Spring Training / Highlights : Bowa Accepts Backup Role With Cubs

Larry Bowa said, “All is forgiven,” Friday, adding that he is ready to accept his status as the backup shortstop for the Chicago Cubs.

“People say things when they are upset,” said Bowa, 39, who had complained about being relegated to the backup role behind rookie Shawon Dunston, 22.

“Now, I know what I’m supposed to do on this club. I can live with that. That’s all I asked in the first place.”

Mike Norris struck out seven Seattle batters and allowed only two hits in three innings at Phoenix as he took another impressive step on his comeback attempt with the Oakland A’s.

“All my pitches are there,” Norris said after his third good spring training outing. “The only thing I’m having a problem with is the release point on my fastball. That’s why they were coming in high.”

Norris, 30, was out of baseball last year, recovering from a shoulder operation. His arrival at training camp this year was delayed by a two-week stay in a drug rehabilitation clinic.

Pittsburgh Manager Chuck Tanner told pitcher John Candelaria that he was being assigned to the bullpen after Candelaria had given up 12 hits and 11 runs in five innings as the Pirates lost to Detroit, 18-3, at Bradenton, Fla.

Observers said the two had a discussion in the dugout, after which Candelaria, heading for the clubhouse, kicked his glove over the right field fence.

Exhibition Notes Alan Wiggins singled with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the San Diego Padres a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the San Francisco Giants at Yuma, Ariz. . . . Infielder Ken Oberkfell hit doubles in the third and eighth innings, igniting two four-run rallies as the Atlanta Braves trounced the New York Mets, 8-2, at St. Petersburg, Fla. Oberkfell went 4 for 4 with three doubles and a single. . . . Greg Gagne had four hits, including two doubles, and Kirby Puckett knocked in three runs as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-6, at Clearwater, Fla. . . . Scott Fletcher drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single and Floyd Bannister allowed one run in seven innings to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 5-1 victory over the Houston Astros at Sarasota, Fla. . . . Henry Cotto drove home two runs, including the game-winner in the ninth, and threw out the potential tying run at the plate to end the game and preserve the New York Yankees’ 3-2 victory over the Montreal Expos at West Palm Beach, Fla. . . . Bill Stein hit a homer and Pete O’Brien cracked a two-run double in the third inning to lead the Texas Rangers to a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Fort Myers, Fla. . . . Tony Armas, the major league’s 1984 home-run champion, hit his first exhibition homer and added a pair of singles in the Boston Red Sox’s 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Winter Haven, Fla.