ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — While the Padres offense barely made a peep Monday at Tropicana Field, Luis Perdomo had a down-and-up game.
San Diego's rookie right-hander hit two batters, walked another and surrendered three runs before he recorded his fifth out. From there, he retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced. He received next to no support, Alexei Ramirez's first-inning home run representing the first of three hits in an 8-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
A dog day of August brought more lessons for Perdomo, a promising young arm, and more empty at-bats for a sputtering offense.