SAN DIEGO (AP) -Padres pitcher Jake Peavy is likely to return to the rotation next week if he does not have any physical setbacks from a simulated game he threw on Saturday.
Peavy, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, threw 61 pitches to three batters over four innings in a simulated game at Petco Park.
“I do feel good enough to pitch in a game, health-wise,” he said. “There was not a whole lot of sharpness. That’s to be expected. We’ll get better in my bullpen session a couple of days from now.”
Peavy was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow on May 20, retroactive to May 15.
Peavy is expected to make his return against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday afternoon as long he continues to feel fine, Black said.
“Any time you get the reigning Cy Young Award winner back, it’s good,” Black said. “He shook a little rust off but I thought he threw the ball fine.”
Peavy faced teammates Paul McAnulty, Luke Carlin and Craig Stansberry in the simulated game. Of his 61 pitches, 37 were strikes.
“It wasn’t crisp by any means, but I came out of it healthy,” Peavy said. “But I have to get better than that if I want to pitch in a major league baseball game.”
Peavy is 4-3 with a 2.91 ERA in nine starts with one complete game.
In other news, right-handed pitcher Mark Prior, who underwent season-ending surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday, said he will attempt to come back from his latest surgery.
Prior had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder in April 2007. He was attempting a comeback after he signed as a free agent with San Diego in the offseason. But a recent setback required another surgery on his right shoulder on Wednesday.
“I feel like I can pitch,” Prior said. “The good thing I have going is that I am still young. I want to play. I want to pitch at a high level again.”
When Padres team doctors Heinz Hoenecke and Jan Fronek performed the latest surgery, they found a completely different injury when the capsule in Prior’s shoulder had been torn away from the bone. It is called HAGL – a humeral avulsion of the glenohumeral ligaments.
“Obviously it’s frustrating,” Prior said. “I was throwing the ball well and I was going in the right direction. I didn’t really expect this. One pitch and it came out of nowhere.”
Prior, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2001 free-agent draft by the Chicago Cubs, had hoped to pitch by May 1 after an extended spring training. He missed the entire 2007 season after the arthroscopic surgery in April 2007. Prior made just nine appearances in an injury-filled 2006 season.
Prior has a career record of 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA in 106 starts.
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