PEORIA, Ariz. — Cory Mazzoni’s first taste of the majors left the back of his baseball card battered and beaten. In April, the right-hander, acquired last spring from the Mets for lefty Alex Torres, debuted with the Padres and promptly gave up a two-run homer. In his next start, the next day, he surrendered four runs over another inning.
On June 17 at Oakland, Mazzoni entered in the eighth with a 9-2 deficit. Two outs, eight hits and seven runs later, he left the game. He was relieved by Alexi Amarista, the utility player making his professional pitching debut.