BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS : For Batiste, Both Memories Still Linger

On the night after going from goat to hero in Game 1 of the National League playoffs, Philadelphia Phillie infielder Kim Batiste said he had mixed emotions.

“I want to remember, but I want to forget,” he said, having delivered the game-winning hit in the 10th inning of the 4-3 victory over Atlanta after making a ninth-inning throwing error that led to the tying run.

“Fortunately I got a chance to redeem myself, and I’ll always remember driving in that winning run, but making a mistake like that (on the throw) could have cost us the game and a lot of negative thoughts keep coming back and coming back,” he said. “I want to learn from it and forget it.”

Batiste regularly replaces third baseman Dave Hollins in the late innings of games the Phillies lead, but Manager Jim Fregosi noted: “There’s no glory in being a defensive replacement. All you can do is screw up.”

Said Batiste, 25: “If I’m back in there tonight, I hope every ball is hit to me. I always want the ball hit to me. I’m never nervous, never scared.”

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Curt Schilling returned to Veterans Stadium for Game 2 and said he had yet to sleep after his adrenaline-pumping 10-strikeout performance in Game 1, which included a game-opening five strikeouts in a row.

Schilling said he hit 96 m.p.h. 11 times in the first two innings after never topping 94 m.p.h. during the regular season, when he had failed to even strike out the side since a 2-0 shutout of the Dodgers on April 23.

The 27-year-old right-hander can be construed as a speed demon on and off the field, having recently purchased Jose Canseco’s red Lamborghini because it is the type of car he has always dreamed of having and a measure of his success in his two years with the Phillies.

Schilling made the purchase without a test drive and has yet to air it out on the highway.

“That would be illegal,” he said. “People know now that I drive the car, and I don’t want people to get the wrong impression. Believe it or not, I think we have a responsibility to people, so I don’t want to do anything stupid.”

On his hobby of raising Rottweillers, Schilling said: “We have three. One is named Rodney after a friend. One is named Slugger because I wanted to have at least one in the house. The other is Slider. I can’t throw one, so I figured I’d buy one.”