Melendez Gets His First Save, Rescues Padres : Baseball: Depleted Padre bullpen gets lift from young reliever in victory over Cubs.

He was nothing more than a paltry investment. The Seattle Mariners had given up on him. No one was going to trade for him. What chance did he have?

Few believed Jose Melendez was capable of being a major league pitcher. When the Padres claimed him from the waiver wire for $20,000, it only meant that the entire American League and at least five National League teams had no interest.

Five months later, on a day the Padres learned that Larry Andersen likely will miss the rest of the season, and Craig Lefferts will be temporarily sidelined while he tries to sort out his pitching problems, Melendez emerged as the Padres’ bullpen stopper.

The Padres defeated the Chicago Cubs, 4-1, Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 32,760 at Wrigley Field, and this time, there were no blown saves. There wasn’t even a late-inning rally. This was Melendez’s baby all the way, preserving the Padres’ third victory of the season at Wrigley, equaling a franchise record.

Melendez entered the game in the eighth inning in relief of starter Andy Benes. He struck out Dwight Smith. And Shawon Dunston. And Doug Dascenzo. In the ninth, no one even managed to hit the ball out of the infield.

Just how impressive was Melendez’s performance for the first save of his big-league career?

It marked the second time this season that a Padre reliever pitched two perfect innings in a save situation.

That might tell you about the state of the Padre bullpen, too.

And as if it didn’t have enough woes already this season, blowing 16 saves, the bullpen likely will be without Andersen for the season.

Andersen, whose neck has caused him so much pain that he can barely get in and out of cabs, is expected to leave the team and fly to San Francisco to have his neck examined by Dr. Arthur White. He is the same physician who operated on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana.

Although Andersen will await the final diagnosis, he expects to have surgery to repair the ruptured disk and bulging disk in his neck.

The recovery period for such an operation, according to Padre trainer Bob Day, is 12 weeks.

“I can’t go through this anymore,” said Andersen, who was on the disabled from May 8 to May 29 with the same injury. “It’s just getting progressively worse. It’s like a constant ache. It hurts to cough, and it just kills me when I sneeze.

“If surgery is necessary, let’s do it and get it over with.”

The Padres were hopeful that rest and therapy would help Andersen’s deteriorating disks, but he knew the pain could come back any time. It started Monday in Los Angeles, and it has become worse by the day.

“They told me it could come back any time,” Andersen said, “and that’s what has happened. It wasn’t like there was a crushing blow. I didn’t do anything. It just happened.

“That’s why I’m thinking surgery probably is the way to go. We’ve exhausted every other possibility. And if I have it now, I’ll be ready to go by next spring.

The void of Andersen leaves Padre Manager Greg Riddoch precious few alternatives. Lefferts, who has blown seven saves this season and owns a team-high 4.94 ERA, will spend the next few days working with Padre pitching coach Mike Roarke; Mike Maddux has three career saves, and is best-suited for long relief; Rich Rodriguez has one career save and is a set-up man; Jim Lewis has spent two weeks in the big leagues.

And then there’s Melendez.

Called up May 31, Melendez has been used as a starter, in long relief, in middle relief, as a setup man, and has been effective in every role. The Padres figured, hey, why not give him a shot?

“I know I can do it,” Melendez said. “If they give me a chance, I’ll do the job for them.”

Hello, opportunity.

It’s Melendez again.

Melendez, a skinny 6-foot-2, 170-pound kid from Puerto Rico, dazzled the Cubs with his array of pitches Saturday. He threw fastballs by them. He had them chasing two different types of sliders. He fooled them with his split-finger fastball.

“They had no chance,” Padre catcher Benito Santiago said. “I tell you, Melendez is tough. He’s definitely shown he can do it. He’ll be a good one.”

Said Riddoch: “Until we get Lefferts straightened out, and work out his problems, I think we’ll work Melendez in there. We want to find out about a few people in there, but what we saw today, definitely was impressive.”

The true test, Roarke said, will be when Melendez is thrown into a critical ninth-inning situation. You know, two men on, nobody out, a one-run game. Let’s see then, Roarke said, how Melendez responds.

“I definitely think he can be a stopper,” Roarke said, “but let’s wait and see. We’ll slowly work him in that situation and see how does with pressure.

“But I like him, I think he’ll do well.”

In the meantime, the Padres plan to continue shopping Lefferts, hoping the Boston Red Sox will trade for him in exchange for third baseman Scott Cooper. If Lefferts indeed is traded, they’ll audition the rest of the season for a closer, and then determine whether they needed to trade for one.

The Padres, according to sources, have already tried to acquire left-handed reliever Randy Myers of the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds wanted second baseman Bip Roberts and at least another player. The two clubs never could come to a compromise. Myers wound up in the Reds starting rotation, and Roberts went on the disabled list with knee surgery.

Perhaps the two clubs can work out a deal another time, but it’s highly unlikely anything will transpire before the season ends. Besides, Roberts will be on the disabled list for at least another 10 days and possibly as long as three weeks. He did, however, receive clearance Saturday to rejoin the team Monday in Pittsburgh.

Whatever transpires in the bullpen, it has become clear that Benes will not be a part of it. Benes, who struggled so much early in the season that suggestions were made to make him a bullpen stopper, won his fifth consecutive game.

Benes (9-10) allowed only three hits in seven innings, and the only damage incurred was Andre Dawson’s home run in the fifth inning. It was the only time the Cubs reached second base the entire game.

“The funny thing is I didn’t have my good stuff at all,” said Benes, who had tightness in his right shoulder before the game. “I just quit throwing my slider after the fifth inning. And with the shadows, I think they just had a hard time seeing the pitches.

“But it sure feels good to start winning again. I never gave up on myself. And I’ve kept my composure. Now, good things are happening.”

In six of his past seven starts, Benes has yielded a 1.06 ERA, allowing only 27 hits in 42 1/3 innings. The only start he faltered during that stretch was Aug. 13 against the Houston Astros, when he gave up seven runs in six innings but still left with a 9-7 lead.

“The big difference is I never got down on myself,” Benes said. “I knew things would turn around. I just didn’t realize how fast.”

The Padres, in a rare performance, even provided Benes with offensive support. In Benes’ 25 starts this season, the Padres have been shut out four times and have been confined to two or fewer runs in 11 games.

This time, they just kept pecking away, scoring one run in each of the first four innings with nothing more explosive than run-scoring doubles by Fred McGriff and Benito Santiago. It didn’t matter that they failed to hit the ball out of the infield the past four innings.

“The way Jose was throwing, I knew my lead was safe,” Benes said. “He can overpower you at times, and you can see how they looked against him. It was fun to watch.”

Said Melendez: “I hope we can do it again. I like being a bullpen stopper. That’s where the game’s on the line.

“It’s where the money is, too.”