The Dodgers arrived at Petco Park in last place. They’re leaving on a roll, with Luis Perdomo gift-wrapping a sweep-clinching victory in a brief, shaky return from suspension.

There’s no guarantee Perdomo’s return is an extended stay, either.

The Padres’ third-year hurler allowed a career-high nine runs in three innings in a 13-4 loss, further stressing a bullpen that now leads the majors with 86-plus innings this season. Three of Perdomo’s four starts have lasted four or fewer innings, leading Padres manager Andy Green to contemplate whether the organization would be better served looking another another pitcher in the rotation while continuing his development at Triple-A El Paso.

“We’ve got to sit down and talk about it right now,” Green said. “That’s something conversationally, for us, as a coaching staff and a front office. We’ve done a lot to try to give him every opportunity to be successful at this level. And he’s given effort, man. He cares. He’s doing everything he possibly can. He’s working hard.


“It’s just not happening, and at some point in time, we’ve got to re-evaluate the situation, try to figure out what’s best for us.”

A day off will help the bullpen heading into a weekend series at the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, as will the imminent return of Kirby Yates from the disabled list.

The Padres will have to take a longer, harder look at what’s ailing the 24-year-old Perdomo, who was essentially put on notice by Green after allowing five runs in four innings in his 2018 debut.

The former Rule-5 pick was much better in Houston (5 IP, 1 ER).


Then he wasn’t around much in Colorado after throwing behind Nolan Arenado to trigger a benches-clearing brawl.

Then he wasn’t effective at all in his return from a five-game ban, which pushed his regularly-scheduled start from Monday to Wednesday.

“I think it probably affected me a little bit,” Perdomo said through an interpreter. “I had good rhythm coming out of those starts and I think having those days, not doing the same work, not having the same style of work, probably affected me a little bit, but I don’t want to put any excuse on it.

“I just have to keep working hard, take advantage of the opportunity and come back and get that rhythm.”


Perdomo (1-2, 8.36) threw only 49 of his 79 pitches for strikes, allowed nine runs on 10 hits and two walks and had his bullpen working in the fourth inning for the fourth time in the last week.

Christian Villanueva’s throwing error allowed two unearned runs to score in a three-run first, Corey Seager added a run-scoring single in the second and Max Muncy’s three-run homer in the third opened up a 9-2 lead.

“They were taking very aggressive passes on him, because there was no secondary command at all,” Green said. “Just sitting fastball. He was pitching with one pitch out there, and it wasn’t live movement like it is from time to time. If you don’t have the secondary, there’s nothing to go to. We needed him to have a long outing today for our bullpen. I think they covered 18 innings in three games this series, which can’t happen.”

Perdomo hadn’t allowed that many runs in a game – earned or not – since yielding eight in three innings last May against the Diamondbacks.


Wednesday’s effort raised Perdomo’s ERA to 9.55 in 33 career innings against the Dodgers and again threw his spot in the rotation in jeopardy.

Even he seems to know it.

“I think I’m always pitching for (my big league job),” Perdomo said. “Things didn’t go well in the game. All I can do is go out there and keep working.”

The Padres have alternatives.


Robbie Erlin already filled in once for Perdomo during his suspension. Matt Strahm is continuing to build stamina on his rehab assignment. Walker Lockett is a minor league rotation option already on the 40-man roster and left-handed prospect Eric Lauer – who wowed this spring alongside Joey Lucchesi – has fanned 19 batters through his first 18 innings at Triple-A El Paso (3.00 ERA).

“We’ve been talking about a competitive culture all through spring training, all the way into the season,” Green said. “We intend to give guys opportunities that are rising up and taking advantage, like Joey Lucchesi, guys that are showing well. We have a number of young guys that we like in the organization. I’m sure the conversation will be forthcoming here soon as to what’s our best move.”

Tyler Webb absorbed most of Wednesday’s bloated workload, turning in three scoreless innings behind Perdomo.

Kazuhisa Makita worked a scoreless seventh, Grandal doubled in a run off Adam Cimber in the eighth and Craig Stammen allowed three runs in the ninth, snapping his scoreless streak at 11 1/3 innings as the Dodgers pushed their hit total to 18.


A night after tying the franchise-record with 20 strikeouts in a 12-inning loss, the Padres fanned 13 more times Wednesday to give them double-digits in more than half their games in this 7-13 start to the season.

Their 45 strikeouts in the series was the fourth-most combined strikeouts during a three-game set since 1913, according to STATS, Inc. Hall-of-Famer Tony Gwynn never struck out more than 40 times in an entire season.

“Our at-bats weren’t that bad (tonight),” Green said. “I know Franchy (Cordero) had some punchouts tonight. We put multiple guys on every inning, had quite a bit of hits. You put four runs on the board very quickly and get six, seven runs. That could’ve been a ballgame really fast. Once again, we were kind of searching for that last hit of an inning to kind of get us back into it. We didn’t get that hit.”

Green’s team leads the majors with 205 punchouts, is a bottom-seven team in batting average (.225) and on-base percentage (.299) and was trailing Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda 3-0 before taking its first hacks Wednesday night.


Maeda struck out 10 and allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. Left-hander Adam Liberatore struck out Cordero with two on to end the sixth.

Carlos Asuaje’s two-run double in the third cut the Padres’ deficit to 9-4, one of his two hits. Cory Spangenberg also mixed in two hits with two strikeouts, while Cordero fanned four times in a sweep that erased the three-game winning streak that San Diego carried into the series against defending NL champion Dodgers.

“That’s just how quick baseball goes,” Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer said before the game. “You have to flush those things.”


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jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutSanders