LOS ANGELES -- At the very latest, Eric Lauer's return to the Padres' rotation will come in a week and a half, but it is looking more likely that he will be pitching in San Diego as early as next week.
Lauer (forearm strain) threw 61 pitches in a rehab outing with Triple-A El Paso on Friday and the reviews were so positive that another Minor League outing might not be necessary.
"His fastball was 90-95 [mph] and had some jump to it," said Padres manager Andy Green, who had not yet watched a tape of the outing, but studied the scouting reports.