Gyorko gets day off; Amarista starts

CHICAGO -- The Padres gave struggling second baseman Jedd Gyorko the day off on Saturday, as Alexi Amarista got the start.

Gyorko is hitting .169 and went 0-for-4 in Friday's 4-1 victory over the White Sox. Entering Saturday, he had started all but three games this season and ranks second on the team in at-bats (195).

"It's a combination of a number of things," said Padres manager Bud Black. "You have got to use your roster and this was a good day to give him. He's been going at it hard and we've been playing him a lot. Last night, there were couple at-bats that didn't go his way."

Gyorko is hitting .231 since May 20, but he's had trouble bunching together good at-bats with a good outcome.

"It's definitely not ideal but I feel it's starting to come around a little for me," Gyorko said. "I think that my at-bats have gotten better.

"There's still lot of the season left and we're only about one-third of the way through it. I'm going to keep working at it and keep driving in runs. You know you're not going to get it all back in one game."

Black said Gyorko is putting in all the necessary work to spin out of this season-long funk and that his effort and conviction is right.

"He's having such a great attitude but I know it's eating at him. Right now, he's not squaring up enough fastballs. But it will come."