Padres' Perdomo aims to sink Reds (Aug 08, 2017)
CINCINNATI -- San Diego Padres manager Andy Green said he isn't concerned with the workload of young starters Dinelson Lamet and Luis Perdomo, at least not yet.
Perdomo, 24, is scheduled to make his 20th start of the season on Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Perdomo has pitched 104 1/3 innings this season.
Green said inflammation in Perdomo's shoulder that caused the right-hander to miss a couple starts in April might prevent him from edging closer to the 146 2/3 innings he pitched last year as a rookie.
"We exercised some caution with how his shoulder felt, and turned out it is completely fine," Green said. "That missed time might help him get through the rest of the season. We'll always reserve (the right) to make a change. I don't think he'll hit any threshold he hasn't hit before."
Cincinnati (46-66) is a familiar opponent for Perdomo. He has faced the Reds twice in his career, going 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA in 12 2/3 innings.
Perdomo's 10 quality starts are second most on the team. He also has induced 19 double-play groundballs, tied with Pittsburgh's Ivan Nova for fourth most in the major leagues.
That propensity for ground balls could be beneficial for Perdomo in hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park and against a Reds club that has one of the National League's more potent offenses.
With 154 home runs in 112 games, the Reds are on pace to hit 223, one more than the single-season club record set over 163 games in 2005.
The Reds went deep four times Monday, including a grand slam by Patrick Kivlehan, in an 11-3 rout of the Padres. Joey Votto, Adam Duvall and Zack Cozart had the other homers for Cincinnati, while Jose Pirela hit two home runs for San Diego.
Cincinnati will be without catcher Devin Mesoraco for at least the first three games of the San Diego series. He was placed on the paternity list following the birth of his son, Luke, on Sunday. Reds catchers Tucker Barnhart and Stuart Turner also are expecting births later this month.
"All sorts of babies," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "I think we had the same thing a few years ago. I'm sure our non-roster catchers are all thrilled to death thinking they might get a chance to come up and play."
Right-hander Sal Romano, one of three rookies currently in the Reds' rotation, will make his seventh start of the season on Tuesday. He is 2-3 with a 4.88 ERA.
Romano, 23, has made five consecutive starts since taking over the fifth spot in the rotation following the All-Star break, going 1-2 with a 5.03 ERA in those outings. This will be Romano's first career appearance versus the Padres.
Romano will be challenged to slow Votto, who is batting .500 during a 12-game hitting streak after going 2-for-3 with three RBIs on Monday. The home run was Votto's 30th of the season. Votto will have a chance on Tuesday to move past Ted Kluszewski for sole possession of fifth place on the franchise's career homer list.
San Diego (49-62) swept the Reds at Petco Park in June. Although the Padres dropped the series opener Monday, they haven't lost a season series to Cincinnati since 2012.
