DENVER _ Linear progress, especially for a young pitcher in the majors, is a rarity. On occasion, a roadblock will devolve into a pileup.
Such was the case Monday. The Padres lost, 9-6, and Luis Perdomo looked like he was a rookie again. The 24-year-old right-hander surrendered all of the Colorado Rockies' runs, five earned, over 2 1/3 innings.
It was his shortest outing since last May in Milwaukee, where a pitch count limited him to six outs in his first big-league start. Monday's game, which initially resembled one of Coors Field's zany slugests, turned one-sided. A late charge by the Padres fell short.
Perdomo's sinker, a mid-90s weapon aimed at inducing weak contact, betrayed him in thin air. His fourth pitch of the night was redirected 451 feet by Rockies leadoff hitter Charlie Blackmon.
The Padres supplied a momentary distraction in the top of the second. A 1-1 fastball from German Marquez was pulverized by Jabari Blash. A two-run rocket cleared the right-center fence _ which stands 16 feet, 6 inches _ and brushed through a tree on its way down.
At 477 feet, the right fielder's home run was the longest by a Padres player since Statcast tracking technology debuted in 2015. The previous mark belonged to Melvin Upton Jr., who smoked a 465-foot drive roughly a year ago.
Monday's homer, Blash's second since he was recalled Friday, gave San Diego a 2-1 lead. It would not be long before Perdomo's cushion disappeared.
The Rockies opened the bottom of the second with three consecutive hits. The last, a single by Trevor Story, tied the score. Perdomo escaped further damage with a double play.
In execution and results, the following inning was far worse. Perdomo allowed a leadoff walk, then a single. He faced a bases-loaded, no-out dilemma after a fielding error by shortstop Erick Aybar.
Perdomo's response included self-inflicted distress. Following a fly out, he issued a run-scoring walk, then another. Story plated two runs with a double. Manager Andy Green summoned long reliever Craig Stammen.
In all, Perdomo had surrendered six hits and three walks. He did not strike out a batter. Shortly after his exit, Marquez added insult with an infield single, driving in the Rockies' fifth run of the inning. Perdomo's earned-run average, an encouraging 4.30 in the second half of 2016, rose to 4.94.
The score _ Rockies 7, Padres 2 _ remained unchanged through the sixth. Both sides added a run in the seventh.
The Padres put together a Coors Field special in the eighth. Catcher Hector Sanchez, who started his third consecutive game after Austin Hedges was scratched, homered for a third consecutive game. Matt Szczur doubled. Blash lifted a sacrifice fly. A single by Allen Cordoba shaved the deficit to a pair of runs.
San Diego would not bridge the remaining gap. A sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth made it 9-6. Jose Pirela was stranded after a two-out double in the ninth.
The Rockies finished with 11 hits, two fewer than the visitors, but they were aided by seven walks. Second baseman Carlos Asuaje's three hits, including two doubles, led the Padres.
Four San Diego relievers took the mound following Perdomo. Two, Stammen and Kevin Quackenbush, worked two or slightly more innings.
The bullpen could again be tested Tuesday. Dinelson Lamet will make his first career appearance at Coors Field. The rookie already has a few dominant starts to his name, as well an 8.00 ERA on the road.
