PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / SCOTT MILLER : Maddux, Melendez Contributed to Padres’ Weekend Troubles

Amid the wreckage of the Padres’ four-game trip to Los Angeles this weekend were some rocky performances by two middle relievers: Mike Maddux and Jose Melendez.

Maddux, in two appearances covering 3 2/3 innings, allowed four runs and seven hits. He also allowed two inherited runners to score.

Melendez, in two appearances covering 5 1/3 innings, allowed three runs and four hits.

Neither Maddux nor Padre Manager Greg Riddoch were displeased with Maddux’s effort in Sunday’s 4-1 loss, though. He got through the seventh one-two-three but, in the eighth, allowed two singles and then a two-run double that Eric Karros chopped into the ground and just over third baseman Gary Sheffield’s head.

“It was one of the best games I’ve thrown all year,” Maddux said. “It could be the second best.”

The pitch to Karros, he said, “was right where I wanted it. The guy hits the ball right in front of the plate--that’s a pretty good job.”

Said Riddoch: “He made some good pitches today. The one he threw at Karros was a great pitch. They just hit them where we weren’t. That’s all.”

Melendez, who was once 4-0, dropped to 5-7 when he was charged with the loss Thursday.

He started the season in the bullpen, was moved into the starting rotation and then put back in the bullpen, but he was matter-of-fact about his plummeting record and wouldn’t blame his inconsistent job description.

“I’m throwing the ball good; I’ve just got to get lucky,” Melendez said. “I was 4-0, but I was lucky. Every time I pitched, we would come back and win. Sometimes, I’d throw only one or two innings and win.”

Those days, though, seem like a long time ago.

Despite holding the Padres in the palm of his hand on Sunday afternoon, Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser said he likes their chances in the NL West.

“I think the Padres have a great chance to win the west,” he said. “They have a great lineup that’s very difficult to get through. If they get pitching, they’re going to be difficult to beat.’

First baseman-outfielder Phil Stephenson has a brand new piece of equipment, and he is thrilled.

His own catcher’s mask.

You see, Stephenson sometimes warms up the pitcher between innings if the Padres’ regular catcher is still putting his gear back on. And it’s not as easy as it looks.

“I had two or three different guys bounce balls in the dirt on the last road trip,” Stephenson said. “I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry, so I acquired a mask. I feel a little safer out there.”

X-rays on the Dodgers’ Eric Davis on Sunday morning revealed a contusion on his left wrist on the ulnar side. Davis left Saturday night’s game in the sixth inning after being hit by a pitch by Jose Melendez. Davis did not play Sunday, and his status is day-to-day.