PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : McGriff Finding Left-Handers More to His Liking of Late

Padre first baseman Fred McGriff doesn’t have any magical answers. There’s no secret in his repertoire. Really, he’s as surprised as anyone.

“I knew I’d been hitting off them pretty good,” McGriff said, “but nothing like that.”

While everyone is well-aware of McGriff’s power, and knows he is a threat every time he steps to the plate, no one could have imagined this.

McGriff, a left-handed hitter, entered Monday’s game with a .500 batting average against left-handed pitchers, with four homers and 15 RBIs. It’s the highest batting average of any left-handed hitter against lefties in the major leagues.

McGriff, who had hit only 19 of his 125 career homers against left-handers before arriving in San Diego a year ago, now has hit 18 of his last 37 homers off lefties--including four of six this year.

“It goes back to playing every day,” McGriff said. “When you play every day, you can make adjustments, and that’s what I’ve done.

“The last thing you want is a manager making crazy moves and pinch-hitting for you just because a left-hander’s in the game. I don’t ever want to be thought of as just a platoon player.

“Right now, the way I’m feeling, it doesn’t matter if I face a right-hander or left-hander. But when I go bad, it doesn’t matter either.”

McGriff, who leads the National League with six homers and 19 RBIs, says there’s just one adjustment he’d like to make.

“I’d like to start hitting right-handers again,” McGriff said.

McGriff entered the game batting .190, with two homers and three RBIs, against right-handers this season.

“This game can be pretty crazy,” McGriff said. “Just when you think you got it figured out, you realize you don’t have a clue.”

Padre outfielder Oscar Azocar, the clubhouse prankster, has developed an odd ritual, but he swears it has nothing to do with any jokes.

Azocar douses his bats with alcohol and lights them on fire. He performed the act Friday night in the middle of the Padres’ 16-inning game.

“Really, I’m not trying to be funny,” Azocar said. “I do it to harden the wood in my bat. I’ve been doing it since ’89. Usually, I do it at my house, but with the long game, I had nothing better to do.”

The Phillies, who have several players on the disabled list, called up right-handed pitcher Darrin Chapin from Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre to replace starter Andy Ashby. Ashby fractured his right thumb Sunday when he was hit by a line drive from the Mets’ Mackey Sasser. . . . The Kansas City Royals, trying to figure out something to help out former Padre Mark Davis, have assigned him a personal catcher, Bob Melvin. It didn’t work Wednesday, however. Davis lasted only 2 1/3 innings in the Royals’ 8-1 defeat to the Baltimore Orioles. He is 0-2 with a 9.49 ERA for the season, yielding 17 hits and 10 walks in 12 1/3 innings. The Royals would like to release Davis, according to sources, but the ownership refuses to oblige because of the two remaining years left on his $12-million contract. . . . The Seattle Mariners have hit only three homers this season, none by Kevin Mitchell. . . . Jack Clark’s struggles continue with Boston. He has yet to hit a homer this season, and sources say they are attempting, without success, to trade him. . . . The Seattle Mariners are catching a lot of flak for the pitchers they’ve allowed to get away: Bill Swift is 4-0 with San Francisco, Bill Krueger is 4-0 with Minnesota, Mike Moore is 3-0 with Oakland, and, of course, Jose Melendez is 3-0 with the Padres. . . . The Chicago Cubs are also looking a little foolish right now. They signed free-agent pitcher Danny Jackson to a four-year, $10-million contract two years ago. He has responded with a 1-8 record without a complete game. Rick Sutcliffe, the longtime Cub whom they told to take a hike, is 3-0 with three complete-games and two shutouts for the Baltimore Orioles. Sutcliffe, in fact, has as many shutouts as the entire Oriole staff had a year ago. . . . Chicago White Sox trainer Herm Schneider on shortstop Ozzie Guillen’s serious knee injury: “He’ll have to work more than he has ever worked in his life. Really, he has two choices: Do what he’s told, or never play again.” . . . The New York Yankees this season have a 3-5 record against teams who have an Alomar in the lineup, and are 10-1 record against everyone else. . . .. . . The Detroit Tigers and their opponents have combined to hit 52 homers this season. In contrast, the Boston Red Sox and their opponents have combined for only eight.