Ryan Gives Astros a Helping Hand

The Houston Astros’ pitching staff got a special instructor for about 45 minutes before Friday night’s game--Nolan Ryan.

Ryan, who pitched for the Astros from 1980-1988, visited the Astros’ clubhouse prior to a game against the Colorado Rockies, then went down to the bullpen and chatted with the pitching staff and Manager Larry Dierker.

“Sometimes, it helps somebody if they just visit with somebody else that has been through some of the trials and tribulations of pitching,” Ryan said. “We just talked in general. I like to visit with people and let them tell me what is going on with them.

“If the conversation leads to something, that’s fine, but I never have been of the attitude to go and tell somebody what they ought to be doing.”

Ryan got close attention from rookie closer Billy Wagner, whose fastball has been compared to Ryan’s.

“To hear him say like, we’re being compared, that just shocks me to no end,” Wagner said. “You can’t ask any more of him to come out and take time away from his family to talk to us about some of the things that he went through and how it can help us.”

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Second baseman Mark Lemke of the Atlanta Braves was put on the 15-day disabled list, and infielder Keith Lockhart was activated.

Lemke, hitting .245, left Wednesday’s game in Houston with a right ankle sprain after a collision on a double play pivot with the Astros’ Derek Bell.

Lockhart, 14 for 49 as a pinch-hitter with 17 RBIs, had been on the disabled list since Aug. 6.