PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : McIlvaine Close to Making Deal Involving Left-Hander Lilliquist

The Padres are expected to trade pitcher Derek Lilliquist to the St. Louis Cardinals this week in exchange for one or two prospects in the Cardinal minor-league system, sources said.

Dal Maxvill, Cardinal general manager, was in Las Vegas this past week to scout Lilliquist. He has submitted a list of prospects to Padre General Manager Joe McIlvaine and is awaiting a response.

McIlvaine would neither confirm nor deny the trade.

“We’re talking to a few different teams right now about a number of things,” he said.

Lilliquist is the former No.1 draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in 1987. He was acquired last season by the Padres in exchange for reliever Mark Grant.

He was 3-3 last season for the Padres, including a 9-0 complete-game victory over the Astros. He failed to make the big-league team out of spring training, but was recalled April 27 when Greg Harris was placed on the disabled list. He made two starts, was 0-2 with a 11.42 ERA, and was optioned May10 back to Las Vegas. Lilliquist currently is 3-5 with a 5.05 ERA at Las Vegas. It was a tough call for the distinguished honor of ex-Padre player of the week.

You had Jack Clark of the Boston Red Sox belt three homers in one game. You had third baseman Mike Pagliarulo of the Twins have a four-hit game, boosting his average nearly to .300. And you had pitcher Walt Terrell throw his first complete game in two years.

The winner?

Outfielder Shane Mack of the Minnesota Twins. Mack batted .505 with three doubles, one triple, four homers, eight RBIs and 11 runs.

How did the Twins acquire him?

The Padres in 1989 failed to protect him in the Rule V draft and received $50,000 when Minnesota selected him. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ ability to stay in first place since April 20 in the National League East is quite impressive considering what has gone on in the other divisions.

In the National League West, there have been seven lead changes involving four teams, including the Padres.

In the American League West, there have been 12 lead changes, and everyone but Kansas City has led for at least a day.

In the American League East, there have been 10 lead changes involving three teams. Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn, discussing the relative scarcity of black athletes in baseball: “Let’s face it, basketball and football are a lot more exciting. In a lot of people’s minds, baseball is a boring game. You just don’t get the great athletes playing baseball. They’re playing the other sports.” Mark Davis, the Padres’ 1989 Cy Young winner, returns to the Kansas City Royals today after a month-long stint in triple-A Omaha where he was a starter.

What role will he fill?

“We’re throwing him in long relief,” Royal Manager Hal McRae said, “and see what happens If he does well there, then we’ll move into tighter situations. But we’re not going to disrupt things for him.”

If the Braves overtake the Dodgers for first place, they’ll become the first team in National League history to go from last to first in successive seasons. Even if they finish second, however, it’ll be the only time since the inception of divisional play in 1969 that the feat has occurred. Padre infielder Tim Teufel, on the Braves’ free-agent outlay of $32 million and its benefits: “They went out on a limb, got some good players, and made it work. They went out on the free-agent market and got a team that will be there for a while. That should be a lesson for a lot of teams.”

Teufel, of course, is a free agent at the end of the season.

Padre starter Bruce Hurst, on the large crowds in Atlanta: “They’re doing real waves now. They used to be ripples.” Former Padre Mark Grant, now with the Braves, is expected to begin throwing on the side Monday after taking a cortisone shot six days ago. He has been out this season with a torn labium in his right shoulder. “It’s been so frustrating just to sit and watch,” Grant said. “It’s really been a tough time.” . . . Darrin Jackson, who is batting .545 in his past six games, might start to be used more often against right-handers, Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said.