Weber's trip to Majors unexpectedly lengthy

SAN FRANCISCO -- Pitcher Thad Weber was only in Fresno for about an hour Saturday before he was told that he needed to get to AT&T Park pronto.

Weber, added to the 25-man roster for depth after starting pitcher Clayton Richard was felled by a nasty virus, quickly discovered that getting to San Francisco wouldn't be easy.

"We looked and couldn't find any direct flights," said Weber, who arrived in Fresno earlier in the day with his Triple-A Tucson teammates.

Instead of flying over Central California, Weber got to tour it by car, as the team hired a car service so he could travel the 190 or so miles to get to town in time for Saturday's 6:05 p.m. PT start.

Only it took a little longer.

"I left about 3:15 and got here at 7," Weber said. "We were moving well until we got to the Bay Bridge."

Weber was able to monitor the early part of the Padres' 2-0 loss to the Giants via the MLB At-Bat app on his phone before arriving. He dressed quickly and said he would have been available to pitch if needed.

The Padres needed an extra arm in the bullpen after long reliever Andrew Cashner was used to start Saturday. Weber took the roster spot of starter Tyson Ross, who went on the disabled list with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.

This is the second time in nine days that Weber has been added to the roster. He joined the team April 12 and was optioned back to Triple-A Tucson two days later after yielding two runs over 3 2/3 innings in his only relief appearance.

At Tucson, Weber was 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings, including six shutout innings in his last start Thursday against Salt Lake.

"Anytime you're up, it's a good thing," Weber said of his promotion. "I always tell myself to take it day by day. Hopefully, it's longer this time."