Kelley making steady progress in Minors rehab

SAN DIEGO -- Shawn Kelley's Minor League rehab stint on Friday at High-A Lake Elsinore included a little of everything, which is what the Padres' reliever was actually hoping for.

In this case, the more work, the better.

"Ideally, you'd to throw the least amount of pitches as you can," Kelley said. "But on a rehab stint, you want to get your work in."

Kelley, who has been on the disabled list with a strained left calf since April 24, threw 22 pitches in his one inning of work, allowing one walk with two strikeouts.

"It was good. I got to throw all my pitches in different situations," Kelley said.

Kelley will throw again on Monday and Wednesday for Triple-A El Paso on the road in Fresno, manager Bud Black confirmed.

Kelley, who has been free-and-clear of pain in the calf for over a week, was able to institute a few mechanical fixes he and pitching coach Darren Balsley worked on during his outing Friday.

"I kind of throw across my body a little, so if my foot is opening up or my shoulder is, my arm drags," Kelley said. "But my slider was crisp. That's kind of the tell-all. If my slider is good, I'm right. If it's spinning, then it's not right."

Kelley, who has allowed six earned runs over 5 1/3 innings this season, believes that he'll be in a better position to succeed once he's reinstated from the DL.

"I've always been able to turn a negative into a positive," Kelley said of using his time on the disabled list to work on his mechanics.