Injuries Starting to Take Toll on Padres as Phillies Win, 5-2 : Baseball: Andy Benes misses win for 13th time in a row.

SAN DIEGO — The Padres proudly look at the National League West standings, and boast that they’re the ones sitting in first place. They giggle at the pitching problems the San Francisco Giants are enduring. They laugh aloud at the Dodgers’ horrendous fielding.

But then they start looking around their own clubhouse, wondering if they’re a team or an infirmary, and realize that they have a lot more problems than simply suffering a 5-2 defeat Wednesday night to the Philadelphia Phillies in front of a season-low crowd of 12,063 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

It’s enough that Padre starter Andy Benes, who allowed six hits and five earned runs in six innings, now has gone 13 consecutive starts without a victory. It’s enough that the Padres allowed Phillie starter Danny Cox to win his first game since July 21, 1988, snapping their three-game winning streak. It’s enough that shortstop Tony Fernandez and catcher Benito Santiago each find themselves in .095 slumps. And it’s enough that Mike Aldete, their left-handed pinch-hitting specialist, still does not have a hit in 14 at-bats.

The Padres’ biggest woes lie in the training room, where seemingly half the team resides these days. Padre reliever Larry Andersen (herniated disc in his neck) Wednesday night became the fifth pitcher to be placed on the 15-day disabled list, and will be replaced by John Costello of triple-A Las Vegas.

“What are you going to do?” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said. “There’s nothing you can do about these things.”

Said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager: “We’re running into some tough luck at this point. We’ve had some setbacks from the beginning, but this team is very resilient.”

Take a look at the San Diego M*A*S*H unit:

--Reliever Larry Andersen (herniated disc in neck): He was placed on the 15-day disabled list, although there is no guarantee rest will improve his condition. Padre physician Cliff Colwell said he does not believe the injury is career-threatening, and said: “He performed all last year and this year with the symptoms, but we just haven’t seen an improvement.”

--Reliever Pat Clements (tendinitis in back of left shoulder): Already on the disabled list, He was supposed to pitch on the side Monday, but was in too much pain. Instead, he took a cortisone shot Tuesday, and likely will be out for at least another week.

--Second baseman Marty Barrett (strained right knee): Barrett likely will be kept out of the starting lineup for at least a week, and might not be available to pinch hit for a few days.

--Starter Greg Harris (tendinitis in right elbow): Harris likely will have to remain on the disabled list for at least another week. “The doctors are kind of mystified right now,” McIlvaine said. “It could be long-term, it could be short-term. We just don’t know.”

--Left fielder Jerald Clark (sore Achilles’ tendon): He has missed the past six games, and still does not know when he’ll return. “It’s driving me nuts,” he said. “This damn thing, the pain just won’t go away. You don’t know how much this tees me off.”

--Infielder Paul Faries (jammed left thumb): Faries was scheduled to start Wednesday, but was scratched Riddoch detected that he was taking batting practice left-handed . Faries was unable to swing the bat right-haned without pain.

--And this doesn’t count starters Dennis Rasmussen (tendinitis in left shoulder) and Atlee Hammaker (broken finger), and first baseman Phil Stephenson (strained right knee), who have been on the disabled list since the season’s outset.

“The crazy part,” McIlvaine said, “is that these were unpreventable injuries.”

Certainly, if the Padres need any inspiration, they need to look no further than Cox, who had battled for the past 32 months to overcome Tommy John surgery in his right elbow. Cox allowed only five hits and two runs in six innings, picking up his 500th career strikeout, and let Roger McDowell do the honors by pitching three hitless innings for the save.

“The last time I got a win,” Cox said, laughing, “Reagan was president. It had been awhile. This is a special day for me.

“It’s been a long, tough, road back.”

Maybe one day Benes can say the same, after failing once again to win. He still has not won a game since Aug. 24, 1990.

Although he bolted the clubhouse before reporters arrived, Benes’ frustration was evident after allowing a grand slam to Ricky Jordan--his third homer off Benes in 13 at-bats--in the sixth inning that turned a 2-1 Padre lead into a 5-2 deficit.

Benes induced a ground ball by Charlie Hayes for the next out. But while Hayes slowly walked toward the dugout, Benes cursed at him. Hayes stopped, and both benches and bullpens cleared. No punches or even a push were exchanged.

“He told me, ‘Get off the . . . field,’ ” Hayes said, “ ‘you’re not going that good.’ I said, ‘. . . I didn’t hit the homer off you.’ I guess he was frustrated he made a bad pitch.

“What am I supposed to do, walk off the field with my head down?’

“Nobody intimidates me in this game.”

The only thing intimidating to the Padres these days has been the disabled list.