Richard breathes sigh of relief in first victory

SAN DIEGO -- What Clayton Richard couldn't find in seven starts, he found with two innings in a very rare scoreless appearance in Friday's 17-inning victory over the Blue Jays: his first victory.

Richard, who hadn't made a relief appearance since May 10, 2009, while with the White Sox, tossed two scoreless innings and was the pitcher of record when Jesus Guzman knocked in the game-winning run, clinching a 4-3 victory.

Richard was actually scheduled to start on Saturday, where he would have faced former teammate and friend Mark Buehrle. Instead, he was pressed into action late Friday in a game that stretched into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

"[Manager Bud Black] called me over in the 13th and told me there was a chance," Richard said.

Richard allowed one hit in two innings and needed just 17 pitches to get six outs. Richard said the experience was different than what he's used to, especially in regards to getting ready for an appearance.

"I just had to do it a lot quicker. You try to do what you can to get loose," Richard said.

Black said that the Padres will reinsert Richard into the starting rotation on Tuesday when the Padres are in Los Angeles to face the Dodgers. In Richard's place Saturday, the Padres recalled left-hander Robbie Erlin from Triple-A Tucson. He'll likely be returned there after the game.