PADRES REINSTATE RHP Mat Latos FROM 15-DAY DL

– Club options LHP Wade LeBlanc to Triple-A Tucson –

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The San Diego Padres today announced they have reinstated right-handed pitcher Mat Latos from the 15-day disabled list and optioned left-handed pitcher Wade LeBlanc to Triple-A Tucson. Latos is scheduled to start tonight’s 7:05 p.m. game against the Cincinnati Reds. Executive Vice President/General Manager Jed Hoyer made the announcement.

Latos, 23, began the season on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder.  The right-hander went 14-10 with a 2.92 ERA (60 ER/184.2 IP) over 31 starts in his first full-season last year.  He set a Major League record by allowing two-runs-or-fewer in 15-straight starts (minimum 5.0 IP) from June 10 to September 7 last season, according to the ELIAS Sports Bureau.  Scheduled to make his season debut tonight, the Padres 11^th-round selection in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft posted a 9.00 ERA (10 ER/10.0 IP) with nine walks against five strikeouts in four starts this Spring.

LeBlanc, 26, was recalled from Triple-A Tucson yesterday. He made the start in the Tucson Padres first game on Thursday, April 7, working 4.1 innings and allowing nine runs, eight earned, on 10 hits, three home runs and two walks.  The southpaw went 8-12 with a 4.25 ERA (69 ER/146.0 IP) over 26 games, 25 starts, for the Padres last season.  Originally signed as a second-round selection by the Padres in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, LeBlanc has gone 12-16 with a 4.51 ERA (107 ER/213.2 IP) in 40 career games, 38 starts, over parts of three Major League seasons with the Padres.