NewsPadres add bullpen help for road trip
San Diego (27-30) at Los Angeles (39-20), 7:10 p.m. PT
By Amy Brittain / MLB.com
06/09/09 3:51 PM ET
SAN DIEGO -- The Padres have several new bullpen reinforcements in tow for a five-game road swing starting Tuesday against the Dodgers.San Diego's roster shuffle took place after a draining 18-inning loss Sunday to the D-backs at PETCO Park. The team exhausted 10 pitchers Sunday, including shortstop Josh Wilson, in the extra-inning slugfest.
Right-handed pitcher Mike Adams was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list, a move made several days sooner than Padres manager Bud Black had scheduled. Adams had surgery on his right shoulder in the offseason and played eight rehabilitation games, splitting time with Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A Portland.
The Padres also recalled right-handed pitcher Edwin Moreno and left-handed pitcher Wade LeBlanc from Triple-A Portland while optioning lefty Joe Thatcher to Portland.
Sunday's marathon game didn't affect the Padres' starting rotation, with 1999 15th-round Draft pick Jake Peavy pitching against the D-backs on Monday and 2000 third-round pick Chris Young scheduled to go against the Dodgers on Tuesday.
Tuesday is also Draft day, and coverage of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft begins live on MLB.com and MLB Network at 3 p.m. PT.
But Black said Sunday's 18-inning game did alter Chad Gaudin's next anticipated start, which would have been Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. As of Monday night, Black had not yet named a starter for Wednesday's game.
Gaudin started in Friday's loss to the D-backs and was called in for the 16th and 17th innings Sunday.
"We pitched Chad for two innings, and I thought that was it for him," Black said. "You're really walking a fine line there if you continue to pitch a guy in those circumstances. You risk a lot with the arm."
Gaudin said he didn't hesitate to pitch in relief Sunday despite his start on Friday.
"If I was laboring from start to start, it would be a different story, but I'm doing good," Gaudin said. "That was something that was called upon me to do to give us a chance to win."
But Gaudin agreed with Black about the dangers of pitching an additional inning.
"I would have been risking putting a strain on it," he said. "It was a lot mixed all into one day. I don't want to push it to where I blow out or something happens."
The Padres would have looked to catcher Henry Blanco had they needed to go beyond the 18th inning and Wilson, the final reliever.
Blanco, who pitched one inning in Double-A ball, said he would have embraced the chance.
"I always wanted to do it in the Major Leagues," he said.
Pitching matchupSD: RHP Chris Young (4-4, 4.46 ERA)
Young didn't pitch poorly in his last start, allowing three runs in six innings in a loss to the Phillies on June 3. It's just that his offense didn't back him with much in the way of offense in a 5-1 loss. Case in point: The best contact of the night by the Padres might have come in the second inning when Young drove a ball deep to right field with two outs and the bases loaded that Greg Dobbs made a nice running catch on. Young did allow a two-run home run to Ryan Howard in the first inning but little else. He struck out three and walked three, down from the six-walk outing that he had on May 29 against the Rockies. LAD: RHP Chad Billingsley (7-3, 2.59 ERA)
Billingsley was impressive against the D-backs on Wednesday, tossing six scoreless innings and striking out nine batters but he suffered from control problems as he walked four batters and threw 111 pitches through six innings. But it was still a solid effort and the bullpen did the rest as he picked up his first win in more than two weeks. Billingsley is 7-3 with a 2.44 ERA in 15 career outings against the Padres. Tidbits
The Padres outrighted shortstop Chris Burke to Triple-A Portland on Monday. ... Shortstop Luis Rodriguez (ankle) is on rehabilitation assignment with Class A Lake Elsinore and is expected to return to the Padres in just a few days. ... Pitcher Luis Perdomo is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left knee. Tickets
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• XPRS 1090, XEMO 860 (Español) Up next
• Wednesday: Padres (Chad Gaudin, 2-4, 5.01) at Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw, 3-4, 4.26), 7:10 p.m. PT
• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Padres (Kevin Correia, 2-4, 5.13) at Angels (Kelvim Escobar, 0-1, 3.60), 7:05 p.m. PT
Amy Brittain is an associate reporter with MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
