Starters’ Woes Endure; Padres Lose to Expos

It’s happening before their very eyes, and the Padres can’t bear to watch.

Just when they think their starting pitching has turned the corner, another member of the rotation gets rocked, jolting the Padres’ senses.

Right-hander Greg Harris was the latest to struggle Tuesday, losing to the Montreal Expos, 5-2.

Harris (1-2) gave up three home runs--including the first homer in Olympic Stadium history that bounced off a speaker--and five runs during his six-inning stint. It was enough to allow the Expos to win their first night game of the season after 12 losses, but with the NHL Montreal Canadiens in a playoff game at the same time across town, only 6,555 fans witnessed the historic event.

“You know how you usually say, ‘You can feel the electricity in the air,’ ” said Padre catcher Dann Bilardello. “Here, they say, ‘Can you hear the electricity?’ This place is brutal.”

It hardly made it any less tolerable for the Padres, who not only are mystified by their starters’ performance the last 10 days but fear the worst is ahead. The rotation has yielded a 7.62 ERA in the past 10 starts, two apiece by each of their starters.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that Dave Eiland and Craig Lefferts are struggling, but the trio of Harris, Bruce Hurst and Andy Benes have combined for a 1-5 record and 7.64 ERA during the stretch.

The Padres (13-14), who have lost three consecutive games and 12 of their last 18, in fact are only 7-10 when the vaunted trio starts a game.

“Sure it concerns me,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said. “It has to concern me. But it’ll turn. It has to turn eventually. It can’t keep going like this.”

The Padres, whose patience is thin, will try to alter their course in the next couple of weeks.

They made their first move Tuesday when they placed reliever Larry Andersen on the disabled list with a bruised forearm, a decision they wish they had made a week ago when he first sustained the injury. Andersen, who has been disabled four times since signing with the Padres a year ago, will be eligible to come off the DL in only a week because he has not pitched since suffering the injury April 27.

“The pain is like a knife going up my forearm when I throw,” Andersen said. “It’s not like these are self-inflicted wounds, but the frustration is extremely hard to deal with.”

Tim Scott, who has seven saves and is yielding a 1.93 ERA in 11 appearances for triple-A Las Vegas, will replace him on the roster.

It’s only the beginning. The Padres also plan to place Eiland on the disabled list either today or Thursday because of a back injury. He was examined Tuesday by an Expos team doctor who made the diagnosis of the injury. Eiland will be examined again today by orthopedist specialist Larry Coughlin, who will determine the severity of the injury.

Eiland probably will be replaced in the rotation by Jose Melendez (3-0, 1.52 ERA), who has been the Padres’ lifesaver in the bullpen this season. Right-handed reliever Jeremy Hernandez would then be called up from Las Vegas and take Melendez’s spot in the bullpen. There’s also the possibility that Frank Seminara of Las Vegas will be replacing Lefferts in the rotation by the next home stand.

“There’s a lot of options being discussed right now,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager. “We’ve made some decisions, but now’s not the time to discuss them.

“It’s clear, though, we need our starting pitching to do better.”

Although the numbers might indicate otherwise, Harris believes he pitched as well as he has all season. He said his control, was the best it has been since last year. He never even reached a three-ball count on a single hitter.

But his frustrations were perhaps best typified in the third inning against Padre nemesis Larry Walker. Harris already allowed a leadoff homer to John Vander Wal, so he was pitching Walker extremely carefully.

Walker, who owns a .375 batting average with seven homers against the Padres, hit a 1-0 pitch high into right field. Tony Gwynn raced to the warning track, looked up--and blinked.

The ball caromed off a speaker in right field and bounced between Gwynn and center fielder Darrin Jackson. Walker had what appeared to be a double, until the umpiring crew realized the ground rules and awarded him a home run. It was the first speaker home run in Olympic Stadium history.

“The IBM (Tale of the) Tape should be 310 feet-speaker,” Walker said laughing.

Gwynn, despite having his first career three-hit game off Expo starter Dennis Martinez (2-4) after owning a career .194 average against him, was not so jovial: “I couldn’t believe it. The ball was coming down. That wasn’t a homer. No way. I can’t understand why they even have a speaker in the field of play.

“Man, after that, we were all aiming for it.”

Said Harris: “It was typical of what happened out there. We’re getting no breaks. It’s no excuse. If I get smoked, I’ll be the first one to admit. But I pitched good, and I’m not going to feel bad about it. It’s unbelievable.”

How unbelievable?

When Padre outfielder Gary Pettis got his first National League hit with a pinch-hit double in the ninth inning, he twisted his ankle rounding second.

“I can’t believe it, I even forgot to get the ball,” Pettis said.

It was that kind of night.