SAN DIEGO -- Luis Perdomo put together his best start of the season Wednesday, leading the Padres to a 6-3 win over the Marlins at Petco Park and displaying the potential he has flashed at times this season over six full innings.
Perdomo worked primarily off his mid-90s sinker to limit Miami batters to six hits and three runs while inducing 10 groundouts and two flyouts.
"He was great," said Padres manager Andy Green. "The hits he gave up, even in the first inning, were on the ground. He was living on the ground early, good sinker. Almost all the hits, with the exception of [J.T.] Realmuto's hit, were all on the ground today."
That ability to generate ground balls led to Perdomo's longest Major League outing. He got into a jam in the first inning -- which included Ichiro Suzuki's 4,256th hit between Japan and MLB -- but allowed just one run before escaping the inning when center fielder Marcell Ozuna grounded into a double play and Justin Bour followed with a groundout of his own.
"I think it was a key play to get things going," Perdomo said of the double play. "I definitely felt more relaxed and was able to get on a roll from there."
The double play began a stretch in which Perdomo retired nine consecutive Miami batters.
"My pitches felt great, especially my sinker," Perdomo said, claiming Wednesday was the best he's felt all year. "I used my slider to strike out a lot of guys, and my fastball as well."
Even with his best outing under his belt, Green says there are still some little things that need to be worked on -- which isn't much of a surprise for a Rule 5 Draft pick who is 23 years old and hadn't pitched above Class A Advanced ball before this year.
The one specific example Green gave was when Perdomo had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth inning. In an obvious double-play scenario, Perdomo went away from his groundball-inducing sinker and threw an 85-mph curveball to second baseman Miguel Rojas -- who hit a sacrifice fly into center field to give Miami a 3-1 lead.

"Those are subtle things that a young kid's going to learn," Green said. "He's going to take the next step forward, and he probably doesn't give up that next run."
Even with that mistake, Perdomo kept the Padres in the game and recorded his first Major League win as a starting pitcher.
"I think more than anything, his stuff plays," Green said. "I think everybody knows it plays. He's got some of the best hitters in the game beating him into the ground.
"We couldn't have asked for him to take a bigger step forward at this point in time. His last few outings have been outstanding."