Adrian Gonzalez was in the starting lineup to the San Diego Padres a nighttime after straining his right knee while sliding into third base. The very first baseman said he convinced director Bud Black that he was OK to play with against the Houston Astros on Wednesday night. “Buddy came in the training area and I ran around the training area and showed him I could perform,” Gonzalez explained. On Tuesday nighthe hit an RBI triple off Mike Hampton with one out in the fourth and then slid hard into third. After Kevin Kouzmanoff struck , Gonzalez was visited by Black and trainer Todd Hutcheson. After a few minutes, Gonzalez came from the match and was replaced by rookie Kyle Blanks. “I did not slide . My body landed on top of the leg,” Gonzalez explained. “He said that he had been considerably improved since last night,” Black said. “We guess everything’s fine. He is ready to go, he wishes to play. You can’t keep a fantastic man down.” Gonzalez is hitting .271 with 24 homers and 48 RBIs.
