Martin Perez throws gem in return to Rangers’ rotation

Rangers left-hander Martin Perez is the set-in-stone No. 3 starter and Friday he more than looked up to the task. In his first spring start since returning from the World Baseball Classic, Perez shut down the Padres for five innings as the Rangers held on for a 4-3 win at Surprise Stadium.

How Rangers pitchers fared: Perez held the Padres to three singles and a walk and struck out six over five-plus innings for his best outing of the spring. Perez started the sixth but came out after walking the the lead-off hitter. Mike Hauschild continued his dominance out of the bullpen, pitching two scoreless innings on one hit and four strikeouts. Hauschild hasn’t allowed a run in eight innings out of…