Harris, Padres Not Wild About Performances : Baseball: Greg Harris walks six in 9-3 loss to Philadelphia, but his struggles are similar to starters Bruce Hurst and Andy Benes.

The preposterous is happening. It’s unimaginable to the Padres’ comprehension. How can this odyssey be?

“We’re watching it ourselves, with our very own eyes,” said Padre starter Andy Benes, “and we can’t even believe it.”

The Padres, who were supposed to ride the backs of their Big Three starters to the promised land, find themselves in disbelief after losing 9-3 Sunday afternoon to the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium.

Sure, anyone can get blown out, even if it does equal their largest margin of defeat this season. OK, there are times when you can blow a three-run lead and have the opposition score nine consecutive runs. Yes, you can even have a starting pitcher walk six batters in a game, even if it is the most walks by any Padre starter in recent memory.

The idea that this not only happened to starter Greg Harris on Sunday, but also is becoming a frequent occurrence over the past three weeks with fellow starters Bruce Hurst and Andy Benes, is beyond belief for the Padre management.

They talked about these three pitchers perhaps winning 20 games apiece this season. They boasted that they would match their first three starters against any in the National League. They claimed they hardly would be fazed by the loss of Ed Whitson and Ricky Bones in the rotation, not with their Big Three around.

“It’s been a cold slap in the face,” said Harris, who gave up six hits and 12 baserunners in his six-inning stint. “We were supposed to be the ones to pick everyone up. But instead of our success being contagious, we’ve struggled together.”

Said Benes: “I think all three of us have put more pressure on ourselves than maybe we should. This shouldn’t be happening.”

Indeed, who would have thought that in the last 13 games the Big Three have started, the Padres would own a 3-10 record? They’ve yielded a whopping 5.18 earned-run average during that stretch and surrendered 14 home runs.

Times have been so dire that Benes leads the trio with only two victories. And this is a guy who’s winless since April 14. They have a combined 4-9 record--only one more victory than Craig Lefferts (3-2).

“I wish I had an explanation,” Hurst said, “believe me, I wish I had an explanation.”

The diagnosis of Harris’ problems Sunday were much easier to rationalize. He simply could not throw his curveball for strikes, and when Harris’ curve isn’t working, he’s in trouble.

Harris, who had walked only three batters in his previous 30 innings, walked five of the first 17 batters he faced. He walked four on 3-0 counts. The last time he even walked five batters in a game was July 29, 1989, against St. Louis.

“I’ve never walked that many batters in my life, at any level,” said Harris, exasperated. “I don’t have any excuses. I couldn’t even throw a fastball for a strike after awhile. It’s a bad, bad feeling when you’re trying to throw a strike, you’re all around the strike zone, (and you) can’t get one.”

Although Harris survived his early control problems, the Phillies finally capitalized in the fourth inning. Trailing 3-0 after Fred McGriff’s two-run homer in the first inning, and Harris’ run-scoring double in the second, the Phillies rallied by simply keeping the bat on their shoulders.

It hardly seemed like a precarious situation with two outs and John Kruk standing on second base. But Harris then walked No. 6 batter Darren Daulton on four pitches. He walked Mickey Morandini on a full-count to load the bases. He even walked .155 hitter Ruben Amaro on a full-count, forcing in a run.

That brought up Phillies starter Terry Mulholland, who was allowed to hit instead of being removed for a pinch-hitter. Harris came close to striking him out on a 2-2 pitch, but catcher Benito Santiago couldn’t hold on to a foul tip. Mulholland popped the next pitch over second baseman Kurt Stillwell’s head, tying the game at 3-apiece.

The Phillies took the lead for good in the fifth inning on Dave Hollins’ one-out triple and Kruk’s single. They broke the game open in the sixth when Mariano Duncan hit a two-out, three-run homer. It was the first three- or four-run homer allowed by the Padres this season.

“It just all caught up to me,” Harris said. “I can’t put the team in a hole like I have and expect to win a ballgame. I’ve got to kick it in gear and see what I’m made of.

“I’m really disappointed in myself right now.”

Harris’ performance also continued the oddity of his games on artificial turf this season. He’s 0-3 with a 5.32 ERA in four starts on artificial turf, yielding 27 hits and five homers in 22 innings. But he’s 1-0 with a 1.44 ERA in three starts on grass, allowing 16 hits and two homers in 25 innings.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on we can’t figure out,” said Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn. “We didn’t think this would happen to our Big Three, but we didn’t think the bottom of our order would struggle like it is, either.

“We’re not hitting the panic button, it’s just a little strange to see.”

The Padres, who have scored 13 of their last 14 runs on rallies with two outs and no one on base, continue to be without production from the bottom of their order. Their Nos. 5-7 hitters of Benito Santiago, Darrin Jackson and Jerald Clark are hitting .073 on this trip without an RBI. Santiago (.210) is in a one-for-20 skid, having hit the ball out of the infield only four times. Clark (.179) has only two hits in his last 19 at-bats with six strikeouts. And Jackson (.202) is hitless in his last 15 at-bats, grounding into three double plays without hitting the ball out of the infield in three games.

Is this an aberration, or reality?

“Right now, we’ll just keep running them out there and see what happens,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said. “What can you do? If you get an answer, call me.”

If not, Riddoch may be dialing 911 himself.