Padres’ Offense Needs Some Magic : Baseball: After 4-1 loss to Reds, Padres have scored only 12 runs in past eight games.

It was only a few years ago that pitcher Jim Deshaies walked into a San Diego bookstore, grabbed a book on witchcraft and began exorcising the evil spirits that haunted the Houston Astros in this town.

After the Padres’ 4-1 defeat Tuesday night to the Cincinnati Reds, Deshaies, now a Padre, might think about trying it to revive the Padre offense.

“The least we can do is wear garlic around our necks,” Padre reliever Larry Andersen said.

The Padres, whose offense has disappeared quicker than Ross Perot’s popularity, have scored only 12 runs in their past eight games. The Chicago Cubs, for instance, scored 11 in eight innings Tuesday against Pittsburgh.

The Padres have scored only six runs in their last 57 innings. During that span, they’re batting a cumulative .186, and the team average has dropped to .259, its lowest since May 9. The slump has become almost an epidemic:

* Leadoff hitter Tony Fernandez is in a two-for-29 (.069) slump.

* Right fielder Tony Gwynn is hitless in 16 at-bats, spanning four games.

* Cleanup hitter Fred McGriff is in a two-for-19 (.105) slide.

The Padres only hope that they can vent their frustration today on Reds starter Tom Bolton, who is making only his third National League start.

“We’re just not swinging good,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said. “That’s all there is to it.”

Someone then asked Riddoch if perhaps Gwynn’s ailing back may be the reason for his unusual slump.

“He’s hurting,” Riddoch said, “but Gwynn at 70% is better than most guys at 100% . It’s not his back; he’s just not swinging good.”

Because the Atlanta Braves lost their third consecutive game, the Padres (54-47) stayed five games back in the National League West.

The last time the Padres were this close to first place on this date was in 1985, when they trailed by 4 1/2 games. This time, they’re chasing two teams. The Reds (58-41) moved into a first-place tie.

“We’ve got to beat these teams if we’re going to stay in the race,” McGriff said.

The Padres’ lack of productivity--getting only seven hits in front of a disappointed crowd of 30,360 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium--could be expected under normal conditions, considering Cincinnati starter Jose Rijo is one of the best pitchers in baseball.

But this hardly was Rijo at his finest.

Rijo said before the game that his right elbow is “killing him.” Still, he allowed only five hits in seven innings before yielding to Norm Charlton, who got his 24th save.

“I didn’t even think I was going to be able to make this start,” said Rijo (8-7), who is taking anti-inflammatory medicine for his elbow. “Since pitching in St. Louis, my elbow had been stiff.

“I haven’t even been able to sleep the last three nights.”

Certainly, no one can blame Deshaies for his effort. He yielded only five hits and two earned runs in seven innings and has a 1.83 earned-run average in three starts.

He retired the first five batters he faced, when he inexplicably lost his control. He walked No. 6 hitter Glenn Braggs on five pitches, then fell behind 2-and-1 to Joe Oliver.

Deshaies served up a fastball, and Oliver slammed the pitch over the right-center field fence for a two-run homer. It was Oliver’s first homer since June 27, and only his sixth of the season.

In perhaps the biggest testimony to the Padres’ superior pitching of late, Oliver’s homer produced more runs in one at-bat than the opposition has scored in the previous 30 innings against the Padres.

Deshaies still kept the Reds from breaking the game open. He flirted with danger until his defense let him down in the seventh.

He gave up a one-out single in the seventh to Oliver. Fred Benavides grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out. Rijo then hit a sharp bouncer to third baseman Tim Teufel. He fielded the ball awkwardly and then threw the ball about five feet over the head of McGriff at first.

Benavides kept running, rounded third base, and was halfway down the line when he realized McGriff’s throw to home was going to nail him. He started backing up, only to watch McGriff’s throw sail past catcher Benito Santiago into the Reds’ dugout.

The Reds had a 3-1 lead, Rijo was on third base, and the crowd began booing heartily.

Deshaies ended any further shenanigans by striking out Cesar Hernandez.

“I told him he’s throwing the best he has in three years,” said Andersen, Deshaies’ longtime teammate at Houston. “He’s just been outstanding for us.

“Besides, he’s a great guy to have in the clubhouse. He’s witty, he cracks jokes, he gets along with everybody.

“I sure like having him around because he’s losing his hair, so I’m not the only guy around here going bald.”