Nolte Has Wild Time at Home in 7-1 Win

SAN DIEGO —  For those who came to see Eric Nolte, the Padres’ new arm from the farm, Friday night’s game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium provided plenty of variety.

On one hand, there was Eric the Wild, who walked seven in just 3 innings and was behind most of the other batters he faced.

On the other hand, there was Eric the Lionhearted, who worked out of one bases-loaded jam and two other potentially dangerous situations, allowing only one unearned run.

The Astros spent much the evening putting runners on base and then leaving them there. Houston stranded 16 runners in all, and the Padres went on to a 7-1 victory in front of 17,194 fans.

Afterward, the questions centered on the 23-year-old left-hander who just nine days ago was summoned to the big leagues from the Padres’ Double-A affiliate in Wichita.

Is Eric wild or lionhearted? The answer, as it turned out, was:

“Nervous,” he said. “I tried not to let it affect me, but this was my first start at home, and I let it get to me.”

Manager Larry Bowa, meanwhile, didn’t let it get to him.

“Hey, you bring a guy up from Double-A and you’ve got to expect that,” Bowa said. “I was more encouraged by the way he made some pitches when he had to with runners on base.”

While Nolte was wild, Bowa and pitching coach Galen Cisco were busy. Cisco made one visit to the mound, and Bowa made two in the first three innings. Finally, in the fourth, Bowa came out for the last time, removing his pitcher when Houston loaded the bases for the second straight inning.

Still, when Nolte did get into trouble, he pulled out of it impressively.

In his first start last Saturday in Houston, Nolte had started wildly, walking the first two hitters he faced in the first inning. After that, he settled down and pitched shutout ball for seven innings in gaining his first big league win.

Friday, he started wildly and stayed that way.

A capsule:

--In the first inning, Nolte walked leadoff hitter Gerald Young on four pitches. Young stole second and later scored when John Kruk threw away Billy Hatcher’s ensuing bunt single. Another walk, to Bill Doran, followed, and Cisco made a trip to the mound.

Further trouble was avoided, however, when Nolte retired Alan Ashby and Kevin Bass on popups and Glenn Davis on a ground out.

--In the second, Ken Caminiti singled and Buddy Biancalana, who was 0 for 7 coming into the game, walked. Out came Bowa. Nolte settled down and retired Mike Scott, Young and Hatcher.

“I went out there to tell him that he was giving the hitters too much credit,” Bowa said. “He has good stuff. I told him he could respect the hitters, but he didn’t have to be in awe of them.”

--In the third, Nolte issued a one-out walk to Ashby and a double to Bass. But he came back to strike out Davis. Bowa came out and ordered an intentional walk to Caminiti. With the bases loaded, Nolte retired Biancalana on a soft liner to second.

--In the fourth, a single by Young and walks to Hatcher and Ashby (Nolte’s sixth and seventh of the game) loaded the bases with two outs. Out came Bowa for the third and final time.

The totals for Nolte for 3 innings were one unearned run, four hits, seven walks and one strikeout. Houston also had four stolen bases.

Mark Davis came in and, after throwing three balls to Bass, retired him on a popup to short. Nolte, who had struggled all evening, left the game still not having allowed an earned run (10 innings) in his brief major league career.

As for the Padres, they got to Houston starter Scott early, scoring twice in the first.

Stanley Jefferson and Tony Gwynn both tripled, and Gwynn scored on a wild pitch.

In the third inning, the Padres nearly added to their 2-1 lead when Chris Brown hit a long fly ball just over the wall in right, but Bass made a leaping catch on the ball that could have gone for a home run.

Scott finally left for a pinch-hitter in the seventh, and in the bottom of that inning, the Padres put the game out of reach.

Shane Mack drove in two runs with a double and Kruk, Benito Santiago and Tim Flannery all came through with run-scoring singles. The outburst gave the Padres seven runs for the game, the fourth straight game they have scored that many.

Padre Notes

John Kruk, the hottest Padre hitter of late, was strolling by the Houston dugout before Friday’s game when one of the Astro coaches jokingly yelled out: “Hey, you know, you’re going to be the guy we check tonight.” Kruk laughed. Friday was the first day of Commissioner Peter Ueberroth’s plan concerning the alleged use of illegal bats. Each manager is now allowed to check one opposing player’s bat each game. Had Houston decided to take advantage of the rule Friday, Kruk might not have been a bad candidate. He had three homers in his six games before Friday. “Hey, I told them if they want to check me, let’s sit down at my house, take some time and cut them open,” Kruk said. “I think it’s a good rule. The league has done tests and found the ball to be the same as last year. So they must feel it has to be something.” . . . Other bat-rule comments: From Hal Lanier, Houston manager: “I guess it could get out of hand with managers checking all the time, so I think it’s up the managers themselves to not allow that to happen. I’d only check if I was 100% sure someone was using an illegal bat.” Padre Manager Larry Bowa: “I guess this is just another way to delay the game, and they’re long enough already. I’m not saying I wouldn’t check a bat, but I haven’t done it all season.” Padre pitcher Andy Hawkins: “I think it’s pretty useless. The ones who cheat are going to cheat anyway, just like the pitchers who cheat. Personally, I don’t think a pitcher can worry about it because then he’s just looking for excuses.”