Padres in a Happy Dilemma : Baseball: Team finds it’s knee-deep in good pitching after Peterson stars in 4-1 victory against St. Louis.

The Padres have already seen their share of zaniness this season, but never, ever, in their wildest imaginations did they believe something like this would occur.

They have a hard time even uttering the words without breaking into laughter.

The Padres, in the aftermath of their 4-1 victory Monday night over the St. Louis Cardinals, all of a sudden find themselves with the craziest, most improbable problem they’ve encountered this season.

Believe it or not, after using 20 pitchers this season--including 12 starters--they now find themselves with too much pitching, wondering they’re going to do with seven starters.

Starter Adam Peterson, pitching one of the finest games of his career, thoroughly complicated the Padres’ decision-making process, shutting out the Cardinals through seven innings, allowing only three hits.

He dominated the Cardinals, allowing only six balls out of the infield the entire game, inducing 13 ground-ball outs, and striking out four. It’s also the first time in four starts that he didn’t allow a homer. Peterson had allowed five solo homers his past three starts, which have accounted for all of the runs he has surrendered.

“I think I’ve proven I can pitch in the big leagues,” Peterson said. “And I know I can help this team.”

Peterson and Jose Melendez, the guys who were supposed to have round-trip tickets back to triple-A Las Vegas when everyone became healthy, have emerged as the Padres’ biggest surprises on the pitching staff.

Why, with the two of them working in the Cardinal series, the Padres won three of the four games.

It’s the first time since July 14-17 1988 that the Padres won a series at Busch Stadium, and it’s one more victory than they attained in St. Louis the past two seasons combined.

The Padres, winning their third consecutive game, watched left fielder Jerald Clark provide the bulk of the offense, going two for four with a homer and two RBIs. Bip Roberts contributed two doubles, the first time this season that he had a multiple extra-base hit game. And Paul Faries filled in admirably at shortstop, replacing Tony Fernandez, who left the game in the fourth with the flu.

“For some reason, something always clicks in for me in St. Louis,” Roberts said. “Every time I come here, good things seem to happen for me. And this time, it seemed to work for everybody.”

But if you want a predominant reason for the Padres’ success of late, look no further than the starting rotation. In the past nine games, they’ve yielded a 2.75 ERA, allowing only 69 hits in 78 2/3 innings. And only twice did the entire pitching staff allow more than three earned runs in a game.

“We couldn’t ask for anything more from them,” Padre pitching Coach Mike Roarke said. “They’ve been outstanding.

“But now, we’ve got some interesting decisions. We’ve got seven starters for five spots, and so far, nobody wants to give up their spot.”

Said Padre Manager Greg Riddoch: “It’ll be tough, boy. But those are the type of decisions we haven’t had in awhile.”

Let’s see now, there’s Bruce Hurst (8-4, 2.91 ERA), Dennis Rasmussen (3-1, 1.23 ERA) and Andy Benes (4-7, 3.68 ERA) anchoring their first three spots; there’s Peterson (3-1, 2.52 ERA), and Melendez (3-2, 4.05) filling out the rotation; and there’s Ed Whitson (3-5, 4.68 ERA) and Greg Harris (1-1, 2.30 ERA) who are on the verge of leaving the disabled list.

“Man, I’m glad I’m not making the decision,” Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn said. “Those two guys (Peterson and Melendez) have pitched great. They both deserve to be on this team. Somebody’s not going to be a happy camper.”

The Padres are expected to start formulating their decisions today when Riddoch telephones Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, to discuss their options.

The first decision will center on Whitson, who has been on the disabled since May 27 with tendinitis in his right elbow, and is ready to return. He threw a five-inning simulated game Monday, and was dominant in his performance. The only one who hit the ball hard off him was Scott Coolbaugh, with a line drive to right field.

“Get me back in there,” Whitson said, “I’m ready. I’m tired of this sitting around.”

Although no one is providing any hints, it appears that Whitson likely will rejoin the rotation Saturday, and start against the San Francisco Giants.

And just who will he replace?

No one’s saying, but although Peterson is yielding a 2.64 ERA over his past four starts, he still appears the leading candidate to go into the bullpen. Peterson was a long reliever for the Chicago White Sox last season, and would be the most suitable for the role. The Padres then would send Tim Scott back to Las Vegas.

“There’s no question I like starting better than the bullpen,” Peterson said, “but if it means staying up here, I’ll do whatever they want. I’ve done it before, I can do it again.”

Then, there’s the dilemma of Greg Harris. He has been on the disabled list since April 22, but after his performance Sunday night on his rehabilitative assignment in Las Vegas, the Padres are considering calling him up within a week. Harris allowed six hits and two runs in eight innings, with no walks and seven strikeouts.

“I’m 100% now, everything’s ready to go,” Harris said from his Colorado Springs hotel. “When I first came down here, I was a mess. But now, I feel as good, if not better, than when I got hurt.

“It was kind of like going back to spring training again, but now, everything’s great again. I’m ready. I’m just waiting for the phone to ring.”

When Harris returns, the big question will be whether he’ll be back in the rotation or in the bullpen, bouncing John Costello. And Harris he does come back as a starter, what happens to Melendez?

“I know something’s going to have to happen, we all know that,” Peterson said, “but I’m not going to worry about it. I have no control over it, and they’re going to do whatever they want without asking me. So I’m just going to keep pitching until they take the ball away from me.

“Besides, I feel everything always happens for a reason anyway.”

Hmm, kind of like that March 31 day, when Peterson and reliever Steve Rosenberg were traded to the Padres from the White Sox? Wonder that the folks in Chicago are thinking now?

“I really like the people in the White Sox organization,” Peterson said, “so it’s tough to say, ‘In your face.’ But nothing would be better than having an outstanding year, and have them say, ‘We made a mistake.’ ”

Crazy, huh?