D-backs' Galarraga has another rough night

The question hangs like an Armando Galarraga fastball over the heart of the plate how much longer can the Diamondbacks continue to run out the pitcher who leads the major leagues in home runs allowed and ranks 115th among 118 ERA qualifiers? Galarraga gave up all eight runs in the D-backs' 8-4 loss to San Diego on Monday, and while only five runs were earned, it still boosted his ERA to 5.91. Ryan Ludwick's 441-foot home run, which gave the Padres an 8-1 lead in the fifth inning, was the 13th homer given up by Galarraga in 47 23 innings this season. It proved too much to overcome even as the D-backs tried, putting 10 runners on base in the final five innings. Like Barry Enright before him, Galarraga appears to be on a ledge. Is his job safe? "I think we evaluate him, yes. He didn't pitch well at all, didn't set a very good tone for us. Really didn't have much tonight at all. No location," manager Kirk Gibson said. "We've talked about accountability. We talk all the time. Certainly it would seem fair we talk about that." After Enright, who made the rotation ahead of Galarraga this spring, had a rocky six starts, he was optioned to Class AAA Reno on May 5. The business side of the game made it easier, since Enright was the only starter with options remaining. In that way, Galarraga has some security, although that may last only as long as it takes Zach Duke to return from a broken left hand suffered in spring training. Duke is scheduled to pitch in rehab through May 28, which could make him available the first week of June. If Galarraga is pushed back following the May 23 off day, his spot could come up two more time before Duke might be ready. A combative Galarraga, unaware of Gibson's post-game quotes, did not seem to believe his job was in jeopardy despite giving up eight hits, including two that struck the fence on the fly, and two walks in five innings. That, after giving up 20 base runners 11 hits, nine walks in 9 23 innings of his two starts on the recent road trip in San Diego and San Francisco, two parks that work with a pitcher who throws the ball over the plate. "Why worry? Is it something I have to worry about? We'll talk about it at the end of the season," said Galarraga, 3-4, challenging a reporter. "I don't count five (actually eight) starts. I'm disappointed for this start. What are you talking about with my next start? You saying I'm going to lose my job? I'm frustrated about this start, not about the next one. I missed some pitches and they got some hits. I have to locate my fastball better." Josh Collmenter, who started the season at Reno, provided an immediate fix when inserted into the rotation Saturday, winning his first major league start, 1-0, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And as Galarraga struggled Monday, another minor league continued to put up solid numbers. Wes Roemer took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of his start at Class AA Mobile, 1,644 miles away, although he had to settle for a no-decision because the game was tied at 1 when he left after 7 23 innings. Roemer, a sandwich pick in the 2007 draft, is 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA this season, and his peripherals are eye-popping. In 52 23 innings, Roemer has given up 36 hits and seven walks while striking out 43. Opponents are hitting .196 against him. He pitched well at Mobile last season, too, before scuffling at Reno before spending a month on the disabled list with a right forearm strain. A decision on further shaking up the rotation did not appear imminent last week, when general manager Kevin Towers was with the D-backs in Los Angeles. "We've had some inconsistency at the back end of our rotation," Towers said then, "but they're veteran guys, and they've showed they've had success in the past. Hopefully they are just going through a tough first month. At the same time "When that time comes, 'Gibby' and I will make that decision when we think we've had enough or we don't think any of our guys have the ability to get better or perform better than they are right now. We are not at the point yet. It's early." PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES Henry Blanco had two bases-empty home runs off San Diego left-hander Clayton Richard for the D-backs' first two runs, but when right-hander Mike Adams came in to pitch, Gibson did not hesitate to pinch-hit Miguel Montero for Blanco in the eighth. Montero lined out to right with two runners on to keep the score at 8-4. It was simple math. Right-handed hitters were 2 for 24 off Adams entering the game, and 3 for 27 after he threw 1 23 scoreless innings for his first save. Montero was 2 for 5 off Adams. "I went over to Henry and said what would you do if you were me? He understood," Gibson said. "The odds are better. You have to do it. That guy's unhittable for righties." BLOOMQUIST GETTING CLOSE Willie Bloomquist got five at-bats in an extended spring training game Monday and called himself 90 percent in his recovery from a strained right hamstring that has sidelined him since April 21. If there are no residual effects, he is to play again today and in a best-case scenario could be activated from the disabled list by Wednesday or Thursday, manager Kirk Gibson said. "For me it's mentally challenging, because I'm always wanting to rush it back and get back. Hamstrings are kind of tricky. You have to make sure they are really healed. The last thing you want to do is go back to square one," said Bloomquist, who lost time to hamstring injuries in 2005 and 2008. "Injuries are always frustrating, especially when there is not much you can do but sit at home and watch. You want to jump through the TV a lot of times." DID YOU NOTICE? Padres third base coach Glenn Hoffman stole a run in the top of the first inning, when Gerardo Parra ran into Chris Young's path on a relatively shallow fly ball to center field with the bases loaded. Parra bumped into Young as he caught the ball, throwing off the timing of the play off, and Hoffman alertly sent Chase Headley from third base. Headley beat Young's throw by a foot, but he likely would not have tagged except for the outfield mixup. STAT OF THE GAME 13 home runs given up by Armando Galarraga, the most in the major leagues. TAKEAWAYS Henry Blanco has six hits this season four homers. The D-backs dropped into last place in the NL West for the first time since April 19 with their seventh loss in 10 games, all against teams in the division. Parra also gave the Padres an extra base when he overthrew the cutoff man trying to catch Jason Bartlett at the plate on Chase Headley's single to left; Headley took second on the throw with one out but did not score. San Diego catcher Kyle Phillips has a tough night. He was hit on the left side of the head by Armando Galarraga's backswing in the third inning, then hit in the right hip by a Sam Demel pitch in the eighth. LAST CALL The bullpen logged four more scoreless innings Monday, dropping their ERA to 0.23 in May -- one earned run in 40 innings. Relievers have held opponents scoreless in the last six games. Follow Jack Magruder on Twitter