A day after being recalled, Kazuhisa Makita was sent down to the minors for the fourth time in his major league debut season, the San Diego Padres announced Sunday.
Makita was optioned to Triple-A El Paso after giving up seven runs, five earned, in two innings of the Padres' 20-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday. He had been called up to cover for Jose Castillo, who was placed on the disabled list with a strained hamstring.
"Results are everything," Makita said. "I want to take a good look at what's different from Japan, as well as my method and pitching variety, and fix it."
The 33-year-old right-handed submariner moved to the majors on a two-year deal over the winter, and is 0-1 in 23 games with a 7.09 ERA. He went 53-49 with 25 saves in seven seasons with the Seibu Lions in Nippon Professional Baseball.