PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : Jackson Makes the Most of His Opportunity to Play

Padre center fielder Darrin Jackson, eagerly awaiting his chance to play, has been pacing the clubhouse of late, taking over the role of clubhouse prankster.

“Somebody’s got to drive these guys crazy,” Jackson said, “and I’m the one who volunteered. I get everyone teed off, and they go out mad and take it out on the other pitchers.”

Starting Thursday in place of Shawn Abner, who had an infected ingrown toenail removed Wednesday, Jackson was felt the brunt of good-natured ridicule on one trip to the plate.

Jackson singled in his first at-bat and flied to right in his second at-bat. When he stood in the on-deck circle at the start of the fifth. Padre Manager Greg Riddoch yelled from the bench:

“You’ve been doing nothing but driving us nuts. Do something to impress us, will you?”

Jackson: “OK.”

Working the count to 3-2, Jackson hit a home run into the left-field seats, crossed the plate and said: “How’s that?”

Jackson went three for four, raising his average to .417 and leaving Padre coaches inclined to play him more often.

“I just want to let them know they don’t have to be scared to put me in against a right-hander,” Jackson said. “They can go to me, and not worry.

“I don’t know if it helped my confidence any, but hopefully it gave them more confidence in me.”

The Padre coaching staff plans to be particularly cautious Sunday with starter Andy Benes. He threw 154 pitches Tuesday night in his 13-strikeout game against the Cincinnati Reds and was expected to be limited to about 110 pitches in each of his next several starts. In fact, considering that he had tendinitis problems in his right shoulder last year, it’s highly unlikely he’ll be permitted to throw that many pitches in another outing.

By comparison, Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox threw 123 pitches Thursday in Boston’s 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals, striking out 10. He has struck out 27 batters in 26 innings in three starts this season but is averaging 112 pitches a start, throwing 104, 110 and 123 pitches, respectively.

The Padres’ batting averages with runners in scoring position for the first 10 games of the season:

* Jerald Clark: .636, seven for 11

* Tony Gwynn: .500, five for 10

* Marty Barrett: .500, one for two

* Tony Fernandez: .455, five for 11

* Shawn Abner: .429, three for seven

* Bip Roberts: .333, three for nine

* Benito Santiago: .286, 4 for 14

* Jim Presley: .143, one for seven

* Fred McGriff: .100, one for 10

* Garry Templeton: .000, zero for three

* Darrin Jackson: .000, zero for two

* Mike Aldrete: .000, zero for two

Catcher Tom Lampkin on Padre left-hander Eric Nolte’s shaky start:

“The first inning was weird. The first two pitches that were hit were really good pitches. The next one was a little bit up (Darryl Strawberry’s double). But (Nolte) was fine. He kept pitching about the same, really. But the pitches (the Dodgers) hit were bad ones.”

The Padres, according to Riddoch, occasionally will play Tony Gwynn in center field, allowing Mike Aldrete to play in left and Jerald Clark to move from left to right field. “You might see that late in some games,” Riddoch said. . . . Clark has 10 RBIs this season, one shy of his career-high of 11 set last season when he played in 53 games. . . . The Padres have scored 19 of their 49 runs this season on Thursdays. . . . Gwynn’s three RBIs Thursday gives him seven for the season in 10 games. He didn’t drive in his seventh RBI until Game No. 28 last year when he finished the season with a career-high 72. . . . Every starting position player on each team collected at least one hit. . . . Reliever Rich Rodriguez pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings to lower his ERA from 7.36 to 5.40. Since Craig Lefferts earned his second save with 1 1/3 hitless innings Sunday, he has not pitched. . . . The Dodgers have seven errors in four games this season against the Padres. Thursday marked the Dodgers’ 19th loss in their last 28 games at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

An unusual cycle: The Padre leadoff hitters in the fourth through seventh innings hit for the cycle. Templeton singled to lead off the fourth; Jackson homered in the fifth; Fernandez tripled in the sixth; and Jackson doubled in the seventh. . . . The Padres not only are knocking the ball around the ballpark, but they’re tearing up the ol’ fishing hole. Riddoch, Gwynn, Clark and stadium manager Bill Wilson spent Wednesday morning fishing at Lake Poway and came away with 13 fish. Riddoch was the leader, catching five. . . . The Padres will play the second game of their four-game series at 7:35 p.m. today against the Dodgers. Ed Whitson (1-0) and Mike Morgan (0-1) are the scheduled pitchers. . . . Padre starter Dennis Rasmussen celebrated his 32nd birthday Thursday. . . . The High Desert Stadium near Victorville for the Padres’ Class A team will open Monday for its inaugural game. Most of the Padre front-office executives, including President Dick Freeman, will be on hand for the opening ceremonies.