The Padres placed pitcher Andrew Cashner on the 15-day disabled list with a neck strain on Saturday. Manager Andy Green said rookie Luis Perdomo, who stepped in when Cash left Friday's game after just six pitches and went 5.2 innings, would probably step in to the starting rotation.
Another pitcher, Erik Johnson, was added to fill Cashner's roster spot. Johnson, who was acquired a week ago in the trade that sent James Shields to the White Sox, made his Padres debut on Saturday at Coors Field.
This is not the ideal place to get on the mound for your first start for a new team, as Johnson found out in a 5-3 loss to Colorado.
His offense did get him off to a nice start, though. In the 1st inning Yangervis Solarte and Melvin Upton Jr. both drove in runs against Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood to put the Friars up 2-0 before Johnson could even throw his first Padres pitch.
But the lead lasted all of four batters. In the bottom of the first Carlos Gonzalez drilled the first pitch he saw to right field for a three-run home run that put the Rockies on top 3-2. That was a pattern for this game; whenever the Padres scored, the Rockies scored one more.
In the 5th inning San Diego tied it when Jon Jay singled home Alexi Amarista. This time the tie lasted all of one batter. Charlie Blackmon led off the bottom of the 5th with a line drive off the foul pole in right field. Johnson gave up one more run and didn't make it out of the inning.
The Padres still have a chance to win the series on Sunday. Christian Friedrich takes the mound against Tyler Anderson. He'll have to snap a bad, bad streak.
The Padres are 0-9 on Sundays in 2016. Going back to 2015, the Friars have dropped 11 straight games on Sunday. The last time they won on a Sunday was September 20, 2015 ... when they beat the Rockies 10-4 at Coors Field.
