PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Braves Say They Are Taking Padres Seriously in NL West

The Atlanta Braves recognize that they should be looking over their shoulders at the Padres as well as Cincinnati Reds in the National League West race.

“People have been talking about the Reds so much here,” Braves outfielder Ron Gant said, “but the Padres have been sneaking up. You know what kind of offense team they have. Now, I think everbody’s taking them seriously.”

Although the Braves leads the Reds by four games, Cincinnati definitely has the scheduling advantage.

* The Reds’ remaining opponents have a record of 146 games below .500.

* The Braves’ opponents are 77 games above .500.

* Largely because of 23 their 48 games are against the Reds (nine), Braves (eight) and Pittsburgh Pirates, the Padres will be facing opponents a cumulative 223 games over .500.

“No one said this woud be easy,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said.

Padre catcher Benito Santiago cleared waivers Tuesday, Padre General Manager Joe McIlvaine said. The Padres may trade him to any team before the Aug. 31 deadline when playoff rosters are frozen.

The Montreal Expos, according to one highly placed source, are interested. Yet they don’t want to give away too many prospects since Santiago can leave after the season as a free agent.

Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine (17-3) is bidding to become the first pitcher since Sandy Koufax two win back-to-back Cy Young Awards, and at this pace, it’s looking to be much more of a reality than just a passing dream.

“Sure, I think about it,” Glavine said. “I feel I’m certainly in contention again, and I very much want to win it again.

“But I’m not going to go out there and pitching every game, saying, ‘Well, I do this or do that, that’s going to hurt my chances.’ I’m just going to go out there and try to help this team win.

Glavine’s 17-3 record is the best start by a Braves pitcher since 1900. And he has 11 consecutive victories, one shy of the franchise record set by Dick Rudolph with the 1914 Miracle Braves.

“I don’t really pay too much attention to all that stuff,” Glavine said. “Those things really aren’t on my mind right now. My mind is on helping these team get back to the World Series.”

It was sort of an awkward greeting, but the Padres nevertheless were happy to see former teammate Mark Davis. It has been three years since their Cy Young Award winner left San Diego to sign a four-year, $13-million contract with the Kansas City Royals.

Time have changed. Davis was a flop in Kansas City, saving only seven games. He became baseball’s most unwanted man, and Braves General Manger John Schuerholz, who ironically signed Davis to his contract with Kansas City, brought him to Atlanta last month by trading reliever Juan Berenguer.

“I still have faith in him,” Schuerholz said. “And if he gets anywere close to that ability, I think we have a hell of a pitcher on our hands.”

Said Davis: “I know it didn’t work out in Kansas City, but there’s no reason things can’t change now. All I can do is hope and forget about everything bad that’s happened.”

The Braves are on the verge of becoming only the eighth team in the last 20 years to record 20 shutouts, and if tradition continues, they will win the National League West. The Braves have 19 shutouts, and of the previous seven teams who had at least 20 shutouts, five won division titles and two went on to win the World Series.

The exclusive list:

* 1989: Oakland Athletics (20) and Angels (20).

* 1988: Dodgers (24) and New York Mets (22).

* 1985: Dodgers (21) and St. Louis Cardinals (20).

* 1974: Braves (21).

Twice this season the Braves have thrown three shutouts in a row. The Philadelphia Phillies have thrown three in a row only twice in their past 42 seasons.

The Braves have shut out 11 teams in the league this season, but yet have to include the Padres, Montreal or Philadelphia.

Padre second baseman Kurt Stillwell missed his second consecutive game with a bruised toe, and was unable to practice. He is questionable during the remainder of the Atlanta series.

The Atlanta Braves are the only team in baseball who have achieved six five-game winning streaks this season.

Meanwhile, there are six teams who have yet to accomplish the feat even once: The New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Angels, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers.

The Padres have three streaks of five or more games.