PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : Padres Looking to the Minors for Possible Starting Pitchers

OK, so the Padres need starting pitching.

What are their options?

They like Frank Seminara, who is starting for their triple-A team in Las Vegas.

“It’s his first year in triple-A, and we’d like to give him as much time as possible,” Padre General Manager Joe McIlvaine said. “But there comes a time . . . Sometimes injuries force it, sometimes performances force it.”

McIlvaine also mentioned left-hander Lance Painter, righty Tim Worrell (brother of St. Louis’ Todd Worrell) and righty Scott Sanders from the Padres’ double-A team in Wichita.

“They’ve all pitched well,” he said.

Or, the Padres could move Gene Harris, whom they acquired from the Seattle Mariners on May 11. Harris is currently on the disqualified list, and the Padres have until June 11 to decide what to do with him. They can either keep him or send him to the minors, although since he is out of options, they would first have to put him through waivers before sending him to the minors.

“The hardest thing is to decide without him facing real hitters in real games,” McIlvaine said.

Tony Gwynn, who returned to the lineup Saturday night after fracturing the tip of the index finger on his right hand on Tuesday, was not in the starting lineup Sunday.

“The finger swelled up,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said.

Gwynn was used as a pinch-hitter in the seventh with Jerald Clark on second but flied to left.

Gary Sheffield’s locker is becoming a required stop for reporters after each game. After Sheffield singled twice Sunday to increase his hitting streak to 17 games, he said he really doesn’t feel any pressure to continue the streak.

“Not at all,” he said. “I just try to concentrate on every at-bat. I try not to give at-bats away.”

The most unusual play of the day probably came on Sammy Sosa’s high chopper in the seventh, when Padre catcher Dann Bilardello and pitcher Mike Maddux collided. As it turned out, neither was injured, and Sosa was safe at first.

“I called it a charge; he called it a block,” Maddux said. “It was his ball, but the ball went up into the sun and I had to keep my eye on it.”

Maddux said he wasn’t injured because he was backing up as he was hit.

“See, he just admitted he wasn’t set for a charge,” Bilardello said.

After missing a week with tendinitis in his right wrist, Padre second baseman Kurt Stillwell started for the second consecutive game. He went 1 for 3, doubling in the fifth inning, and scored a run.

“Yeah, but I’m not very satisfied yet,” Stillwell said. “I’ve been in two and we’ve lost two.”

Although the Padres didn’t score in the ninth, reliever Jeremy Hernandez yielded what could have been a crucial run in the top of the ninth. The Padres trailed after eight, 5-4, when Hernandez allowed a run-scoring single to Sosa.

In two innings, Hernandez allowed a run and two hits. He also walked one.

“I got ground balls, they just went into the holes,” Hernandez said. “There’s not much I can do in that situation.”

When Cub third baseman Doug Strange homered in the second against Padre starter Jose Melendez, it was only Strange’s second major league homer. His first came as a member of the Detroit Tigers against Kansas City’s Bret Saberhagen on Sept. 4, 1989. . . . Darrin Jackson singled in the fifth to extend his hitting streak to seven games. . . . Harris and Dave Eiland each threw off the mound before Sunday’s game. Padre pitching coach Mike Roarke said both threw well. McIlvaine said Eiland is close to a rehabilitation assignment. “He’s pretty near ready,” McIlvaine said. “It could be this week.” . . . Tonight’s game starts at 7:35 p.m. and will be followed by fireworks. . . . The Cubs return to Chicago for an exhibition game against the White Sox today in Wrigley Field. . . . The Cubs finished their longest trip of the season 7-5, their most victories on a trip since May 6-17, 1987 when they were 8-3 on a trip to San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Houston. Their 7-5 mark on this trip represents their first winning multiple-city trip since July 23-29, 1990, when they were 4-3 at St. Louis and Montreal.