Padres relievers Brandon Maurer, Joaquin Benoit and rookie Cory Mazzoni, who was making his major-league debut, combined to surrender six earned runs in two innings of work in San Diego's 9-4 loss to Houston Monday.
While Kevin Quackenbush was able to get out of the eighth inning without being charged with an earned run after Benoit let the first four batters of the inning reach base, the team now owns a 2.08 ERA, which ranks 20th in the majors.
"We need to get on a little bit of a bullpen roll," manager Bud Black said after the game, per MLB.com
Benoit (3-1) took the loss, allowing three earned runs on two hits and two walks while failing to record an out.
"They're making some mistakes, leaving the ball up in the zone, out over the middle of the plate," catcher Derek Norris said. "We've just got to execute some pitches better in some situations."
Black believes the bullpen will pitch better moving forward.
"They'll come around. They're not pitching like they're going to pitch," he said. "When you see their numbers at the end of the year, they'll be there. When you see their numbers now as a group, there are two or three guys not hitting on all cylinders."