Mariners turn big early deficit into lead, but can’t hang and fall to Padres
The vibes weren’t good. They were incredible. And a boisterous crowd of 35,910, which was unusually large for a Tuesday night, exalted in the cacophony it had created.
They had every reason to celebrate.
Down 5-0 since an awful top of the first inning, the Mariners seemed destined for defeat before even taking their first swing.
And for five innings, it wasn’t a question of whether they’d lose, but by how much. But in the sixth, Randy Arozarena chopped the lead down to two runs, smashing a three-run homer to left off Padres starter Dylan Cease. And later with two outs, Eugenio Suarez clubbed a three-run homer to left off Cease’s replacement, Jason Adam.
From down five to up one, another magical win loomed.
Unfortunately, all those vibes turned into frustration and dejection in the next half inning and they would remain that way in what would be a disappointing 7-6 loss to the Padres.
Manager Dan Wilson brought in lefty Caleb Ferguson to start the top of the sixth, believing he would be effective against the bottom of the Padres order, which featured a pair of lefties.
Instead, Ferguson gave up a leadoff double to the left-handed hitting Gavin Sheets and served up a double to Ramon Laureano, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Jake Cronenworth, another lefty bat, singled home Sheets to tie the game at 6-6. The Padres retook the lead when No. 9 hitter Freddy Fermin executed a safety squeeze bunt, allowing Laureano to race home for a 7-6 lead.
Down a run, the Padres’ revamped bullpen did the rest. Lefty Adrian Morejon struck out the side – three lefty hitters – in the sixth. Mason Miller, the former A’s closer, worked a scoreless seventh despite allowing a pair of two-out base runners. Right-hander Jeremiah Estrada, a split-finger fastball specialist, worked around a leadoff single for a scoreless eighth and closer Robert Suarez worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 35th save.
Besides blowing such a tremendous comeback, the Mariners failed to capitalize on a night where the Astros lost at home to the lowly Rockies. Seattle remains 1.5 games back in the AL West standings.
The Mariners got a less-than-stellar start from Luis Castillo, who struggled for a third straight outing.
The veteran right-hander never looked quite right from the first pitch of the game. The third pitch of the game was scalded off the wall by Fernando Tatis Jr. for a leadoff double. He would later score on Xander Bogaerts’ looping two-out single to left field. A walk to left-handed Sheets loaded the bases for Laureano.
The well-traveled outfielder was a deadline pickup for the Padres. And with All-Star center fielder Jackson Merrill on the injured list, Laureano is seeing everyday playing time.
Castillo got up 0-2 immediately but couldn’t get the punchout. Laureano watched a non-competitive slider out of the zone and then demolished an elevated fastball that needed to be at least three or four inches higher. Instead, the misplaced pitch was crushed for a grand slam and a 5-0 Padres lead.
It was a suboptimal start to a game. To Castillo’s credit, he made sure it didn’t snowball into something worse even with his velocity down for a third straight game and his pitch count climbing at a rapid rate. He worked the next four innings scoreless to give the Mariners five innings.