San Diego Padres: Luis Perdomo Has Giant Problems

The San Diego Padres fell to the San Francisco Giants this afternoon by a score of 5-4. Starting pitcher Luis Perdomo struggled in his second spring outing, however, Jose Pirela continued to be a bright spot in the lineup for Andy Green.

Everything started out so well for the San Diego Padres. A beautiful mid-March Sunday afternoon full of sunshine and baseball. Unfortunately, Luis Perdomo ran head first into a Giant wall (pun intended).

Perdomo entered the game with an early 1-0 lead after this Wil Myers home run.

Then, the bottom of the first happened.

Perdomo gave up a triple to Gregor Blanco followed by a walk to Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey. Hunter Pence, hitting .105 coming in today’s game, then took it upon himself to clear the bases with this grand slam to deep centerfield.

Perdomo’s final line read: 3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. He struggled early and often to find the plate. He wasn’t “just missing,”  he couldn’t find the plate, even with a guide. His rotation is secured because, well, there’s no one on the roster threatening to take it. I should say, no one is threatening at the moment, however, lefties Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer are waiting impatiently in the wings after dominant spring performances.

The Giants would fail to score another run as Colten Brewer and Chris Young combined for five shutout innings to end the game. Young struck out five hitters over four innings of work. He allowed just two base runners. Will Young make the final 25-man roster? He’s outperforming much of the internal competition and there is a case to be made for him to make the team as a long-reliever/spot-starter.

The Padres threatened a comeback in the sixth inning after a Jose Pirela solo shot over the left field fence, but ultimately fell short. Pirela is now hitting .481 through 12 games with an on-base percentage just under .500. It’s looking more and more as if either Hunter Renfroe or Franchy Cordero begin the season in AAA El Paso.

Next: Manuel Margot's Spring Training Update

The Padres will take on the Kansas City Royals (ss) at noon tomorrow in, yet another, non-televised game.