SAN DIEGO -- The Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres, two clubs banking on a strong draft on Monday, will square off at Petco Park as the college and high school players are being selected.
The teams will open a three-game series with one eye on the draft's first two rounds. Each club is in the midst of an extensive rebuilding project, so looking to the future is a viable option.
However, there is a contest to be played between a team that is surprisingly in contention in the National League Central (Cincinnati) and one that not surprisingly is far off the NL West pace (San Diego).
The Padres will send Luis Perdomo (0-3, 5.47 ERA) to the mound hoping he can rebound after a tough outing in Arizona on Wednesday. The Diamondbacks ambushed him for five runs, five hits and four walks in four innings.
Manager Andy Green didn't hide his frustration with Perdomo, who has lost three of his past four starts.
"Clearly we need to be stronger with our message because it didn't get across how we want him to attack in a major league baseball game," Green said after Perdomo's latest hiccup. "If he's going to be successful -- which we think he is -- he cannot pitch the way he did."
Perdomo has had an odd year in that he set a franchise record by starting the season with six straight no-decisions. He is still looking for his first win as he heads into his 11th start.
Perdomo, whose six quality starts leave him tied with Jhoulys Chacin for the team lead, is 0-1 lifetime against the Reds. In a start last year against Cincinnati, he surrendered three runs and seven hits in a losing six-inning stint.
Maybe back then Green would have been forgiving regarding Perdomo. But Green wasn't in a mood to cut Perdomo any leeway after the Arizona outing.
"Chalk it up to a learning experience, but he's been in the league for a year and a couple months now, so it's time to start learning those things," Green said.
The Reds won four straight over the St. Louis Cardinals before getting swept in a three-game series by the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend at Chavez Ravine. They arrive in San Diego three games behind the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Cincinnati right-hander Bronson Arroyo (3-4, 6.25 ERA) gets the start, looking for his first win since May 2 against the San Francisco Giants.
The 40-year-old veteran has scuffled on the road this season, going 0-2 with a 7.50 in five starts. He last pitched in San Diego in 2014, when he hurled seven shutout innings while with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He is winless in his past six starts after a three-game winning streak.
If Arroyo and the Reds manage to take a lead into the ninth inning Monday, it is uncertain if Raisel Iglesias will be available. The Cincinnati closer threw 33 pitches and got just two outs Sunday, blowing the save and taking the loss as the Dodgers rallied for a 9-7 win.
Corey Seager's eighth-inning grand slam off Iglesias was the difference-making hit.
"Those are the tough ones, man," Reds manager Bryan Price told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "You're going to have a few of those, hopefully only a couple a year where those leads get away late. But they happen every year, and they don't feel any better year to year."
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