DODGERS NOTEBOOK: PENNY SET TO GO SUNDAY.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO - Dodgers right-hander Brad Penny is tentatively slated to make his first start of the season Sunday at Colorado, but that could change if Denver's notoriously unpredictable spring weather takes a turn for the worse.

``If it gets freezing cold, into the 30s or the low 40s, we'll pull the plug,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``We have an alternative plan we would put in place if that situation presents itself, but it's supposed to be in the mid-60s.''

The backup plan is for Elmer Dessens to make that start if he is healthy enough to do so, with D.J. Houlton going if Dessens can't. Dessens left Thursday's game at Milwaukee with spasms in the back of his right shoulder.

Tracy said Penny will be limited to 80-85 pitches. Penny threw 79 in his final minor-league rehabilitation tune-up Monday night at Las Vegas, enough to get him through six innings.

Penny's last major-league appearance was Sept. 22, when he suffered a recurrence of the nerve injury in his right arm that had previously sidelined him six weeks. In the hope of avoiding another relapse, this second rehab progressed largely at Penny's discretion, which is one reason it progressed so slowly.

If it's too cold Sunday, he likely will pitch Monday night against Arizona at Dodger Stadium, but Tracy wouldn't commit to that. The Dodgers will need a roster spot when they activate Penny, but Dessens doesn't appear to be headed to the disabled list. The easy cut would be rookie reliever Steve Schmoll, who still has minor-league options, but he has pitched well enough to stay.

--Injury updates: Dessens met Wednesday with Dr. Greg Schwab, who found nothing wrong with the right-hander's shoulder beyond the already diagnosed spasms. Dessens could test his shoulder by throwing a side session as soon as Friday.

Closer Eric Gagne (right elbow) played catch for the second day in a row, slightly increasing his intensity. He isn't close to getting on a mound.