ST. LOUIS (AP) -Struggling David Wells will stay in the San Diego Padres rotation – for now.
Wells was victimized Monday when the St. Louis Cardinals tied a major league record with 10 consecutive hits in a 10-run fifth inning. The 44-year-old lefty remained the scheduled starter Saturday at Cincinnati.
“Anything could change,” manager Bud Black said Tuesday. “As of right now, yeah, he’s scheduled to start.”
Wells is 0-3 with a 14.33 ERA in his last four starts, the longest lasting 5 1-3 innings. He gave up seven runs on 11 hits in four-plus innings on Monday.
Wells, who had allowed four hits in four scoreless innings, gave up six straight singles to start the fifth. Black removed Wells after the seventh straight hit, a three-run home run by Scott Rolen that put the Cardinals ahead 7-3.
Black noted that the first few hits weren’t very solid contact, although Wells was hit hard later in the inning.
“He’s had a few of these in a row, I guess similar type games where things sort of gained momentum for the opposition,” Black said. “I guess you can call it a snowball game.”
It’s possible that Wells wilted in the heat. It was 96 degrees with high humidity at game time.
“He didn’t talk about it, and I didn’t ask him,” Black said. “It might have been a factor, might not.”
The Padres made one roster move Tuesday, involving the reliever who worked the last four innings of Monday’s blowout. Mike Thompson was optioned to Triple-A Portland while outfielder Terrmel Sledge was recalled from Portland.
One of the reasons for the move was that Thompson, who allowed three runs on four hits in his longest outing of the season, would not have been available for at least a few days.
Black also said right-hander Chris Young, who threw a bullpen session on Monday, is likely to be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday and start the finale of a four-game series against the Cardinals. Young, who leads the major leagues with a 1.82 ERA, is rehabbing from a strained side muscle.
Sledge was batting .216 in 148 at-bats with six homers and 16 RBIs. He provides protection for outfielders Milton Bradley (hamstring) and Brian Giles (ankle), both battling minor injuries.
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