SAN DIEGO _ The majors' second-youngest roster figures to sit through several harsh lessons as the spring stretches into the dog days of summer. None may be more important than the one in front of Andy Green's bunch right now:
Steering out of an extended skid.
The current slide hit five games Tuesday night, the Padres' bats going quiet as Arizona beat up on the bullpen in an 11-2 rout in front of 19,869 at Petco Park to start a six-game homestand.
Right-hander Craig Stammen's throwing error allowed two runs to score after Jarred Cosart exited in the fourth with a hamstring injury, Yasmany Tomas added insult to injury with a three-run homer the next inning and Shelby Miller backed Arizona's uprising with 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball to send the Padres to their 10th loss in the first 15 games of the season.
A Wednesday date with Zack Greinke won't make things any easier.
"Two weeks into the season you don't get too high; you don't get too low," Green said before four errors assisted Arizona in extending a losing streak that equal last year's season-worst skids in April and August. "You don't let it alter your path. Every single guy on this baseball field has room to get better, so that work is going to continue."
Hitting with runners in scoring position deserves some of that attention.
The Padres entered the game hitting .174 in that department _ 29th in the majors _ and had just one hit in eight chances through the first eight innings: Wil Myers' run-scoring single in the third to give his team a 1-0 lead and extend his hitting streak to nine games.
The advantage didn't last long.
Cosart (3 2/3 IP, 1 ER) allowed his first hit and then runs a half inning later, Stammen allowed four runs on two hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings and Zach Lee surrendered two more runs on four hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings.
Tomas' homer off Stammen and Chris Iannetta's eighth-inning shot off Lee upped the Padres' allotment to 24 homers allowed, most in the majors.
Christian Bethancourt struck out a batter to close the eighth only to allow two unearned runs to score on Jeremy Hazelbaker's two-out triple in the ninth. The rally started when Hector Sanchez missed a catch at first base with one out in the inning, the Padres' fourth error of the game.
Bethancourt walked another batter before Green lifted him for Erick Aybar, who got the final out in his pitching debut as Bethancourt moved from the mound to second base.
For the Diamondbacks, Miller (2-1) struck out five and allowed one run on four hits and two walks over 7 1/3 innings in the win.
Rule-5 catcher Luis Torrens' run-scoring single in the ninth _ just the Padres' second hit with runners in scoring position _ was the first hit and RBI of his career.
