Padres lose to Brewers 3-2, but Perdomo continues to grow

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Luis Perdomo is maturing as a major league pitcher. Unfortunately for the San Diego Padres, his education Tuesday night came in a losing effort.

Ryan Braun hit a tiebreaking homer in his return to the lineup, Zach Davies won for the ninth time in 10 decisions and the Milwaukee Brewers got to Perdomo just enough for a 3-2 victory over the Padres.

Perdomo (5-5) had never pitched above Class A before this season but has shown flashes that he could be a top-notch starter.

Forced into the rotation because the Padres decimated their group with trades, Perdomo has gone 3-3 over his last seven starts with a 4.07 ERA and 28 strikeouts against 11 walks. He was charged with three runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings Tuesday after throwing a career-high 113 pitches.

Though his learning curve has been accelerated, Perdomo has given up three runs or fewer in eight of his last 10 starts.

"I'm really pleased with him," Padres manager Andy Green said. "He continues to take steps in the right direction."

Perdomo's downfall this time was a two-run sixth, highlighted by Braun's 15th homer. He walked four (two intentional) and struck out six.

Braun, back in the lineup after missing five games with a sore right side, hit Perdomo's first pitch of the sixth over the left-field fence to give the Brewers a 2-1 advantage.

"The pitch he probably wants back is that first-pitch breaking ball to Braun," Green said. "(The slider) probably wasn't our best pitch selection."

Still, Perdomo was upbeat.

"I feel good," he said through a translator. "I think overall it was an all-right start."

The difference lately is Perdomo getting more proficient with his sinker.

"It's getting better every day," he said. "All of my pitches, I think. I need to focus on, especially in the fifth and sixth, just staying on top of my pitches and finishing them."

Green sees a gradual transformation in the young right-hander. That includes being more in tune to stopping the running game -- the Brewers swiped two bases.

"He's got the ability to control that, as athletic as he is, as efficient as he can be in his delivery," Green said. "I think that is the next step in his progression."

Jonathan Villar and Hernan Perez had three hits apiece as the Brewers won for the fifth time in six games.

Davies (9-4) limited the Padres to two runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander, who struck out four and walked two, won his third straight start.

Tyler Thornburg worked the ninth for his third save, one day after the Brewers traded closer Jeremy Jeffress and reliable reliever Will Smith.

Milwaukee made it 3-1 when Perez followed Braun's homer with an infield single and came around on Chris Carter's double down the left-field line.

The Padres sliced the deficit to 3-2 in the sixth on Jabari Blash's run-scoring single that glanced off Villar's glove at third base. Carlos Torres relieved Davies and got Derek Norris to fly out with two on.

Norris' RBI single tied the score at 1 in the fourth. Norris drove in Blash, who walked and stole second.

The Brewers took a 1-0 lead in the fourth thanks to some help from the Padres.

Perez opened with a fly to right and Blash took a curious route in tracking it. He got twisted around and the ball hit the warning track, bouncing into the seats for a ground-rule double.

Perez stole third and scampered home on Perdomo's wild pitch.

The Padres had two baserunners in each of the first two innings but failed to score.

"I focused a little bit more after that and mechanically smoothed some things out," Davies said.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres INF/OF Alexi Amarista was placed on the 15-day DL after straining his left hamstring while running the bases Monday night.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Junior Guerra (7-2, 2.70 ERA) is 4-1 with a 1.47 ERA over his last seven starts, producing quality starts in six of them. In his only career start against the Padres, he threw six scoreless innings in a win on May 13.

Padres: RHP Edwin Jackson (1-2, 5.46) makes his third start at Petco Park and the Padres hope it's more like his first one than his last one. Jackson was tagged with the loss on Friday against the Reds, giving up six runs in five innings. On July 17 at Petco, he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in a win over the Giants.