SAN DIEGO-- Walter Silva wasn't the second coming of Fernando Valenzuela, but he wasn't bad either.
Making his major league debut on Wednesday night, the Padres' pitcher was more than passable as he took on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres' bullpen, however, wasn't nearly as good as it allowed three late runs in a 5-2 loss to the Dodgers in front of 31,700 at Petco Park. That was more than enough for Los Angeles' pitching staff with Chad Billingsley (1-0) and three others combining on a three-hitter.
"My legs were shaking a little bit," said Silva, who earned a no decision after allowing two runs on five hits and four walks. "My first inning, I was nervous. But I got a couple of outs and I was getting into the game. … I was doing my job."
Tied 2-2 in the seventh inning, the Padres' bullpen faltered for the first time this season. Following a scoreless sixth inning, Edward Mujica (0-1) yielded consecutive one-out bloop singles to Rafael Furcal and Orlando Hudson in front of Manny Ramirez. Manager Bud Black went to the mound for a conference but liked that Mujica had previously struck out Ramirez in their only other meeting.
This time Ramirez hammered a 1-1 fastball into the gap in right-center field for a two-run double. Two batters later, James Loney singled off Cla Meredith to give the Dodgers a 5-2 lead. The trio of Cory Wade, Hong-Chih Kuo and Jonathan Broxton did the rest from there, limiting the Padres to a two-out Everth Cabrera double over three scoreless innings.
"There's a point where you feel a matchup might work," Black said.
"I decided to leave Edward in. He was throwing well. … He'd given up a couple of light hits."
Furcal's first at-bat against Silva resulted in a hard hit as the shortstop led off the game with a double. Two batters later, Ramirez's brought Furcal home on an RBI groundout.
Trouble was a common theme throughout the night for Silva. But save for Casey Blake's monster solo home run in the second inning, which made it 2-0, Los Angeles didn't score off the 32-year-old rookie again.
Using an array of off-speed pitches and rarely throwing his fastball consecutively, Silva expertly dodged rallies, twice inducing double plays. He nearly got a third double play ball in the third inning but Andre Ethier beat Cabrera's throw to first.
"He was a little nervous, a little erratic," said Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who recommended Silva to the team after playing with him in winter ball in Mazatlan, Mexico. "But he's got the experience. He's seen it all in Mexico. … He's pitched in tight situations."
The way Billingsley was throwing, Silva looked like he might be in line for a tough loss.
Through four innings, Billingsley only allowed a pair of singles and a walk.
But he consecutively walked Henry Blanco, Cabrera and pinch-hitter Luis Rodriguez to load the bases with no outs in the fifth inning. That's when another edition of Padres' small ball kicked in as Jody Gerut cut the lead in half with an RBI fielder's choice and David Eckstein tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
"(Billingsley) was effectively wild," Gonzalez said. "You're never really comfortable (standing in). … He lost it for a little while and we got those runs but we didn't score again."
Prior to his start Wednesday, Silva played for three teams during a Mexican League career that began in 2002. He most recently played for the Monterrey Sultans and also played alongside the Gonzalez brothers in Mazatlan during the past three winters.
From 2000-01, Silva lived with family in Indio and was playing semi-professionally once a week, learning English at College of the Desert and washing dishes at Outback Steakhouse.
"Overall he showed the ability to make pitches when he needed to," Black said.
"He's got composure and he's got an idea what he wants to do."
Said Silva: "I feel pretty good. I'll learn for next time."
Contact staff writer Dan Hayes at dhayes@nctimes.com. For instant coverage, follow the Padres at twitter.com/nctsports.
