PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : Teufel Inserted in the Lineup to Replaced Injured Stillwell

Tim Teufel replaced Kurt Stillwell at second base in the Padre lineup Wednesday, and Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said Stillwell is expected to miss two or three days.

Stillwell suffered a dislocation of the ring finger of his right hand in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game when he attempted to field Ruben Amaro’s ground ball.

“It was the easiest play I had all night,” Stillwell said. “The ball just came up a little higher than I thought it would, and my finger was in the way. The next thing I knew, my finger was in about three different directions.”

It seems as if some sort of curse is following Stillwell this month. He missed nearly a week after bruising a knee April 18 during a play at second base in Houston.

“Actually, I’ve been pretty lucky,” he said. “They say with most dislocations, you get a broken bone, too. Hopefully, this won’t take me out for long.

“And the same thing at second base (in Houston). I could have blown out my knee.”

Things are getting serious among Padre pitchers during batting practice. They always work on situational hitting, and team up into starters vs. relievers.

Wednesday, though, Randy Myers had a clipboard and he and several others were keeping statistics. And they plan to keep standings, as well.

“The pitching staff decided the first three weeks of the season was spring training, and today is opening day,” reliever Rich Rodriguez said.

The relievers won Wednesday, 4-3.

“There was plenty of opportunity for the starters to win, but Bruce Hurst seemed to be an extra reliever on their team with his timely outs,” Rodriguez said.

Said Hurst: “Maybe I need to choke up on my bat six inches like he does. He’s the only guy in baseball who chokes up in batting practice.”