Peavy determined to pitch Saturday

GLENDALE, Ariz. — After being “as sick as I have ever been in my life,” Jake Peavy returned to Camelback Ranch Friday and plans on taking his regular pitching turn Saturday against the Oakland A’s in Phoenix.

Looking weak and bleary-eyed from a rough, two-day episode with stomach flu, Peavy played catch on Friday and get some blood flowing through his body.

Manager Ozzie Guillen isn’t high on the idea of Peavy taking the ball.

“I’m against it, but he wants to do it,” Guillen said. “We’ll monitor him closely.”

The Sox used only John Danks and Phil Humber in their 18-1 pasting of the Oakland A’s Friday night, saving pitching for the possibility today that Peavy doesn’t answer the bell.

Peavy threw 67 pitches in his last outing on Monday against the San Diego Padres. Not pitching Saturday would be his first “setback” in his comeback from surgery to reattach a torn lat. The important thing, Peavy said, is that his pitching body parts feel fine.

“I was in bad, bad shape there,” said Peavy, who had to take intravenous fluids while dealing with diarreah and vomiting. “It wasn’t pretty. My body feels real achy and weak right now.”