Padres Draw a Blank : Baseball: Philadelphia’s Ruffin throws a two-hitter in 4-0 victory over Padres, whose slump has triggered trade talks.

The Padres have exhausted their supply of players to bring up from the minors. They have no more experiments to attempt. Simply, they have run out of answers.

The Padres, shut out once again Saturday night, 4-0, by the Philadelphia Phillies, have come to the realization that their only recourse is trades, and Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, already has proven he’s not bashful when it comes time to dealing.

There comes a time when trades are a necessity, and after losing for the 15th time in the past 21 games, the Padres certainly can’t think of a better time to rejuvenate their team.

Continuing an ugly trend in front of 15,882 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, the Padres’ offense was abysmal, ruining starter Greg Harris’ performance (one run and five hits in seven innings, including a season-high eight strikeouts).

The Padres equaled their season low with only two hits, allowing Phillie starter Bruce Ruffin to pitch the best game of his career. Yes, Ruffin is the same pitcher who yielded six runs (five earned), four hits, three walks and a wild pitch in one inning during his last start.

The Padre offense is making the Mendoza line look like an unconquerable barrier. They are hitting .169 in their past 11 games. In six of those games, they have been shut out or held to one run.

Even Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn has been swallowed by Team Slump, batting .103 (three for 29) in the past eight games, falling behind Terry Pendleton of Atlanta (.3403 to .3397) in the National League batting race.

“We’re all struggling right now,” Gwynn said, who has not trailed in the batting race since late May. “Really, I’ve had the swing I wanted all year, I’m just a little out of whack right now.”

Who isn’t?

But while players such as Gwynn, first baseman Fred McGriff and pitcher Bruce Hurst are excluded from trade talks, there appears to be open-season on everyone else. The principals are second baseman Bip Roberts and starting pitcher Dennis Rasmussen.

If everything goes according to the Padres’ wishes, they’ll have two new infielders by the end of the season.

The Padres, according to a highly-placed source, are attempting to acquire second baseman Mariano Duncan of the Cincinnati Reds and third baseman Steve Buechele of the Texas Rangers. But Buechele will cost the Padres at least Roberts, and it might take Rasmussen to pick up Duncan, although the Padres sure would like to find a way to get their hands on left-handed reliever Randy Myers.

The Padres’ main focus is trying to find a third baseman. It’s apparent they have given up on Scott Coolbaugh, and they believe they’d be a much better club with Tim Teufel coming off the bench.

“It just hasn’t worked out like we wanted,” one Padre executive said. “We need that third baseman, and we need one bad.”

Coolbaugh, acquired from the Rangers in the off-season for catcher Mark Parent, is batting .214 with two homers and 13 RBIs, and is one for 24 (.040) since June 30, a stretch that earned him a spot on the bench.

Coolbaugh has started only one game since the All-Star break despite Teufel’s four-for-36 slump.

“It’s not like I’m doing one thing wrong,” Coolbaugh said, “I’m doing everything wrong. I’m in a funk. I’ve always been a pretty good offensive player, but let’s face it, I haven’t had much success here.

“I know they’re down on me. Who wouldn’t be with the way I’m playing?”

If the Padres fall completely out of the race, perhaps Coolbaugh again will get another chance. Maybe he’ll get another chance if Teufel continues to falter. Maybe, Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said after the game, he might start today.

“The most frustrating thing,” Coolbaugh said, “is that nobody’s overmatching me. I know I’m capable of hitting in this league. I know I can put up the numbers. But people see a young guy struggling at third base, and people say they want someone else at third base.

“I know they’re questioning me right now, and I can’t let that bother me.”

The Padres appear to have made up their mind on Coolbaugh, and ironically their primary candidate appears to be Buechele, the man who kept Coolbaugh in the minor leagues in the Rangers’ organization.

The biggest obstacle in acquiring Buechele, 29, is that he’s eligible for free agency at the end of the season. But the Padres also realize it might be easier to sign Buechele once he’s on the team than attempting to lure him away in the off-season.

Buechele, considered by scouts as the premier defensive third baseman in the American League, has ample power. He has only two errors this season and is batting .267 with 14 homers and 44 RBIs.

Buechele has become expendable, however, because of the emergence of third baseman Dean Palmer. Rangers are searching for a leadoff hitter, preferably one who can play left field.

“It’s been talked about,” one Padre source said, “but I don’t have any idea whether we can work something out. We’ll see.”

Certainly, Coolbaugh didn’t help his status a bit Saturday, when he ended the Padres’ only rally of the night.

Trailing 1-0 with two out in the seventh inning, Teufel singled to left field. Darrin Jackson then hit a topper down the third-base line. Third baseman Dave Hollins fielded it bare-handed, but his throw drew first baseman John Kruk off the bag for an error.

With Harris due up next, Riddoch called upon the right-handed Coolbaugh to pinch-hit. Ruffin immediately fell behind 3-and-0 before throwing a strike.

The next pitch was a fastball over the plate. Coolbaugh swung and appeared to crack his bat as he hit a blooper toward the Padre dugout. Kruk made a basket catch, and Coolbaugh was serenaded by a chorus of boos on his way back to the bench.

The Phillies ended any thoughts the Padres envisioned of another rally when they broke the game open in the eighth inning off reliever Craig Lefferts, scoring four runs on three hits, including run-scoring triples by Hollins and Kruk.