Six men in as Eaton joins rotation

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 24, 2005 11:33 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- Rather than knock one of their starters out of the rotation to make way for Adam Eaton, the Padres have elected to keep a full deck.

Manager Bruce Bochy said Wednesday that he will employ a six-man starting staff for at least the next week as he continues to evaluate who would be the best candidate to pitch in long relief.

"We're giving them all a break right now," Bochy said. "And then we'll decide the best way to go."

After a day off today, the Padres will activate Eaton from the disabled list to start Friday, followed in order by Brian Lawrence, Pedro Astacio, Woody Williams, Jake Peavy and Chan Ho Park. All but Astacio will be throwing on five days of rest, one more than normal.

Astacio will pitch on seven days of rest, snapping his streak of five Saturday starts in a row.

"We've moved him around as much as anybody," Bochy said of Astacio, who's 1-0 with a 2.37 ERA in three starts this month. "I think he can adjust."

Bochy thinks Peavy will particularly benefit from the breather, having thrown 116 pitches in nine shutout innings Tuesday versus Houston.

When Eaton comes off the DL, the Padres will probably send reliever Clay Hensley down to Triple-A Portland. Hensley, who has a 2.01 ERA in 22 1/3 innings, could be brought back when rosters expand on Sept. 1.

Sweeney, Fick not forgotten

Bochy started Xavier Nady against another right-hander Wednesday, and the first baseman rewarded his manager's faith by pounding doubles to left-center field in his first two at-bats off Houston's Ezequiel Astacio.

Bochy acknowledged, though, that Mark Sweeney and Robert Fick should expect some playing time at the position when Colorado visits this weekend.

"I need to get Sweeney and Ficky some at-bats," Bochy said. "I know that."

The next time the Padres face a left-hander, Fick could start at first, with Nady sliding to left field to give Ryan Klesko a day off.

Short hops

OFs Ben Johnson and Paul McAnulty each hit a home run for Triple-A Portland on Tuesday night as a possible prelude to returning to the majors when rosters expand next week. Johnson is batting .314 with 23 homers and 75 RBIs, and McAnulty has a .331 average in 32 games. ... Astros general manager Tim Purpura came back this week to the city that kick-started his career as a baseball executive. In 1991, Purpura was in charge of special projects for the Padres' minor-league department while earning a degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.