Manager Riddoch Likely to Be Around Next Season : Baseball: Sources say he’ll get a one-year contract extension. Benes gets his first shutout as Padres defeat Cardinals, 1-0.

Padre Manager Greg Riddoch is expected to be offered a one-year contract extension at the end of the season, barring a last-month collapse by the team, according to sources within the organization.

The news comes in wake of the Padres’ 1-0 victory Thursday over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, highlighted by Andy Benes’ two-hit shutout, the first of his career.

However, Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, refused to confirm that Riddoch will return for the 1992 season, saying a decision has not been reached.

“I’m not going to comment on that until the issue is resolved at the end of the year,” McIlvaine said. “People have been speculating all year what will happen to Greg, but I’ve approached it all along with an open mind. I said in spring training I was going to wait, and that’s not going to change.

“The team has not laid down. They’ve played hard all season. And you’ve got to give Greg credit for that.

“But I can not tell you a decision has been made.”

Although an official announcement is not expected until October, a source close to Padre majority owner Tom Werner said the club is set on retaining Riddoch.

“The only way Greg won’t be back is if we collapse in September or Joe suddenly changes his mind,” the source said, “and I don’t see that happening. I don’t know if Joe planned on keeping him originally, but he’s been impressed with how well he’s held up.

“The bottom line is Greg deserves to be back.”

Although Riddoch certainly would rather have a multi-year contract, he said Thursday he’d gladly accept a one-year offer and hopes a decision is reached soon.

“It’s been tough waiting to see what will happen, especially for the coaches,” Riddoch said. “I expect to come back because I’m proud of what we’ve done. We’ve battled through adversity all year.

“Then again, I also think if they were dead-set on me, they would have already announced the decision.”

The pending decision to retain Riddoch is a bit surprising, considering the speculation this year that he’d be fired at the season’s conclusion. There were rumors of his firing before the season opened, with most predicated on the fact that he was not hired by McIlvaine.

“I don’t know where all that talk came from,” McIlvaine said. “Everybody kept saying, ‘Greg’s not my guy, Greg’s not my guy.’ What has that got to do with anything?

“I think we’ve both come to know each other better.”

Jim Riggleman, the Padres’ triple-A manager in Las Vegas who was rumored to replace Riddoch, is expected to return in the same capacity. However, he still is considered the Padres’ No. 1 candidate if a managerial change is made.

“I think we all would have raised our eyebrows a little bit if a change was made,” Padre pitcher Ed Whitson said. “No one’s quit in here. No one laid down and died. And it would have been so easy.

“I’ve been on teams that just go through the motions this time of year, and with all our injuries, we’ve certainly had excuses. But just look at what we’re doing.”

The Padres opened their 10-game trip by getting swept by the Dodgers. They blew a ninth-inning lead in Chicago. They dropped out of the pennant race.

They since have won five of their past six games against the best of the National League East--Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. In fact, the Padres’ two-game sweep over the Cardinals enabled them to win a franchise-record five games in St. Louis this season.

“We’ve had built-in excuses all year to fail,” Riddoch said. “With everything that’s happened to us, and all our injuries, we could have been 20 games out. But this team has so much character, they refuse to give in to adversity.”

Certainly, no Padre has endured more adversity this season than Benes (10-10). He didn’t win his first game of the season until May 13. He was 4-10 on July 15.

Yet, since a late-afternoon conversation with teammate Craig Lefferts, Benes has emerged as perhaps the finest pitcher on the staff. He has won six consecutive decisions, yielding a 1.88 ERA in his past eight starts, while the Padres went 7-1.

“He took me off to the side one day,” Benes said, “and said, ‘Look, you’re dragging around the clubhouse. You don’t look like you’re happy to be here. People see that. Come on, kick yourself in the butt and be happy.’

“I’m not saying that’s the reason I’m winning again, but I sure feel a whole lot better about myself.”

Benes, pitching in front of his wife and in-laws, never looked better. He didn’t give up a hit until Pedro Guerrero’s two-out single in the fourth inning. Felix Jose followed with another single to right field, moving Guerrero to third, and Benes suddenly appeared in trouble.

Milt Thompson hit a soft grounder to shortstop Tony Fernandez, ending the inning, and the last ounce of offense the Cardinals could muster.

Incredibly, Benes retired the final 16 Cardinal batters, allowing only one ball to be hit out of the infield in his 10-strikeout performance. The only hard-hit balls after the fourth inning were a line drive by Guerrero that was snared by second baseman Tim Teufel on a diving catch, and Ray Lankford’s fly ball to deep center in the ninth inning.

Of course, considering the Padres scored only one run off Cardinal starter Omar Olivares, a former Padre farmhand, Benes could ill-afford to make any mistakes. The Padres scored the only run they needed in the fourth inning when Oscar Azocar drove in Tony Fernandez from third base with a two-out single to right field.

“It was a great feeling behind on the winning side of one of these things,” said Benes, who has lost two 1-0 complete games this season. “And if I ever threw a shutout, I’m glad it was here. I was a big Cardinal fan growing up, and I used to love this place.”

And although the pending decision to keep Riddoch was made weeks ago, who knows, perhaps this will be remembered as the trip that saved Riddoch’s job.

“We’ve got no control on what’s going to happen to Greg,” Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn said. “That’s management’s decision. But you can tell we haven’t quit. We haven’t had problems in the clubhouse. Things have gone pretty smoothly.

“Why mess with a good thing?”