SEATTLE — Very few teams have been able to generate offense against San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller, and that held true for the Seattle Mariners on Friday.

The Mariners, who fell 2-0 to the Padres on Friday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, were unable to become the first team this season to get an extra base hit against Miller.

Miller has posted a 0.86 ERA this season and struck out 44 batters in 21 innings pitched across 20 appearances.

Seattle was more competitive from a pitch-count perspective than any other team that's faced the 27-year-old flamethrower this season. The Mariners put up 34 pitches on Miller in 1.1 innings.

At this point in the season, it leans far towards "unlikely" that a team will be able to score against the National League Reliever of the Year candidate. Which is why there's an incentive for Seattle, and other teams, to score early when Miller is available.

"I don't think added pressure is the right way to look at it," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said in a pregame interview Saturday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. "It's just, in some ways, all these teams that we play — they have good back-end bullpens and guys with great stuff. Trying to score early is important. Trying to add on late is important. And that's true for any team. But, particularly with San Diego, they got the left-hander in (Adrian Morejon), they got the right-hander (Mason Miller) and those guys are some of the best in the league right now. Yeah, not that it's pressure, but the emphasis becomes to score early and score throughout the game like we always do. That particularly comes into play here against San Diego."

As the final score would indicate, Seattle was unable to score in the 7.2 innings that preceded Miller entering the game.

The Mariners, attempted to get runs on the board before Miller took the mound by trying for a matchup advantage against Padres left-handed reliever Adrian Morejon in the seventh inning.

Seattle attempted to use pinch-hitters Connor Joe (who pinch-hit for right fielder Luke Raley) and Rob Refsnyder (who pinch-hit for designated hitter Dominic Canzone) to generate offense against Morejon. Joe drew a seven-pitch walk and Refsnyder struck out swinging. Joe was left stranded at first base to end the inning.

"When you look at a close game like (Friday), a back-end bullpen like they have, you got to strike when you feel like opportunities are available," Wilson said. "Trying to get the platoon advantage there, even in that seventh inning, you got to be aggressive there and try to get yourself on the board and get base runners on. I thought Connor Joe put up a great at-bat to get on-base and what we saw from him later against Mason Miller was impressive, too. In a game like that, one or two runs is gonna make a huge difference. You have a chance right there to try and do that."

The seventh-inning platoon switch led to both Joe and Refnsyder getting at-bats against Miller in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

Joe struck out looking on an 89-mph slider that caught the heart of the plate after a seven-pitch at-bat to end the eighth inning. Joe's strikeout left the bases loaded for Seattle.

Refsnyder struck out swinging with shortstop J.P. Crawford at first base in the ninth.

"Every situation presents different things," Wilson said. "You weigh all that at the time. We make decisions based on the information that you have and the feel that you have and you put it all together. ... There's no one way to do it." 

With Miller having thrown over 30 pitches Friday, he will likely be down for the second of the three-game series Saturday.

The Mariners and Padres will play in a nationally-televised game on FOX at 4:15 p.m. PT on Saturday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

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