Lefferts, Hurst Are Hot : Baseball: One starter continues his winning ways as another Padre pitcher boils over after being fined by Manager Greg Riddoch. The Padres beat Houston, 7-1.

Padre starter Bruce Hurst, angry Monday after Manager Greg Riddoch fined him, has asked to be traded.

Hurst, sources said, requested the trade hours before the Padres’ 7-1 victory over the Houston Astros in front of 8,787 at the Astrodome. Hurst, who is expected to meet with Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, this weekend.

The overwhelming success of Craig Lefferts, 8-4, may somewhat overshadow the Hurst situation. Lefferts won again, and now is tied for second for the most victories in the National League. Only Cy Young winner Tom Glavine (9-3) of the Atlanta Braves has more victories.

Lefferts allowed only one run and eight hits in 7 2/3 innings before giving way to reliever Jose Melendez. It was the eighth time in 11 starts this year that Lefferts has allowed two or fewer runs, and the sixth time he has pitched at least seven innings.

“He’s been phenomenal,” Riddoch said. “He’s the only guy who believed he could do it, and look at the numbers he’s put up.”

Lefferts, who must be considered a candidate for the All-Star game simply because of his numbers, says much of the credit for his success belongs to Riddoch.

“Greg believed in me all along,” Lefferts said. “Even after that first outing (four hits and four earned runs in one-third inning), he came up and told me not to worry about it. He said, ‘You’re still my starter, and I’m not giving up one you.

“I can’t tell you how I appreciate what he’s done for me.”

Lefferts also is happy with his offensive support. The Padres are averaging 6.5 runs a game in his victories, the highest run total of any National League starter.

The Padres (33-30), who broke a three-game losing streak, scored four runs off Astros starter Butch Henry, and knocked him out of the game after only a third of an inning. They continued their assault on Rob Mallicoat, and by the time he left the game after three innings, the Padres were leading, 7-0.

“It’s easy to let down and relax after you get a big lead like that,” Lefferts said, “but I tried to fight against that. It sure is nice, though, to have this kind of offense around you.”

Catcher Dan Walters, who was two for four with two RBIs, proved to be a catalyst in the attack. It was his first game against the Astros since they traded him away in 1988.

“This is the first time I ever saw the Astrodome,” Walters said. “I was in the minors the whole time, and I just never got a chance to come here.

“I’ll have a nice memory of it now.”

One Padre will not have a nice memory of the day.

Hurst, in the first year of a three-year contract extension worth $8.5 million, expressed his discontent with Riddoch to John Barr, assistant general manager.

Hurst met with Barr after Riddoch called the pitcher into his office two hours before the game. Riddoch, sources said, told Hurst he would be fined for his behavior in Sunday’s game, which the Atlanta Braves won, 4-2.

The incident occurred when Hurst was lifted in the sixth inning for reliever Jose Melendez. Instead of waiting to hand the ball to Riddoch, Hurst walked off the mound, passed Riddoch halfway to the third-base line, and flipped the ball into the air.

It was the second time this season that Hurst made such a gesture. After being warned the first time, Riddoch fined him.

Within seconds of being fined, Hurst slammed Riddoch’s office door of against the wall and yelled, ‘OK, that’s it.”

Riddoch would not discuss the incident.

Hurst also refused comment on the meetings or the alleged trade request.

However, one Padre said: “He (Hurst) wants out of here in the worst way. Everyone knows that. He’s not happy at all.”

This also is the second time this season, sources say, that Hurst has asked the Padres to trade him. Hurst made a similar request five weeks ago, but after winning five of his next six starts the Padres hoped Hurst’s frustration would subside.

“We know he’s frustrated, and he blew off a lot of steam,” Barr said. “He’s very competitive. We just lost a tough series in Atlanta, and he’s frustrated by it. I think we’re all a little punchy.

“He still likes his teammates, and feels this is a good team.”

Yet, when asked if Hurst made an official trade request, Barr declined comment.

“What we talked about was private,” Barr said, “and it will stay between him and I.”

Although Hurst refuses to publicly disclose the primary source of his discontent, those close to him say he has had differences with Riddoch and several members of the coaching staff. He has had objections this season, they say, with everything from being removed prematurely from games, to clubhouse conduct, to the team’s defensive alignments.

“He’s been frustrated by a whole lot of things going on around here,” another teammate said.

The Texas Rangers, who are in dire need of pitching help, are expected to be one of the teams who’ll make a bid for Hurst. Sources say they would be willing to offer left fielder Kevin Reimer and at least one pitcher in exchange for Hurst.

Hurst has a stipulation in his contract that allows the Padres to trade him to only 14 clubs without his approval. Yet the Rangers are believed to be among those teams that needs no approval.

“You can’t just pick up the phone and make a trade,” McIlvaine said, recently. “He’s got a very healthy contract, and it’s not easy to trade someone like that. Non-contending teams certainly are not going to trade for him, and there are a number of teams in his contract that are exempt from trades.”

Certainly, the departure of Hurst, 6-5, 3.43 ERA, would leave a void in the Padre starting rotation. The team’s 3.78 ERA is the third-lowest in the league.