CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers put right-hander Brad Penny on the 15-day disabled list today with a sore shoulder that has bothered him for much of the season, then sent right-hander Hiroki Kuroda back to Los Angeles to have a sore shoulder examined.

Penny went 0-7 in his last eight starts and lasted only 3 2-3 innings in a 12-7 loss in Detroit on Saturday. He said after the game that his shoulder has been bothering him for much of the season. He has been taking pain medication before starts because of the shoulder.

Penny flew from Detroit to Los Angeles for a medical test yesterday that indicated tendinitis. He's 5-9 with a 5.88 ERA.

Manager Joe Torre said Penny could resume throwing later this week and might be able to return in two weeks.

"It's structurally fine," Torre said of Penny's shoulder. "The think what's tricked us all is when you look up there and see his velocity numbers seem to be pretty consistent, and at times he looked really good. But again, inconsistency probably matches up with the fact that he's had this discomfort. Some days have been better than others."

Left-hander Brad Stults was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his spot in the rotation. He was 5-6 with a 3.59 ERA in 14 starts for Las Vegas. Stults had three stints with the Dodgers last season, going 1-4 with a 5.82 ERA in five starts and seven relief appearances.

"The fact that he has some big league experience means he won't be a duck out of water," Torre said.

Kuroda was scheduled to start tomorrow's game against the Cincinnati Reds. Kuroda, who is 3-6 with a 4.04 ERA, told the team that his pitching shoulder has been bothering him at times. The team got him on a flight back to Los Angeles today to have it checked.

"I guess he's experienced this on and off for a while," Torre said. "He was ready to pitch tomorrow, but we decided to send him home and figure by the time we get home, we'll have an idea (what's wrong)."

Derek Lowe will move up a day and start tomorrow's game, with Stults finishing the series on Thursday.