Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
On consecutive days over the weekend in Miami, Clayton Richard and Luis Perdomo came up with two of the Padres' top pitching performances of the season.
The left-handed Richard pitched seven shutout innings Saturday, allowing eight hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
The right-handed Perdomo, 23, followed on Sunday by pitching both the first complete game of his career and the Padres' first complete game of the season.
The Padres actually had three strong starts in a row. On Friday, right-hander Jarred Cosart allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts over five innings in a game where the bullpen blew the lead.
Richard, Perdomo and Cosart all have a recent run of strong starts.

Since rejoining the Padres on Aug. 6 as a free agent, Richard has a 1.40 ERA. He has allowed five runs (three earned) in five appearances (three starts). Over 19 1/3 innings, Richard has given up 15 hits and nine walks with 14 strikeouts.
Cosart has made five starts for the Padres since being acquired from Miami as part of the July 29 trade that shipped right-handed pitcher Andrew Cashner to the Marlins. Over his last three starts, Cosart has allowed four runs (three earned) on 16 hits and six walks with 12 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings for a 1.62 ERA.

Perdomo, meanwhile, has joined second baseman Ryan Schimpf as the two best stories of the season.
Perdomo is now 7-7 with a 5.84 ERA in 15 starts. Perdomo's ERA has fallen in 10 of his last 11 starts. Over his last two starts, Perdomo has allowed one run on 11 hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 16 innings as his ERA has tumbled from 6.68 to 5.84.
Notes from the scorebook
• The Padres turned a franchise-record six double plays in a nine-inning game Sunday. The Padres had turned six double plays once before, but that was in a 19-inning game on Aug. 25, 1979, against Pittsburgh. They had turned five double plays in a nine-inning game five times, most recently on May 17, 2014, at Colorado.
• Schimpf is back at it. After going hitless in 13 straight at-bats with eight strikeouts while reaching base only once, Schimpf was 7-for-11 in his last four games with a double, two triples and two home runs in his last four games with four walks, four RBIs and five runs scored. Schimpf's average jumped from .217 to .242.
Thirty-three of his 45 hits have gone for extra bases -- 13 doubles, four triples and 16 home runs with 38 RBIs and 36 runs in 61 games. Schimpf has a .367 on-base percentage and a .613 slugging percentage for a .980 OPS.
• Shortstop Luis Sardiñas is hitting .353 as a Padre, going 6-for-17 with two doubles and a home run for five RBIs, three runs scored and five walks in 22 plate appearances. That's a .500 on-base percentage and a .647 slugging percentage.
• The Padres have employed 52 players this season -- 24 position players and 28 pitchers. The Padres' record for players used in a season is 59 in both 2002 and 2008. The Padres' record for pitchers used in a season is 37 in 2002, which is the National League record.