Mariners pound Padres in slugfest

SEATTLE – Six homers. That’s right, six homers. The Seattle Mariners tied a club record Tuesday night by hitting six homers in an 11-4 rout of the San Diego Padres at Safeco Field. It matched the most the Mariners have ever hit at Safeco. They also hit six on Aug. 27, 2004 in a 7-5 victory over Kansas City. The final two that night came in the eighth inning and provided the winning margin. No such heroics were necessary on this occasion, although Mike Zunino’s second homer of the game, a two-run blast in the seventh, stemmed a budding San Diego comeback. Kyle Seager got the Mariners started with a three-run homer in a four-run first inning against Padres starter Ian Kennedy. Logan Morrison also went deep in the third against Kennedy. Zunino’s first homer came in a two-run sixth against reliever Shawn Kelley that pushed the lead to 7-0. Everything looked safe at that point. Mariners starter James Paxton (1-2) had weathered five walks and two bases-loaded jams while pitching six shutout innings before that seven-run cushion over to the bullpen. Paxton’s night ended when center fielder Dustin Ackley ran down Will Middlebrooks’ deep two-out fly on the warning track in right-center field. Danny Farquhar began the seventh with a 7-0 lead – and his struggles continued. He quickly worked himself into a jam with a single and two walks after a lineout to open the inning. In came Tom Wilhelmsen to face the teeth of the Padres’ lineup: Matt Kemp and Justin Upton. Shortstop Chris Taylor booted Kemp’s grounder for an error. One run scored, the bases were still loaded. Upton struck out by chasing a full-count slider out of the zone, but Yangervis Solarte punched a two-run single into center. The Padres  were back to within 7-3. Wilhelmsen stopped it there by striking out Jedd Gyorko. The Mariners answered with Zunino’s second homer of the game, a two-run shot to left against reliever Frank Garces. Justin Ruggiano followed with his first homer as a Mariner on a line-drive to left. The seven-run lead was back at 10-3. Nelson Cruz iced the game in the eighth by hitting his 15th homer, which leads the majors. It was the Mariners’ fourth straight victory and their biggest winning margin of the season. Kennedy (2-2) gave up only one run after the first inning before exiting with one on and two outs in the fifth. His final line showed five runs and eight hits. The Mariners came out swinging in the first inning. Seth Smith led off with a drive off the right-field wall that was, if anything, hit too hard. Kemp played the carom perfectly and made a strong throw to second that nailed Smith. For Kennedy, it was just a temporary reprieve. Brad Miller followed with a drive to deep right that hopped the wall for a double. Robinson Cano then lined an RBI single up the middle for a 1-0 lead. Cano moved to second when Cruz walked. Both scored when Seager crushed a 1-0 fastball over the right-field wall for a three-run homer and a 4-0 lead.