Sequel no better for M’s
SAN DIEGO – Before Friday’s game, Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik gave manager Don Wakamatsu a vote of confidence – “He has our full support,” Zduriencik said – and predicted better performances ahead for the beleaguered Mariners.
“This is, you could say, the first day of the rest of the season,” Zduriencik said.
If so, the Mariners’ Phase 2 looks depressingly like the 60 games that preceded it, ending with their ninth walk-off loss.
Three outs away from a come-from-behind win, closer David Aardsma imploded in the ninth as the Padres pulled out a 4-3 victory.
In his first save opportunity since June 3, Aardsma inherited a 3-2 lead and promptly gave up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Will Venable. A sacrifice moved Venable to second, and Aardsma hit Chase Headley on a 2-2 pitch.
The dangerous Adrian Gonzalez worked the count to 2-2 before lashing a double into the right-field corner, barely eluding a streaking Ichiro Suzuki. Venable scored the tying run, and Headley moved to third.
After an intentional walk to Scott Hairston, Nick Hundley delivered a fly to right, plenty deep enough to bring in Headley with the winner.
The Mariners had taken a 3-2 lead in the sixth on a homer by Milton Bradley, and seemed on their way to a nice victory after a solid start by Jason Vargas and solid innings of relief by Shawn Kelley and Brandon League. But the ninth was an instant replay of the horrors that have marked this season.
The Padres scored first off Vargas, getting two in the third inning. The big hit was an RBI triple by Tony Gwynn Jr.
Those would be the only runs through six innings off Vargas, who turned in his 10th quality start of the season.
The Mariners tied it in the fifth off Padres starter Kevin Correia, who had wriggled out of a first-and-second, no-out jam in the second. This time, ex-Padre Eliezer Alfonzo led off with a double to right-center, was sacrificed to third by Vargas, and came home on a ground out by Ichiro.
Correia then hit Figgins, who returned to his familiar No. 2 spot in the batting order after four games in the No. 9 hole.
Figgins came around to score on a booming triple off the wall in right-center, 400 feet away, by Franklin Gutierrez.
Bradley then broke the tie leading off the sixth, hitting a 3-2 pitch over the right-field wall for his fourth homer.
Surgery for Lowe
Mariners reliever Mark Lowe is likely out for the season while he awaits back surgery. Zduriencik announced that the 27-year-old right-hander will have microdiscectomy surgery on his lower back Tuesday in Seattle.
Lowe has been on the disabled list since May 5 and has not shown any improvement.
Lowe has said he has a herniated disk. He was 1-3 with a 3.48 ERA in 11 appearances, his last coming on May 2.
Padres 4, Mariners 3
| Seattle | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| I.Suzuki rf | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .337 |
| Figgins 2b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .228 |
| F.Gutierrez cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .283 |
| Jo.Lopez 3b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .231 |
| Bradley lf | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .223 |
| Jo.Wilson ss | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .301 |
| Kotchman 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .190 |
| Alfonzo c | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .308 |
| J.Vargas p | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Kelley p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| League p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| M.Saunders ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .221 |
| Aardsma p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Totals | 35 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| San Diego | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| Eckstein 2b | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .287 |
| Headley 3b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .283 |
| Ad.Gonzalez 1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .290 |
| Hairston lf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .226 |
| Hundley c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .285 |
| Denorfia rf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .258 |
| Hairston Jr. ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .230 |
| Gwynn cf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .221 |
| Correia p | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .143 |
| Cunningham ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| R.Webb p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Thatcher p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Venable ph | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .225 |
| Totals | 34 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| Seattle | 000 | 021 | 000—3 | 9 | 1 |
| San Diego | 002 | 000 | 002—4 | 10 | 1 |
E—Figgins (8), Hundley (2). LOB—Seattle 7, San Diego 11. 2B—Alfonzo (1), Headley (11), Ad.Gonzalez (11), Gwynn (5). 3B—F.Gutierrez (3), Gwynn (3). HR—Bradley (4), off Correia. RBIs—I.Suzuki (16), F.Gutierrez (28), Bradley (22), Eckstein (17), Ad.Gonzalez (41), Hundley (21), Gwynn (11). SB—Bradley (6). S—J.Vargas, Eckstein. SF—Hundley. RLISP—Seattle 4 (J.Vargas 2, Jo.Lopez, Kotchman); San Diego 5 (Hundley 3, Eckstein 2). GIDP—Ad.Gonzalez. DP—Seattle 1 (Figgins, Jo.Wilson, Kotchman).
| Seattle | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| J.Vargas | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 101 | 3.05 |
| Kelley H, 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 3.75 |
| League H, 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3.55 |
| Aardsma L, 0-4 BS, 4-16 | 2/3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 5.95 |
| San Diego | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| Correia | 6 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 100 | 4.98 |
| R.Webb | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 0.87 |
| Thatcher W, 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1.42 |
IBB—off Aardsma (Hairston), off Kelley (Ad.Gonzalez). HBP—by Aardsma (Headley), by Correia (Figgins). WP—Correia. T—2:52. A—20,049 (42,691).