PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : Fear of Further Back Injury Keeps Greg Harris In a Holding Pattern

Padre starter Greg Harris, fearful of further injuring his back, will be kept on the disabled list for another five days. He will miss tonight’s scheduled start.

Rich Rodriguez, 3-1, will make his first start of the season. It will be only the second start of his career.

“I feel good throwing,” Harris said, “but I still have that aching pain. It just doesn’t seem to go away. The big thing I had to decide was whether to go out there and hope everything’s all right, or wait until I’m 100%. I didn’t want to put the team in jeopardy of losing a player if I’m not all right.”

The delay in activating Harris will allow the Padres another five days before making a roster move. The likely move would be to release outfielder Gary Pettis, who is batting .160. No decision has been made.

“I just hope and pray I’ll be OK,” Harris said. “Right now, I’m right on the edge, right on the edge of being well. I feel well enough to pitch, but I just didn’t know if I should chance it.”

Said Padre Manager Greg Riddoch: “We just don’t want to take a chance right now. I’d rather give him a few more days and have him right rather than take a chance and having it flare up again.”

Padres third baseman Gary Sheffield picked up $25,000 Monday for being in the lineup.

Sheffield has an incentive in his contract that pays him $25,000 for every 10 games beginning with his 60th, which was Monday. Sheffield has missed three games this season and still is eligible to earn an extra $250,000 to go with his $450,000 base salary.

“Incentives are nice to have and everything,” Sheffield said, “but I’m not going to risk my career by playing hurt or doing anything stupid for extra money.”

Padres second baseman Kurt Stillwell, hitless in his last three starts, was replaced in the lineup by Tim Teufel on Monday.

Stillwell has a nagging forearm injury, which prompted Riddoch to rest him. Stillwell said he still could have played Monday.

“It’s just that Tim’s real hot right now, and I haven’t been hitting,” Stillwell said. “It’s an easy choice.”

Riddoch said Stillwell likely will start today.

The Padres still are negotiating with Todd Helton, their No. 1 draft pick.

Helton, drafted 55th overall, has already letter of intent to play football at Tennessee. Yet, Helton has not tried to discourage Reggie Waller, Padre scouting director.

“He told us he still has interest in playing baseball,” said John Barr, Padres assistant general manager. “It’s not a money factor, it’s just a question of what route he wants to go. They (Tennessee) told him he could play baseball in the spring, as well as football, but you just don’t know.

“We know he wants to play baseball, we just hope it’s sooner rather than later.”

Just how badly have Padres pinch-hitters struggled this season?

They’re batting .167 with one home run and seven RBIs.

Opposing pinch-hitters have batted .241 against the Padres with one homer and 13 RBIs.

Astros starter Mark Portugal, who was scheduled to start Wednesday, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tendinitis.

The Astros must start Brian Williams tonight, who was 6-1 with a 4.50 ERA at triple-A Tucson. They’ll push back Willie Blair to Wednesday. Blair will be making his National League debut.

Just how impressive was the Astros’ 15-7 dismantling of the San Francisco Giants in their victory Sunday?

--They not only scored their most runs since Aug. 20, 1985, but exceeded their run total from the previous six games.

--Their 10 extra-base hits was one more than their total in the previous seven games.

--Outfielder Pete Incaviglia hit two homers and drove in seven runs. He had only 15 RBIs before this game.

--Outfielder Eric Anthony hit his first triple after 556 at-bats, and also tied his career-high with three hits.

--Rob Murphy, who pitched 1 1/3 innings, was the winning pitcher after going 145 major league appearances without a victory.