"As much as there was disappointment on Clayton Richard's face, the look also was one of disbelief.

Richard, the left-handed pitcher, former quarterback and Padres fitness demon who said he has never been on the disabled list of any kind or never even been injured, was placed on the 15-day DL on Tuesday with a strain of his throwing shoulder. His shocked expression, in fact, was much like those on the faces of people seeing Richard pulled after five innings of a Monday game in which he was shutting out the San Francisco Giants on two hits.

Clearly, the Padres are using the All-Star Break in their strategy with Richard, whose next start would have been Saturday at Los Angeles. His scheduled return from the disabled list would be July 20, which is when his turn in the rotation would have fallen anyway.

"It will give him ample time to let the shoulder rest, which our medical staff thinks is all it needs," said manager Bud Black. "When his 15 days are up, we're really confident that he'll be able to slide right back in there."

As Richard was going onto the DL, reliever Luke Gregerson was coming off, returning to active duty after being sidelined with an oblique strain. Richard's start Saturday will fall to a yet-unnamed pitcher, the most likely being Aaron Harang, who's been recovering from a foot issue and was slated to pitch his second rehab start for the Lake Elsinore Storm on Saturday."