BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Nomo to Get a Taste of Candlestick

There are friendlier places where Hideo Nomo could make his major league debut than Candlestick Park, but considering his lack of English, perhaps it will be a blessing.

“It’d be like me going to a foreign country, hearing them yell stuff at me and smiling, and I’d smile back,” San Francisco Giant Manager Dusty Baker said of the Dodgers’ Japanese pitcher.

Said Dodger outfielder Chris Gwynn: “He’ll be better off than me. I made my first start here, and I felt like I was going to war. . . .

“I knew about the rivalry growing up, but you don’t understand the deep hatred of this rivalry until you wear a Dodger uniform and go to San Francisco.”

Nomo’s debut today will be televised and broadcast live on Japanese television and radio.

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, trying to maintain Nomo’s privacy for at least a day, shooed a large group of Japanese reporters away from Nomo’s locker. Nomo, whose debut will be chronicled by 90 Japanese reporters, and 29 Japanese news services, chose not to have a news conference Monday.

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Dodger catcher Mike Piazza, who has missed the last four games because of a strained hamstring, said he’s ready to play and probably will return to the lineup today. He also is the only Dodger who caught Nomo in spring training. . . . Baker, on the Dodgers’ United Nations pitching staff: “They got to throw an African pitcher in there. But hey, if they can pitch, I don’t care where they’re from.” . . . Delino DeShields on the umpires returning to the field with a five-year collective bargaining agreement: “We may . . . complain about those guys, but at least they’re consistent. If you’re going to be bad, be bad all the time. It’s nice to have them back.”