Not all that long ago, Oliver Perez's arsenal was being compared to that of Randy Johnson, his potential to that of Sandy Koufax.

Tomorrow night, he will take the mound against the Toledo Mud Hens.

With no assurance of when -- or if -- he will return to Pittsburgh.

	MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT Thursday's results INDIANAPOLIS (43-35) beat Rochester, 1-0. RHP Marty McLeary (0-2, 2.21) pitched six scoreless innings and allowed six hits. He struck out eight and walked none. RHP Terry Adams (3.00) pitched two scoreless innings of relief. DH Chris Richard (.248) hit his eighth home run. ALTOONA (45-32) lost to Bowie, 6-3. RHP Ron Chiavacci (0-1, 4.18) allowed six runs, four earned, in 5 1/3 innings. LF Nyjer Morgan (.400), batting leadoff in his Class AA debut, went 2 for 5 with a triple, a stolen base and two runs. SS Brian Bixler (.250), also making his debut, went 1 for 4. RF Ray Sadler (.240) hit his ninth home run. LYNCHBURG (35-41) lost at Wilmington, 6-2. RHP Matt Lorenzo (0-1, 2.25) allowed two runs in four innings. SS Brent Lillibridge (.333), making his Hillcats debut, went 1 for 3. C Neil Walker (.265) went 0 for 4. HICKORY (37-40) swept a doubleheader with Kannapolis, 5-4 and 4-3. In the first game, RHP Todd Redmond (6-4, 2.58) allowed two runs in six innings. In the nightcap, RHP Luis Munoz (5-2, 2.35) allowed three runs, two earned, in 5 2/3 innings. For the day, CF Andrew McCutchen (.267) went 1 for 6 with a walk. WILLIAMSPORT (4-4) beat Mahoning Valley, 4-1. LHP Michael Felix (0-0, 0.00), the Pirates' second-round draft pick earlier this month, pitched four scoreless innings and has not given up a run in his first two professional starts. 2B James Negrych (.250) and SS Angel Gonzalez (.214) each went 3 for 4 with a double. Negrych, the Pirates' sixth-round pick out of Pitt, had three RBIs.

The Pirates yesterday optioned Perez to Class AAA Indianapolis and recalled Tom Gorzelanny to take his place in the rotation tomorrow against the Detroit Tigers. The team plans to have Perez make "a series" of starts for Indianapolis, manager Jim Tracy said, beginning with tomorrow in Toledo.

Tracy was not more specific about the timetable, and Perez said management did not inform him of one.

"My sincere hope is that Oliver can relax a little more, focus on the things we've been looking for and needs to have to be here and be part of the rotation," Tracy said. "I think it's going to be better for him there."

Perez, 24, had a 2-10 record, worst in Major League Baseball, with a 6.63 ERA. He was coming off two strong starts -- losses to former Cy Young Award winners Chris Carpenter and Johan Santana -- and one poor one Friday in Los Angeles, in which the Dodgers tagged him for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings.

When management told Perez he was out of the rotation and going to the bullpen Tuesday, he did not complain.

His reaction yesterday sounded little different.

"I'm disappointed," Perez said. "But, at the same time, it's a good choice. It's hard to make changes here when you have problems. I'll just have to go down and try to make everything fine."

Perez will work in Indianapolis with Jeff Andrews, the pitching coach who has been lauded by many of the Pirates' youngsters.

"He's a good coach," Perez said. "I talked to him a lot in spring training and liked it."

Gorzelanny's 'time'

Gorzelanny, a hard-throwing left-hander who turns 24 in two weeks, was among the best pitchers in the minors.

His 6-5 record was nothing special, but that came about mostly because of Indianapolis' lack of offense. He had a 2.35 ERA with 94 strikeouts, most in the International League, and only 27 walks. In his past three starts, he allowed one earned run over 20 innings.

Perhaps most impressive, his average of 0.94 hits and walks per inning was the best of any pitcher in Class AAA.

"It's time to break him into this environment," Tracy said. "He's taken the challenge we've given him full-speed."

The Pirates did not give Gorzelanny a chance to make the team out of spring training, making him one of the earliest cuts, even though they had two openings in the rotation at the time.

He made his major-league debut Sept. 20, 2005 -- his only start -- and lost to the Houston Astros, 7-4, at PNC Park.

Wilson, Casey improve

Craig Wilson has a "pretty good" bruise and some swelling near his left elbow, Tracy said, but nothing more. Wilson was injured Wednesday when Chicago's Tadahito Iguchi ran into him at first base, bending his left arm backward violently, but tests yesterday showed no interior damage.

"When I saw it, I thought a month to six weeks," Tracy said.

Wilson said he might be able to play this weekend.

First baseman Sean Casey's bruised left shoulder improved to the point he was available to pinch-hit yesterday. It is likely he will return this weekend.

Randa takes leave

The Pirates placed third baseman Joe Randa on the bereavement list so that he could attend to a death in the family. He will be eligible to rejoin the lineup Sunday.

The team recalled utilityman Mike Edwards from Class AAA Indianapolis for the third time this season. Edwards, 29, was batting .200 in 38 games for the Indians.

Contreras barely escapes

The Pirates nearly ended two long streaks.

In scoring six times off 12 hits against Chicago starter Jose Contreras, they had a 6-4 lead when he exited in the sixth. Had that lead held up, Contreras' 16-0 streak -- including 8-0 this year -- would have ended.

As it was, the White Sox came back to tie in the eighth to take him off the hook.

"They're swinging the bats pretty well, and Contreras was up in the zone," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He was off. He had a rough day."

Buried treasure

The game was delayed 25 minutes by rain in the bottom of the sixth.

Injured starter John Van Benschoten, shut down last month because of lingering shoulder pain, is back to pitching off a mound in Bradenton, Fla.

All-Star balloting ended at midnight last night. Starters will be announced Sunday.