Notes

San Diego right-hander Andy Ashby pitched with a sore throat in Game 2 after Kevin Brown started Game 1 with a sinus infection and 99-degree fever. Several Padres were complaining about cold symptoms and the chilly nature of the air-conditioning in the visitors’ clubhouse at Yankee Stadium. Manager Bruce Bochy said that Brown, who began taking antibiotics on Friday (he carries his own medicine because of previous sinus attacks), is still likely to start Game 4 on Wednesday night in San Diego “but we’ll keep an eye on him and see how he progresses in the next couple days.”

Neither Bochy nor pitching coach Dave Stewart knew about Brown’s condition going in, which wasn’t surprising.

“Brownie would never tell you, that’s the type of competitor and warrior he is,” General Manager Kevin Towers said. “He pitched into the seventh and gave us a chance to win. He just didn’t have any energy left.”

*

Star struck?

Definitely, said Towers, who described Yankee Stadium as “a tough place to watch a game.”

“Patrick Ewing walked by last night and 50 people stood up. Right before Chuck Knoblauch batted [in the seventh], somebody said, ‘Hey, there’s Bruce Willis,’ and all of a sudden people are standing and flashbulbs are going off and I can’t see a thing. I have great seats, but there are too many stars.”

Don’t the Padres attract any in San Diego?

“Golfers,” Towers said. “Guys like Fred Couples and John Cook.”

The price of being way off Broadway.