Padres stretching out Ross in Triple-A Tucson

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres are sending reliever Tyson Ross down to Triple-A Tucson in order to get him stretched out so he can fill in for the injured Clayton Richard.

Ross began the season as the club's fifth starter, but landed on the disabled list on April 20 with a left shoulder injury. Since then, he's returned to the bullpen, serving as one of the Padres' long relievers, but he's excited to get back to a starting role.

"I like the routine of starting," he said. "Kind of find that to be more beneficial as far as getting my arm and body ready to pitch, but either one works."

Ross will mainly work on getting used to throwing more pitches and added that he hasn't thrown more than 40 pitches in a while.

He is scheduled to start on Friday for Tucson in the first game of a doubleheader with the plan for him to throw approximately 60-to-70 pitches. Ross will likely make another start after that in the Minors before the Padres examine his progress.

Manager Bud Black also thought Ross had some issues he could work on correcting in the Minors.

"He's got to get back to the mindset of using all his pitches, using his changeup. Pitching," Black said. "I sense that he was overthrowing the ball a bit his last couple outings and not really doing what we saw in the early part of the season.

"This gives him the opportunity to go back down, work on his stuff, clean up some delivery things that I think [pitching coach] Darren [Balsley] and [bullpen coach] Willie [Blair] have spotted."

The Padres have recalled right-hander Miles Mikolas to fill Ross's spot on the roster and provide some depth in their bullpen.