Reds Blank Padres : Baseball: Roberts continues to struggle as Padres make trade overtures to Reds about Mariano Duncan.

CINCINNATI —  Bip Roberts slowly walked out of the clubhouse shower Thursday afternoon. His eyes were glazed. His stomach hurt. His pride ached.

The Padres had just lost, 3-0, to the Cincinnati Reds, having been swept three games in which they were humbled in every phase of the game. And Roberts, who left the game early, went 0-for-2 and watched his average fall to .255.

In the series, the Reds outscored the Padres, 17-4, hitting more home runs (six) than the Padres scored runs. The Reds batted .296, the Padres .194. Reds’ pitchers yielded a 1.00 ERA, the Padres’ 5.63.

“There’s not much you can say,” Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn said. “They thrashed us. They just thrashed us.”

On Thursday in front of 31,014 at Riverfront Stadium, shortstop Barry Larkin accounted for all of the Reds’ runs with a solo homer in the first inning and a two-run homer in the fifth.

Larkin has 11 homers, one fewer than his career high and four more than he hit last season. This is why the Reds’ Lou Piniella, who will manage the National League All-Stars, has determined that Larkin will beat out the Padres’ Tony Fernandez as back-up to Ozzie Smith at shortstop.

“I knew he’d hit more home runs this year,” Piniella said. “I predicted he’d hit 11 to 13. I guess I’m going to fall short.”

Yet as high as Cincinnati’s expectations were of Larkin, the Padres were equally confident Roberts would be their catalyst once again this season. They promised they would keep him at one position, second base, and allow him to concentrate more on his offense. And Roberts believed he would prove that he’s among the finest leadoff hitters in the game.

After he batted .301 in 1989 and .309 last season, who didn’t expect greatness?

The Padres were so enraptured by Roberts that they shunned all trade possiblities. They even turned down a deal that would have brought them power hitter Danny Tartabull of the Kansas City Royals, one for one. This guy wasn’t going anywhere.

With the All-Star break approaching in 10 days, Roberts finds himself bouncing between second base and center field and struggling for answers.

His .329 on-base percentage ranks seventh on the Padres. It’s not exactly what you want from your leadoff hitter.

“It’s been some year, hasn’t it?” Roberts said. “Nothing’s gone right. I do know the pitchers are pitching me differently. I don’t see those fastballs like I used to. Everybody’s throwing me breaking balls. I guess it’s a sign of respect.”

After missing nearly 10 games with back spasms, Roberts returned two weeks ago and slowly started to get his act together. And in St. Louis last weekend, he appeared back in his old form. He was batting .364 in his previous five games with two doubles and three RBIs.

“Everything was going so good, so good,” Roberts said. “And now this happens.”

Roberts ordered a seafood plate at a hotel restaurant Wednesday afternoon before the game. As the game progressed, he felt worse. He was hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts when he left the game. He showed up Thursday, tried to play and was out of the game in the fifth inning.

Roberts went back in the clubhouse, got sick again and stepped on the scales. He weighed 145 pounds. He had lost eight pounds.

“I don’t know if it was food poisoning or what,” Roberts said, “but I can’t afford to lose weight like that. I probably shouldn’t have been out there today. It was stupid on my part.”

It’s unknown how long Roberts will be sidelined, but it’s apparent that Padre Manager Greg Riddoch is starting to become exasperated not knowing when he can count on him.

“I’m concerned, just like I would be about any other player,” Riddoch said. “If you look at his history, he has broken down from time to time. Maybe I need to monitor him more and not play him as much. I’m going to rest him for a little while.”

Just how long, Riddoch wouldn’t say, but Roberts was perturbed.

“What, like play once a week now?” Roberts asked. “He’s the manager. That’s his decision. All I know is that I play hard and when you play like I do, you need a day off once in a while.”

What will happen at second base?

Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, confirmed Thursday that he has had talks with the Reds about second baseman Mariano Duncan. The Reds have made Duncan available and are looking for pitching.

“They’ve talked to us more than we talked to them,” McIlvaine said. “I can’t talk about opposing players, but you have to admire his talents.”

Duncan hit .306 with a league-leading 11 triples, 10 homers and 55 RBIs last season. But with the acquisition of Billy Doran and the presence of Larkin, Duncan has been left on the bench. He’s eligible to become a free agent at the end of the season.