A pair of call-ups to the Rockies in the past month gave Carlos Torres some perspective. He learned what to do, what not to do. He figured out how to become a better pitcher.

Making growth every time he takes the mound is the main goal for Torres, who continued his string of consistency Monday, but it wasn’t enough, as the Sky Sox lost to the Tucson Padres for only the second time in seven games, a 3-1 setback at Security Service Field.

Torres didn’t allow an earned run on three hits, with six strikeouts and two walks in five innings – the eighth consecutive start in which he hasn’t given up more than three runs. It would have been a tie when he left if Brandon Wood hadn’t made a fielding error before an RBI double by Yasmani Grandal in the fourth. Jedd Gyorko gave Tucson (20-38) a 3-0 lead with a two-run double in the eighth off Joe Torres, and Erik Hamren’s wild pitch in the eighth that scored Tim Wheeler was the lone run the Sky Sox (28-30) managed.

A 15th-round pick by the White Sox in 2004, Torres, 29, has marked a 4.50 ERA in four relief outings with the Rockies, recalled May 4 for the ailing Jhoulys Chacin, May 28 for a doubleheader and May 30 when Jamie Moyer was designated for assignment. He spent last season in Japan, going 1-2 with a 6.26 ERA, and in two years with the White Sox, in 2009 and 2010, he went 1-3 with a 6.86 ERA. Simply put, he has been around the block.

In spring training, Torres was battling to become the fifth starter for the Rockies, and he probably would still be with the club if the woeful Esmil Rogers could be optioned down without having to clear waivers. His future in the majors is as a long reliever, as he shows good control, he attacks the strike zone, he mixes pitches and he has deceptive movement on his changeup. It’s why Torres owns a 2-2 record and a 2.13 ERA with the Sky Sox.

“I’ve been up and down a little bit the last couple weeks,” Torres said. He added that “the secret for me, just like it is for most pitchers throughout baseball, is fastball command. I skipped a couple of cutters in there, and I needed to pound a little more with the fastball.”

Sky Sox pitching coach Bo McLaughlin said Torres “gets ahead in the count, and he has a couple put-away pitches that he can use. And he works his combinations, and it works out really good for him. Then like anybody else, he gets behind in the count, and he starts aiming the ball a little bit. But he hasn’t struggled too much at all. He has done real well.”

Torres is “working on pitches on a downhill plane and working on balls that are down in the zone and focusing on throwing pitches that have some depth to them,” McLaughlin said. He also wants “a few more curveballs instead of sliders,” he said. “Focusing on that instead of trying to throw the ball a bit harder or trying to throw a nastier breaking ball.”

SKY SOX REPORT

Coach hits the showers: Tucson pitching coach Steve Webber was ejected by home-plate umpire Jason Arends in the fourth inning for arguing what he felt should have been a third strike on Sky Sox pitcher Carlos Torres, who was eventually fanned by Jorge Reyes. Webber was tossed as he yelled at Arends from the dugout, then he went nose to nose with Arends, giving him an earful before crew chief Shaun Francis separated them.

Short hops: Matt McBride is day to-day after receiving a cortisone shot in his injured left wrist. … Andrew Brown leads the Sky Sox in every extra-base hit category, with seven home runs, three triples and 17 doubles, and he’s the team leader with 42 RBIs, 92 total bases and 29 runs. … Sky Sox pitchers have given up 38 homers, the fewest in the Pacific Coast League, and the Sky Sox have hit 31 homers, also the least in the PCL. … Rob Scahill (3-6) is scheduled to start Tuesday against Colt Hynes (1-6) of Tucson.

Contact Brian Gomez: 719-636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazettedev.gazette.com. Facebook: Brian Gomez. Twitter: @gazetteskysox. Google+: Brian Gomez. For the Sky Sox homepage, visit http://www.gazettedev.gazette.com/sections/roxsox. For the Sky Sox blog, visit http://skysox.freedomblogging.com.

Sky Sox pitcher Carlos Torres Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Darron Cummings