Brooks’ Slam Might Be Final Knock on Nolte : Baseball: Mets chase left-hander en route to 6-1 victory over Padres.

Padre starter Eric Nolte put his head down Tuesday in the third inning of the Padre’s 6-1 defeat to the New York Mets, handed the baseball to Manager Greg Riddoch and started to walk off the field.

He barely got off the mound when he heard the serenade of boos by the crowd of 24,389 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Nolte kept walking until he reached the dugout, turned around, took a final glance of the field and walked up the tunnel toward the clubhouse.

The time was 8:39 p.m.

It was the time of Nolte’s final pitch, and perhaps his last performance in a Padre uniform.

Maybe, as he talked about during the spring, it is time to join the Los Angeles Police Dept. Maybe it is time to go back to school. Certainly, it seems, it is time to say goodby to the Padres.

Although Nolte (3-2) has the second-highest victory total on the staff, he likely will be placed through waivers and be outrighted as soon as possible to triple-A Las Vegas. If any team claims him, he’s available for the price of $20,000.

It was Nolte’s third consecutive dismal outing, and the Padres, who have lost six of their past seven games, hardly will be benevolent enough to give him another chance.

Nolte lasted only 2 2/3 innings against the Mets, yielding six hits and six earned runs, all in the span of six batters. The Mets had only four hits the rest of the game, but they already had all the offense they needed.

In Nolte’s last three starts, he allowed 16 hits, 17 runs, five walks and three homers in 4 1/3 innings. That’s a 35.31 ERA.

More gaudy numbers:

He yielded a .615 batting average in those three starts with three homers in 26 at-bats.

He managed only one 1-2-3 inning.

His stats for the season: 3-2, 37 hits, 10 walks, six homers, a .385 opponent batting average and an 11.05 ERA.

Nolte allowed two hits and one run in the first inning, but his start was not nearly as gruesome as the past, considering he has allowed 14 runs in the first inning alone this season.

Nolte, however, actually pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the second inning, raising hopes that the left-hander might be all right. He then retired the first two batters in the third inning, and all of a sudden, the Padres were wondering if their doubts were unfounded.

But then came a single to center by Vince Coleman. And a single by Tommy Herr. He fell behind on a 2-0 count to Gregg Jefferies, prompting a visit by Padre pitching coach Mike Roarke.

The time was 8:30.

Nolte’s next two pitches were balls, too, loading the bases for cleanup hitter Hubie Brooks.

He got ahead of Brooks 1-2, surviving a long foul ball into the seats. Two pitches later, Nolte fed him a fastball over the plate. It sailed into the left-field seats.

Grand slam.

It was the seventh of Brooks’ career and his first as a Met.

The time was 8:34.

Nolte still was allowed to stay in the game, which made sense since no one was warming up in the bullpen. Nolte then walked Howard Johnson on five pitches, and Johnson stole second on a pitch in the dirt. And Nolte gave up a single to Kevin McReynolds, giving the Mets a 6-1 lead.

This time, Padre Manager Greg Riddoch came to the mound. He was asking for the ball.

No one was saying after the game what will happen to Nolte, but if the Padres decide to outright him to Las Vegas, Nolte will have three days to decide whether he wants to reject the assignment and become a free agent. If he chooses to do so, however, he’ll also forfeit his salary.

Also in doubt is Padres’ starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves. Dennis Rasmussen, who has made four starts in his rehabilitative assignment in triple-A Las Vegas appears to be the logical choice, but Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, wonders whether Rasmussen is ready.

Rasmussen is 0-3 with a 7.91 ERA in his four starts, allowing 20 hits and 15 walks in 19 1/3 innings. But he says he is healthy and ready to join the Padres’ starting rotation.

The Padres also received more bad news on left-handed reliever Pat Clements. He was examined Tuesday by Dr. Jan Fronek, and the pain behind his left shoulder refused to wane. He also will miss the upcoming 10-game trip.

Maybe this why the Padres’ announcement Tuesday that they agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Joe Price, 34, on a triple-A contract shouldn’t be taken lightly. Although he last pitched for the Baltimore Orioles’ triple-A club in Rochester, N.Y., the way the Padre staff is faring, he could be a valuable commodity.