PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : Gwynn Isn’t Asking Questions About His Recent Hitting Tear

Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn isn’t looking for answers. He refuses to try to explain it. He just keeps swinging and making contact.

Gwynn went three for four Thursday in the Padres’ 6-2 defeat to the Chicago Cubs, raising his batting average to a league-leading .366, his highest average since April 28. In the past 25 games, Gwynn has batted .408, and his 38 RBIs this season already are two more than he accumulated by last year’s All-Star break.

“What can I say? When I see the ball good, I hit the ball good,” Gwynn said, “and that’s what’s happening right now.

“I’m not worried about my numbers, or what people think, or what people do, I’m just playing my games.

“And with everything seeming to fall in place right now, I don’t ask why.”

The Padres were hit with yet another injury Thursday when second baseman Tim Teufel was scratched before the game with a slightly pulled muscle in his rib cage.

Teufel is expected to return to the lineup today or Saturday, but in the meantime, Jose Mota will start. Four players from the Padres’ triple-A Las Vegas team were in the starting lineup Thursday.

“It’s nothing major, I’ll be all right,” said Teufel, who sustained the injury Wednesday during batting practice. “It was just a precautionary thing by the manager to make sure it didn’t get worse.”

If necessary, the Padres could recall infielder Paul Faries, who’s eligible to return Saturday or second baseman Marty Barrett, who’s on a rehabilitative assignment at Las Vegas.

“We’ve got a lot of decisions to make when we get back (Tuesday),” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said. “We’ll probably do something then.”

The Padres, who already had seen San Francisco Giant second baseman Robby Thompson hit for the cycle against them this season, nearly surrendered another.

Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg, who had four hits, needed a double in his last at-bat for the cycle, but he was walked on four pitcher by reliever Rich Rodriguez.

“Sure it was on my mind,” Sandberg said. “He wasn’t trying to walk me. He threw me four fastballs. It’s not like you can place the ball for a double. You’re up there to hit.

“But I guarantee you, if I had hit a triple, it would have been a double.”

Twice in his career, Sandberg has had five hits in a game, but he never has hit for the cycle.

Although he’s a Padre now, Teufel still got calls from New York reporters, asking what he thought about the shoving incident between Mets pitcher David Cone and Manager Buddy Harrelson.

“I can’t get away from it,” Teufel said, laughing. “I just told them, ‘Hey, it’s Buddy’s call, he can do what he wants.’ I want to get away from that stuff now.”

The Padres, who opened the month of June with four victories for the first time since their inaugural season in 1969, failed to achieve another milestone when they lost Thursday. They had not swept the Cubs at Wrigley Field since May 31-June 2, 1982. . . . Padre third baseman Scott Coolbaugh’s slide continues. He’s hitless in his last 13 at-bats, and is in a four for 35 (.114) slump. . . . Padre first baseman Fred McGriff couldn’t decide what was more exciting, hitting his first homer Thursday at Wrigley Field, or watching Game 2 of the NBA finals between the Lakers and Chicago Bulls. . . . Catcher Brian Dorsett appeared in his first game as a Padre, striking out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning. . . . Merv Rettenmund, Padre hitting coach, celebrated his 48th birthday Thursday. . . . Cubs catcher Rick Wilkins made his major league debut, and threw out Tony Fernandez and Tony Gwynn attempting to steal. Wilkins was the fifth catcher to appear for the Cubs this season, and one of seven rookies Chicago has used.