PEORIA, Ariz. — Cory Mazzoni had a taste of it. Now he wants the whole thing.

The Seneca Valley graduate and right-handed pitcher found his way into eight games out of the bullpen with the San Diego Padres in three separate stints with the big club this season.

“Once you get there, you want to stay there,” said Mazzoni, who turns 26 in two weeks. “You get sent down, you work that much harder to get back to the big leagues.

“Definitely, that (major league) experience made me hungrier. Just that lifestyle alone, playing with and against the best ... It’s where I want to be.”

Mazzoni’s 2015 season ended abruptly. He last pitched July 25 at Class AAA Albuquerque, his season getting shut down at that point due to a shoulder strain.

His major league numbers were not impressive: Eight games, 23 hits and 20 earned runs allowed, eight strikeouts and five walks in 8.2 innings pitched, a 20.17 earned run average.

“I tried to do too much,” Mazzoni admitted. “I was over-throwing everything and falling behind hitters. You can get away with some things in Triple-A that you can’t at the major league level.

“No doubt, it was a learning experience. It didn’t shake my confidence. You can’t get frustrated. I know I’ve got the stuff because I made it up there.”

With Albuquerque, Mazzoni was 1-3 with a 3.97 ERA and five saves in 26 games. He struck out 46 in just 34 innings. The Padres converted him to a relief pitcher once they acquired him from the New York Mets late in spring training.

Mazzoni had been a starting pitcher in the Mets’ farm system.

“At first, I hated it,” he said of pitching relief. “I never knew when I was going to throw, I’d be warming up for a game and wouldn’t go in ... I just wasn’t used to that.

“But after a while, I began to get comfortable with it. I did begin throwing harder because I didn’t have to pace myself anymore. I had struggled doing that.”

Mazzoni’s fastball hit 97 miles per hour at times out of the bullpen. His slider became sharper and he threw a splitter as a third pitch.

He has been at the Padres’ spring training complex in Arizona doing rehab work with his shoulder.

“I could have come back and pitched late in this season, but because the year was nearly over, there was no rush,” Mazzoni said. “I’ll throw another bullppen session or two here, then shut it down again and get ready for my weight lifting program in November.

“After that, I’ll start throwing again in late December, early January and get ready for spring training. My shoulder feels fine now.”

The Padres will have a new manager next season and Mazzoni’s goal is to make the major league club out of spring training.

“I imagine I’ll still be a bullpen guy because I haven’t been told anything different,” he said. “I could be a long relief guy since I’ve spent all those years as a starter. I could be a short relief guy ... whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do.”