SAN DIEGO —— After weighing the risk of reinjuring himself against the reward of shaking off some accumulated rust, Padres center fielder Dave Roberts has decided to push back his return from a strained left quadriceps until the regular-season finale.

Roberts said he plans to start Sunday versus the Los Angeles Dodgers and log two or three at-bats as a tune-up for the National League division series, which begins on Tuesday, probably in St. Louis.

"I feel good at the plate," said Roberts, who took batting practice and ran the bases Thursday. "It's just the luxury of having another day. Today was a (recuperation) day.

"At the same time, I don't want to have 10 days without an at-bat. I feel good, but just to have a couple under my belt is important."

Roberts hasn't played since he injured his quad in the sixth inning of an 8-5 loss at Arizona one week ago. An MRI on Monday revealed a small tear, and Roberts has spent the week rehabilitating the muscle.

At the time of the injury, the leadoff man was one of the Padres' hottest hitters, having batted .318 with 26 runs since the end of July to raise his average from .249 to .275.

Manager Bruce Bochy said a chance remains that Roberts won't be on the Padres' 25-man playoff roster, depending on how the injury responds Sunday.

Hammond recovered

Reliever Chris Hammond felt good enough to pitch Friday after being unavailable most of this week because of a sore groin. Hammond said the injury was an aggravation of a serious groin strain he suffered while a member of the Atlanta Braves in 2002.

"I was in the bullpen stretching, and my foot slid out and I had all my weight on it and I tweaked it," he said. "I don't even feel it today. As long as I baby it for the rest of the season, I'll be fine."

Praised by Bochy of being worthy of All-Star consideration at midseason, when he was 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA, Hammond has labored through a rough second half, with an 8.80 ERA and .309 opponents' average. As the Padres' only experienced left-hander in the bullpen, however, Hammond could be an important piece of the playoff puzzle.

Short hops

RHP Jake Peavy has all but wrapped up the first NL strikeout title for a Padres pitcher over a full season. Peavy leads the league with 216 strikeouts, and neither of his closest pursuers —— the New York Mets' Pedro Martinez (213) and St. Louis' Chris Carpenter (208) —— is scheduled to start again in the regular season. Andy Benes finished with an NL-best 189 strikeouts in the strike-shortened 1994 season. … RHP Edwin Jackson will start for Los Angeles tonight in place of Brad Penny, who was shut down because of forearm stiffness. RHP Elmer Dessens will pitch in the turn of Jeff Weaver on Sunday.