San Diego Padres rookie ace Chris Paddack was scratched from his start Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays because of a stiff neck.
The Padres announced that left-hander Robbie Erlin replaced Paddack as their starter. Erlin took the loss Sunday, pitching two innings and allowing three hits, one walk and one run in San Diego's 10-1 defeat. He struck out two batters.
"It's nothing serious in our minds whatsoever," manager Andy Green told reporters regarding Paddack's neck, according to MLB.com. "He woke up today and felt like he could pitch. We know, through the course of 162, he's not pitching every five days, so we chose to push him back for three days."
Paddack, 23, is 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP in nine starts this season. He will start Wednesday's game against the New York Yankees.
The Padres also optioned rookie right-hander Cal Quantrill to Triple-A El Paso on Sunday after he recorded his first major league win on Saturday. Quantrill pitched six innings, striking out nine and allowing two runs in the Padres' 19-4 rout of the Blue Jays.
Reliever Luis Perdomo was recalled from El Paso in a corresponding move.
Green said he expects that Quantrill, who is 1-2 with a 5.14 ERA in four starts, will be back with the Padres soon.
"We also expect to see Cal back in short order again. This is just baseball for the Padres in 2019," Green said, according to MLB.com. "We have a lot of starters we're going to use. We're going to give guys extra rest. We're going to do everything we can to make sure these guys are healthy for the long haul."
