Padres Again Fail in Crunch Time : Baseball: Grissom’s hit in 10th gives Montreal a 3-2 victory. In extra-inning games, Padres have lost four in a row.

It was all supposed to be so easy this season. The Padres finally got a bullpen stopper during the winter, and with Randy Myers around, never again was there supposed to be a dilemma whom to use in crunch time.

Now, at the halfway point of the Padre season, Manager Greg Riddoch no longer knows where to turn. The relievers have no idea when they’ll be used. The confusion is snuffing the Padres’ playoff hopes.

Perhaps it was appropriate that the Padres’ first half ended Saturday with a 3-2, 10-inning defeat to the Montreal Expos at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, a loss that had the bullpen grumbling once again.

It was the Padres’ fourth consecutive defeat in extra-inning games, and it cost them a game in the standings to the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves. Although the Padres (43-38) have their best record after 81 games since 1985, they are 5 1/2 games behind the Reds and seven games back in the loss column.

Most discouraging is that the Padres’ bullpen, considered the strength of their pitching staff, has been responsible for much of their recent troubles. The bullpen is 2-8 since May 27, and, of course, Myers has been demoted to little more than a mop-up man.

“The whole key for us is going to be pitching,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager. “The two teams ahead of us have good pitching, and we have to stay up with it.

“If the pitching does what it’s capable, we’ll be OK.”

On Saturday, Myers warmed up on two occasions during the late innings, but in the critical 10th, it was Jose Melendez (5-6) who suffered the loss.

He issued a leadoff walk to Spike Owen, who was sacrificed to second on Tom Foley’s bunt. Melendez intentionally walked Delino DeShields. But Marquis Grissom, who’s batting .372 with runners in scoring position this year, stroked a single to left, scoring Owen with the game-winner.

The Padres rallied in the bottom of the 10th with Oscar Azocar on second base and one out, but reliever Mel Rojas retired Tim Teufel and Gary Sheffield on pop-ups to shortstop.

“You can’t focus on one game, one week, or one month,” McIlvaine said. “Over the course of the season, you’re going to get the good, the bad and the ugly. We still have a long ways to go.”

Will Myers be used again in a key situation, after not saving a game since May 29?

“I think he’ll be all right,” McIlvaine said. “He just needs to get his confidence back. He’s been struggling with his control all year. The mystery is that has hard as he’s been throwing, everything’s been getting hit hard.”

Perhaps the most critical decision Saturday came in the third inning, when third-base coach Bruce Kimm waved home starter Dave Eiland.

It was a play that proved to be senseless. It was second-guessed immediately by many of the 29,304 fans, who voiced their displeasure the following inning by lustily booing Kimm when he came to the coaching box.

The situation was this: With the game tied, 1-1, Eiland was on second base and Teufel on first. Sheffield lined a sharp single to left field.

Eiland got a late jump off second, and considering Fred McGriff was up next, Kimm thought briefly about holding Eiland at third. Why not? McGriff not only is the league’s leading home run hitter with 17, but he had homered in the second inning off Expo starter Chris Nabholz. McGriff had three homers in three games and a .429 batting average with the bases loaded.

Kimm instead decided to gamble.

Rookie left fielder Moises Alou made a perfect throw to home plate. Eiland never had a chance. The ball beat him by at least six feet, Eiland slid into catcher Darrin Fletcher, and Eiland began writhing in pain. McGriff could only helplessly watch.

Eiland attempted to pitch the fourth, but it was of no use. He couldn’t push off the mound with his left ankle, and the Padres had no choice but to summon left-hander Rich Rodriguez from their bullpen.

Eiland was diagnosed with a contusion of his left ankle. It is questionable whether he can make his next start. The Padres also lost outfielder Kevin Ward in the fifth inning when he left the game because of back spasms.

The Padres erased a 2-1 deficit and tied the game in the eighth inning. Craig Shipley led off with a pinch-hit single, and went to second on Tony Fernandez’s hit-and-run. Expo Manager Felipe Alou turned to bullpen stopper John Wetteland.

But Teufel hit a single to center that scored Shipley and went to second when Grissom’s throw bounced away from Fletcher. Wetteland then hit Sheffield with a 2-and-2 pitch.

McGriff, batting .400 this season with fewer than two outs and runners in scoring position, ended the threat when he grounded into a double play.

There was positive news. The Padres’ earned-run average dipped to 3.60, its lowest since April 29. They’ve relied primarily on Bruce Hurst and Craig Lefferts, who have combined for 18 of the victories. Most important, the Padres are 23-10 when either pitch. On the other hand, starter Andy Benes is only 6-6 and the Padres have lost 10 of his 17 starts.

“We need Benes to have the second half like he did last year (11-3, 2.01 ERA),” McIlvaine said. “That’s what we need.”

The Padres have no immediate plans to trade Hurst before the end of the season. McIlvaine has been deluged with calls for Hurst, who has asked to be traded, but he wishes the calls concerned All-Star catcher Benito Santiago instead.

The Padres would love to trade Santiago before the end of the season since he’s eligible for free agency. Their best-case scenario would be trading him before the July 31 trading deadline when waivers still are required.

“If you’re going to trade Benito,” McIlvaine said, “you’re going to need a trading partner. So far, there’s been no trading partner.”

The only team interested this season in Santiago was the Toronto Blue Jays, who offered catcher Pat Borders and outfielder Candy Maldonado. The Padres turned down that offer, and a subsequent proposal by the Atlanta Braves that would have sent Santiago to Toronto in a three-way deal.

If the Padres are unable to trade Santiago, they are toying with the idea of using him in left field on occasion. Santiago has played only two innings in left field in his professional career, and that occurred only because of a blunder in a double-switch last year in Montreal.

“It’s OK by me,” Santiago said. “I think I can do that. I screw around in the outfield during batting practice all of the time.”

Such a move is under consideration simply because of the play of rookie catcher Dan Walters. He’s batting .283 with two homers and 16 RBIs since replacing Santiago, who broke the little finger on his right hand May 30 and still is on the disabled list.

“(Walters) has shown he’s a bona fide major-league player,” McIlvaine said. “He’s shown us he can play this game.”