Padres Get Gutty Victory

CINCINNATI — Padre starter Andy Benes was miserable. He had spent the entire night pacing between the bed and the bathroom. He’d lie down for a few minutes, get nauseous, go back to bed, and then it was back up to the bathroom.

After the all-night routine, Benes showed up to the ballpark Sunday morning and informed Padre Manager Greg Riddoch of his health. That was when he thought Riddoch was going to get sick. The Padre pitching staff was depleted, and it hardly could afford to have its bullpen suffer more.

Imagine everyone’s surprise when Benes not only was able to pitch, but virtually stymie the Cincinnati Reds’ attack, leading the Padres to a 3-2 victory in front of a crowd of 29,847 at Riverfront Stadium.

“That was an unbelievable performance,” Riddoch said. “We were ready from the first inning on to go to the bullpen, but he just fought through it. Whew, we needed that.”

Benes’ performance, allowing seven hits and one run in six innings, not only was a life-saver for the Padres Sunday, but rescued them from a potential catastrophe with the rest of their pitching staff on this trip.

The Padres, 18-19, once again are in the process of making roster moves and shuffling their pitching staff, searching for a starter for Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves. The job previously was occupied by Eric Nolte, but after lasting only 4 1/3 innings in his past three starts, the Padres, sources said, placed Nolte on waivers Thursday for the purpose of outrighting him to their triple-A Las Vegas team.

The Padres will know today whether a team has claimed him for $20,000. If Nolte goes unclaimed, the Padres then can send him to Las Vegas or release him.

The waiver move will allow the Padres to activate left fielder Jerald Clark, who has been out since April 30 when he injured his left Achilles’ tendon. Clark immediately will resume his starting job in left field, Riddoch said, while Bip Roberts will remain in center and Paul Faries at second.

The Padres then are expected to bring up Jose Melendez, 6-0, 3.70 ERA, from their triple-A Las Vegas club. He will start Tuesday. The Padres likely make room for him by sending outfielder Kevin Ward to Las Vegas.

But after Melendez’s start, win or lose, the Padres have decided that Dennis Rasmussen will be activated Wednesday or Thursday. He’ll be inserted into the starting rotation and start Sunday against the Houston Astros.

Rasmussen, who has been on a monthlong rehabilitative assignment, had a stellar performance in his final outing Saturday night against Phoenix, allowing three hits and one walk in seven innings. And, perhaps at least for a couple of weeks until right-hander Greg Harris is ready to return, the Padre rotation should be stabilized.

“We’re running out of ideas,” Riddoch said. “We don’t have too many options left, do we?”

Even with the impending changes, this is the best the Padres have felt since the last time they were on the road. The Padres are 11-7 away from San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, while being 7-12 at home.

Don’t ask anyone to explain it. Heck, no one can explain Benes, either. This is a guy who had gone 262 days without a victory, and now, he has two victories in the past six days.

“I knew I was going to pitch,” Benes said, “I just didn’t know how I’d do. I mean, I didn’t even have anything in my stomach. The only time I really felt I was going to sick out there was when I bunted into a double-play.”

The Padres actually managed to ground into a season-high four double plays, but it turned out they had all of the offense they needed in the first inning, and were able to survive the Reds’ last-gasp effort.

Bip Roberts, who reached base four times in the game, led off the game by drawing a walk. Tony Fernandez followed by slapping the next pitch into right field. That brought up Gwynn, who owned a .313 batting average against Charlton.

Gwynn walked to the plate and noticed that Hal Morris, playing left field for the first time this season to make room for rookie Reggie Jefferson at first base, wasn’t positioned quite right. Billy Hatcher, who started in left field the previous two games, played Gwynn down the line. Morris was playing straight away in left, giving Gwynn ample room down the line.

Gwynn battled the count to 2-2, and then hit a slider that sliced into the left-field corner. Roberts and Fernandez scored easily, Gwynn stood at second, and the Padres’ first extra-base hit in 105 at-bats.

It also was Gwynn’s 24th RBI of the season, tying him with Fred McGriff for the team-lead. Funny, isn’t it, that the man who criticized Gwynn for his lack of run production last year, Jack Clark, doesn’t even have half as many RBIs this season. Gwynn, in fact, is on pace to drive in a career-high 105 runs.

“Hey, people can say what they want to say about me,” Gwynn said. “I know I’ve never driven in a lot of runs. That stat never has been that important to me.

“But who in this league is better than putting the bat on the ball?

“Nobody.

“And when you put the bat on the ball, and people are on base, you’re going to drive in some runs.”

It was all the offense Benes and the Padres needed. Of course, the way the Reds have been hitting of late, they proved to be the perfect thing for the Padres’ pitching woes. This is a team whose .227 batting average is the worst in the National Leagues, and they’ve scored fewer runs than every team but the Houston Astros.

Just how bad has the Reds’ offense been?

The Chicago Cubs’ pitching staff has more RBIs (10) than the heart of the Reds’ lineup, Eric Davis and Chris Sabo, who have eight RBIs apiece.

Little wonder why Reds Manager Lou Piniella has tried 35 different lineups in 35 games this season.