Cla

Meredith

Meredith extended his scoreless streak to 27 1/3 innings, leaving him one inning short the Padres’ club record set by Mark Davis in 1988.

Simon suffered a left hamstring strain on Sunday, making a bad situation even worse. There’s no obvious replacement for the ninth inning, but Will Ohman seems like the most reasonable option. Cla Meredith could also get a look. Triple-A Norfolk right-hander Frank Mata could be a sleeper in this scenario.

He limped off the field after clutching his left leg and did so with the aid of a trainer. He was replaced by Cla Meredith, who gave up a walk-off homer. Simon had tossed 1 1/3 innings in the 10-inning loss to lower his ERA to 2.92. It is not yet known what injury Simon suffered or if it shelve him. If he misses time, Koji Uehara could get a crack at save opportunities, but he could also be headed back to the disabled list because of a right forearm strain. Meredith and Will Ohman could get looks if both Simon and Uehara are seriously hurt.

It didn’t work out for Meredith this time, but he’s still a fine relief prospect. He’ll be back by September at the latest.

''The kid got called up and it didn’t go his way,’' manager Terry Francona said. ''He knows the next time he comes here, this will be beneficial. He’s going to be OK.’' Meredith had a 27.00 ERA in three appearances.

“In the big picture, he is going to help us,” Black said of Linebrink. “I know he hasn’t pitched like he’s expected to pitch. We’ll talk about some things tomorrow. There’s a number of things on the pitching side.”

Cla Meredith picked up the win and is now 4-0 on the season - pretty good for a relief pitcher that went 0-3 through all of last season. Starter Chris Young struck out six, but gave up three earned runs, five hits and four walks through six innings. Arizona starter Dan Haren struck gave up three earned runs, eight hits and two walks through six. Esmerling Vasquez took the loss through 1 1/3 innings of work.

Meredith, a 26-year-old sinkerballer, had a 4.17 ERA in 36 2/3 innings this season. He went from being one of the NL’s most valuable relievers in 2006 to pretty much falling out of the Padres’ long-range plans in 2008. While he had spent all of 2009 in the majors, he had been used almost exclusively as a mopup man. Because of his ability to generate grounders, he’ll be more of an asset in a smaller park than he was in Petco, where flyballs go to die. However, he’s not going to contribute for fantasy purposes.

Maddux reportedly would only consider moves to West Coast teams, leaving few possibilities. Only three western division teams seem like legitimate contenders, and the Angels and Diamondbacks don’t figure to be in the market for a starter. The Dodgers might be. The Padres might have more luck moving Randy Wolf, who has a limited no-trade clause that should be easier to deal with. They’re also receiving inquiries about Cla Meredith.

Meredith allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings for Portland. He’ll resume pitching in middle relief.