PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / SCOTT MILLER : Myers Keeps Positive Outlook Amid Some Negative Performances

SAN DIEGO —  He will not admit his pitching has been worse than the Padres expected when they acquired him from Cincinnati last December.

Check the saves category and you will find an impressive “12” next to Randy Myers’ name.

But each time he pitches, he usually sends Padre outfielders heading for cover and opposing base-runners scurrying for home plate.

Take the Padres’ 8-7 victory Wednesday over Pittsburgh. He came on in the ninth inning with the score 6-6. Andy Van Slyke flied to center, then Barry Bonds doubled, Lloyd McClendon singled and a Jeff King hit a drive to center that landed on the grass but turned into a fielder’s choice when McClendon was thrown out at second. Bonds scored on the play.

A ninth-inning Padre rally saved the day for Myers and actually got him the victory. And this after Myers blew a save opportunity Tuesday night against Pittsburgh.

Is he frustrated?

“No, not really,” Myers said. “We won. That’s the name of the game.”

Yeah, but despite his 12 saves, he has three blown saves, four blown leads and his ERA is a lofty 5.76.

“I think I’ve been doing the job,” he said. “My job is to save games. I had a few in a row until I blew one (Tuesday). Look at the end result. We’ve been winning.”

Yeah, but opponents are batting .313 against Myers, and his ERA against Pittsburgh is up to 13.49.

“I think people who have made a lot of (Myers’ problems) are people who don’t know baseball or don’t understand it,” he said. “We got a ‘W’ on the board. However that gets there is however it gets there.”

After the game, the Padres activated Gene Harris from the disqualified list, optioned reliever Jeremy Hernandez to triple-A Las Vegas and announced that Larry Andersen will begin an injury rehabilitation assignment at single-A High Desert.

To make room for Harris, they took pitcher Mike Linskey off their 40-man roster and sent him to double-A Wichita. That move was just a matter of semantics, because Linskey has already been pitching for Wichita.

Looking like a guy who just learned he had made the final roster cut during spring training, Greg Harris spoke Wednesday of how relieved he was to finally have a good outing. Harris, who said he had fallen into bad habits when he altered his mechanics because of a sore back, held the Pirates to no earned runs and four hits in six innings Tuesday in his first decent outing in a month.

Harris, who had had a 10.61 ERA in his past four starts, left after the sixth with back spasms.

“I’m a little stiff today,” Harris said. “But it’s not spasming like it was (Tuesday).”

Harris said he has been worried about his back for a month, ever since it stiffened up on him after a complete-game 7-2 victory over Montreal on April 29.

“My mechanics were really good then, then I noticed spasms in my back,” he said. “I think I subconsciously picked up bad habits.”

Harris said he was “breaking” his back leg, rather than keeping it stiff, during his delivery.

“Almost like I was squatting,” he said. “Then, in order for me to get the ball to the plate, it had to go up and out.”

Tuesday night, Harris said, he was keeping his back leg firm during his delivery.