MLB Game Preview - San Francisco at San Diego

Fri Apr 7, 2017 6:40 PM EDT

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres are back where Luis Perdomo's nightmare began. But it's also the site of his resurrection.

The Padres welcome the San Francisco Giants to Petco Park on Friday afternoon. A sellout crowd awaits, as does the same mound on which Perdomo faced adversity.

The right-handed Perdomo, who will start against the Giants' Matt Cain, was rocked in last year's home opener. Batted around like a pinata, Perdomo surrendered six runs in one inning as the Padres were thumped by the Los Angeles Dodgers, 15-0.

That's hardly a reassuring debut. That was especially so for Perdomo, a Rule 5 draft pick.

"Look what he did on Opening Day last year and you look at him by the end of the season," Padres manager Andy Green said. "It's an unbelievable flip."

Perdomo would go on to lead Padres starters in wins (nine) and innings (146 2/3) and rank second in starts (20) and strikeouts (105).

Perdomo, who is 1-0 against the Giants, has set the example for others like him. The Padres have three more Rule 5 players this season, all looking to stick just like Perdomo.

"We want to see our guys do that this year," Green said. "You can see that when these guys get their feet under them they can be contributors -- not four or five years down the road, but this year."

That's why catchers Luis Torrens and Allen Cordoba and right-hander Miguel Diaz are paying close attention to Perdomo. He's got that been-there, done-that look to him, and Green is hopeful it leaks over to this year's Rule 5 prospects.

"He has proven it," Green said. "It becomes so much easier for someone to follow in his footsteps."

The right-handed Cain, 32, would like to go back in time.

The former All-Star hasn't had his ERA under 4.00 since 2012. He somehow won the No. 5 spot in the rotation, despite a Cactus League ERA of 7.82 and a 1.66 WHIP over 25 1/3 innings.

"I finished the spring feeling good about all my pitches and about my mechanics," Cain told the Bay Area News Group. "So ... yeah, ready to go."

Manager Bruce Bochy declared Cain "healthy" and said he was upbeat that Cain seemed to be more effective toward the end of spring training. With the Giants' scheduling, Bochy could have skipped Cain's spot in the rotation and inserted Madison Bumgarner on his regular tour.

But Bochy is going to give Cain, with an 8-14 lifetime mark vs. the Padres, a chance to prove the doubters wrong.

Many thought the Padres had misfired on Perdomo. Instead he had an encouraging season and then won the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

"We had him slated to compete for the 5 spot in the rotation all spring," Green said. "It was all set up for him to be in the 5 spot or he was going to be in Triple-A. But he pitched really well in spring training."

Perdomo has come full circle and will be pitching in the opener once again.

"Just his presence in the home opener," Green said, "speaks volumes."