ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ While the Padres offense barely made a peep Monday at Tropicana Field, Luis Perdomo had a down-and-up game.
San Diego's rookie right-hander hit two batters, walked another and surrendered three runs before he recorded his fifth out. From there, he retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced. He received next to no support, Alexei Ramirez's first-inning home run representing the first of three hits in an 8-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
A dog day of August brought more lessons for Perdomo, a promising young arm, and more empty at-bats for a sputtering offense. The Padres, who dropped to 50-68, are 2-5 on their three-city road trip. Since they left San Diego, they have totaled 35 hits.
A day earlier, the Padres finished with four knocks after the New York Mets' Steven Matz took a no-hit bid into the eighth.
Monday, Rays left-hander Drew Smyly breezed through seven innings on 87 pitches. The only objections came in the form of two walks and Ramirez's homer, the response to a meatball of a cutter. San Diego did not record another hit until the ninth, when Wil Myers led off with a single and made an out stretching at second. The next batter, Yangervis Solarte, crushed a somewhat meaningless home run.
While it was still close, the Padres' early lead vanished within minutes. After striking out leadoff batter Logan Forsythe, Perdomo looked as if he had little idea where the ball was going. Two singles followed, then a hit-by-pitch, a strikeout and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch.
In the second, Forsythe came to bat again. The former Padres infielder didn't whiff this time, walloping a two-run homer to left-center. Perdomo allowed another single, then a walk.
He was a different pitcher from that point on, retiring nine straight batters before he issued a walk in the fifth. After the bottom of the second, he didn't give up a hit.
Perdomo completed 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball. He struck out five and threw 110 pitches (65 strikes), topping the century mark for the third consecutive start.
The 23-year-old, who hadn't pitched above Single-A before this season, actually lowered his ERA to 6.68, down from 9.00 on June 21.
The Padres drew four walks and twice stole second but, besides Ramirez's home run, never got further.
Brandon Morrow, who over the weekend returned to the majors after a 15-month absence, relieved Perdomo and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
In the bottom of the eighth, Leonel Campos was roughed up for five runs, three coming on a homer by Kevin Kiermaier.
