Rasmussen Has Astros Fooled; Padres Win, 5-3

Fooled ‘em again.

Dennis Rasmussen sat in front of his locker beneath the Astrodome and smiled late Friday after surviving eight innings of line drives and long fly balls and balks and everything else that can happen to a pitcher who doesn’t throw the ball much faster than the average interstate speed limit. He smiled because that kind of pitching in his season debut had just given the Padres a 5-3 victory over the Houston Astros in front of a paid crowd of 15,971.

“I’m not always able to do this,” he said. “But I’ve always had to be able to do this.”

Fooled ‘em again. Down the hall, Glenn Davis sat with his head in his locker, smiling only at the wonder of it all. In the first inning with no outs and runners on first and second, the Astros’ power-hitting first baseman had sharply grounded into a double play. In the third, with one out and a man on first, he had flied out to center field. He had done this off weird pitches from that guy with the awkward windup, and he couldn’t understand it.

“It was the kind of night where you walk off the field wondering, ‘How did that guy beat you?’ ” Davis said “He didn’t have anything overly spectacular. He’s just not over spectacular. He gives you something to hit . . . and then you wonder why you don’t hit it.”

Hang on--Davis was just getting started.

“I mean, I felt like I was all over that guy tonight. I would foul him off, foul him off. And then he would get me. It just makes you wonder.”

Hearing this, is it any wonder the Padres are now 2-2 and feeling good about themselves again? Is it any wonder Rasmussen, allowed to be his funky self when he came over from the Cincinnati Reds last year, went 14-4 with a 2.55 earned-run average?

Is it any wonder that the Padre pitching staff, which entered Friday still looking for a starter to get them through seven full innings, finally found that guy in Rasmussen? Although the game took nearly three hours, Rasmussen lasted eight innings, allowing just two earned runs (three overall) on eight hits with six strikeouts.

He was provided with the victory thanks to tie-breaking RBI hits in the sixth by Benito Santiago (single) and Garry Templeton (double). And then it was saved by--who else--Mark Davis.

Davis entered with a runner on first and one out in the ninth and offered a bit of a scare, but nothing like Rasmussen. After allowing an RBI double by pinch-hitter Alan Ashby, he retired Alex Trevino on a grounder before walking Gerald Young. Then, on a one-and-two pitch, he fooled Rafael Ramirez into a grounder to third base that turned into a game-ending double-play, giving Davis his second save in two games.

But like Glenn Davis, Mark Davis wanted to talk about Rasmussen.

“He’s got such deception,” Mark Davis said. “He’s got that nice slow delivery and then, all of a sudden, the ball is on you.”

“When you’re like me,” Rasmussen admitted, “you’ve got to mix it up.”

And sometimes you’ve got to rely on help, which Roberto Alomar provided spectacularly in the second inning. Well, maybe the word spectacular should no longer be used in the same sentence as Roberto Alomar.

“What we saw him do tonight was great but . . . it doesn’t surprise us, nothing he does surprises us anymore,” Tony Gwynn said. “What would surprise us is if he doesn’t win a Gold Glove.”

It was the second inning. The Padres were up, 2-1, thanks to an error by Glenn Davis on a grounder by Gwynn and an RBI grounder by Carmelo Martinez. The Astros were coming back against Rasmussen; Bill Doran led off with a double and moved to third one out later on Rasmussen’s balk.

Rasmussen struck out catcher Craig Biggio. Up stepped good-hitting pitcher Rick Rhoden, who had a lousy but perfect hit. He bounced the ball just to the left of Rasmussen, who because of foot problems is not very mobile and had no chance at it. The ball found a spot between the pitcher’s mound and first, and it appeared nobody had a chance at it and the run would score.

Except here came Alomar. He charged, dove at the ball, picked it up and threw it before belly flopping on the carpet. It seemed to even stun first baseman Jack Clark, who nonetheless made the catch for the third out.

“That could have been a turning point in the game,” Gwynn said.

“I don’t know what happened,” Alomar said. “I know I made the play in the air, my feet were not on the floor. I know it was a slow runner, and I had a chance so I took a chance.

“But I’d like to see it again. I’d like to see how.”

Nothing personal, but Rasmussen didn’t really care how. Just as long as he lived to pitch another inning. He had escaped the first--which started with consecutive Astro hits by Young (double) and Ramirez (RBI single)--on Davis’ double play grounder. He escaped the second with Alomar. But he wasn’t through yet.

He gave up the tying run in the third after a fielding error by Alomar and an RBI single by Billy Hatcher. But with runners on first and third, he got a grounder from Doran.

Three innings later, in the sixth, he faced his final test after allowing leadoff singles to Davis and Kevin Bass. So he retired Doran on a grounder, Ken Caminiti on a popout and then struck out Biggio for the third time without Biggio ever taking the bat off his shoulder, with a pitch that grazed the outside of the plate.

“He was not handling the curveball very well, so I gave him the curveball,” Rasmussen said.

So simple. And yet, and you can check with Glenn Davis on this, so defeating.

Padre Notes

Injured pitcher Greg Harris (sore left rib cage) did not throw Friday and according to Manager Jack McKeon, he will probably rest through the weekend. “I don’t want to ruin him now; I think we should just wait,” McKeon said. It was a frustrating afternoon for Harris. He arrived at the Astrodome on the team bus at 5:15 p.m. only to learn that those scheduled for injury treatment are supposed to arrive at least an hour earlier. His teammates chided him, partly because he’s a rookie, but also because he has already proven to be an important part of the pitching staff. “They say I should have known better about the treatment, but if I knew better, I’d be here,” Harris said. “I’ve just never been in this situation before. But I’ve taken enough grief about it, so I’ll be here next time.”

Tim Flannery was still recovering Friday night from a dose of reality that hit him Wednesday night with the death of a good friend, Laszio Nagypal, who had been suffering from leukemia. Nagypal played a part in opening day for Flannery, making him realize it wasn’t such a big deal after all. Just before Flannery learned he would be an opening-day starter for the first time in his 10-year Padre career, he made his last visit with Nagypal. It so upset Flannery that he said he needed to drive around San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium for an hour before going into the clubhouse to face the Giants. His friend, said Flannery, taught him as much as any game could. “That last day, I was asking him how he took it, how he stood the pain,” Flannery recalled. “He looked at me as best he could and said, ‘You do it with your mind, you do it with your mind.’ It really makes you think. If he can handle all he went through, how can I ever complain about anything?

“It’s funny how life just goes on after we go. It goes on without us. It really makes you think about yourself.”