

Padre Notes

Padre second baseman Bip Roberts felt the rain fall on his shoulder, and by the time he looked up to see what had hit him, the power in the Astrodome went off. Roberts didn’t hesitate. He ran for cover in the safety of the dugout. “The roof’s caving in, the roof’s caving in,” Roberts yelled. Roberts was informed that no, just the power went off, but Roberts was taking no chances. “Don’t worry, we’ll die as a team out there,” Padre third baseman Mike Pagliarulo said. Said Roberts: “I ain’t coming out, man, I ain’t coming out.” When one fan called out for his autograph, Roberts yelled back: “Can’t you see I’m panicking, I can’t sign now.” . . . The power remained off for about 20 minutes, but it didn’t faze the Padres . . . they continued to take batting practice, honing their bunting skills. “I bet Tony (Gwynn) still goes three for three,” Padre reliever Craig Lefferts said. . . . During the delay, the music blared, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.” . . . Tom Werner, Padre chairman, said that the Padres likely will keep their current uniform and design for at least another season because of the pending July 1 deadline. “Right now,” Werner said, laughing, “I think we’ve got more pressing issues than that to concern ourselves with.” . . . Roberto Alomar made his first error at shortstop in three nights, throwing Eric Yelding’s ground ball into the Astro dugout, just missing the stands. . . . Astro first baseman Glenn Davis has a torn rib cage muscle, according to the results of the magnetic resonance imaging test on Wednesday, and immediately was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 25. . . . Where-are-we? department: Two beach balls were bouncing in the stands for several minutes Wednesday before being confiscated by a security guard. . . . Padre catcher Benito Santiago, who’s on the disabled list with a broken left forearm, is running away with the All-Star balloting. He has about a 700,000-vote lead on runner-up Todd Zeile of St. Louis. Santiago said he’d like to attend the All-Star festivities, even if he can only watch. . . . Second baseman Paul Faries and third baseman Eddie Williams of the Padres’ triple A club in Las Vegas continue to excel, and Manager Jack McKeon said he wouldn’t hesitate to purchase their contract in case of an injury to one of his infielders. Faries is batting .304 with 53 runs scored and 27 stolen bases. He has hit two homers with 30 RBIs. Williams is batting .309 with 12 homers and 17 doubles, and 52 RBIs. But Faries has made 12 errors, and Williams has made 10. . . . The Padres conclude their longest trip of the season today when Ed Whitson (6-5) is scheduled to face the Astros’ Mark Portugal (2-7). The Padres then will begin a 10-game home stand at 7:05 p.m. Friday against the Chicago Cubs. The scheduled pitching matchups for the three-game series: Mike Dunne (0-3) vs. Mike Harkey (5-3) on Friday; Andy Benes (6-5) vs. Shawn Boskie (2-4) at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, and Dennis Rasmussen (7-4) vs. Greg Maddux (4-8) at 1:35 p.m. Sunday.