The San Diego Padres had a rough start to the season offensively and pitching-wise but have won six straight games and nine of its last 10
The San Diego Padres are on a heater right now, having won six consecutive games and nine of its last 10 after defeating the Seattle Mariners 4-1 on Tuesday in the first of a three-game series.
After the Mariners took an early 1-0 lead on a Dominic Canzone sacrifice fly in the second inning, Padres right-hander Michael King settled in nicely and completed six innings, allowing just the one run on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. He outperformed Mariners righty Bryan Woo, who pitched seven innings but allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk with three punchouts.
The top of San Diego’s lineup took care of business in this one, as left fielder Ramon Laureano, right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., center fielder Jackson Merrill and shortstop Xander Bogaerts combined to go 9-for-12 with a double, triple, four runs scored and four RBI.
Bogaerts had the biggest night, tallying three of the team’s 11 hits and driving in three runs. His slash line is now .270/.333/.397 (.730 OPS) through 16 games.
Right-handed closer Mason Miller, who is garnering a lot of attention for his run of dominance dating back to last season, had another perfect inning to earn his fifth save of the year. He’s allowed just one hit, one walk and no runs to go with a 0.24 WHIP and 20 strikeouts through 8.1 innings pitched. If he keeps this up, he may very well become the first reliever to win the Cy Young since Eric Gagne did it in 2003.
Game two will likely be a pitcher’s duel between two right-handers, San Diego’s Randy Vasquez and Seattle’s Emerson Hancock.
Vasquez has been impressive through his first three starts and has been the Padres’ best starter thus far, posting a 1-0 record with a 1.02 ERA (fourth-best) and 1.08 ERA over 17.2 innings. Vasquez dazzled against the Detroit Tigers in his first outing, throwing six scoreless two-hit innings with three walks and eight strikeouts, followed by six one-run innings on six hits and a walk with three punchouts against the Boston Red Sox, then 5.2 one-run innings on seven hits with eight strikeouts against the Colorado Rockies his last time out.
Hancock has been great as well, going 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA and 0.74 WHIP across 17.2 innings. He threw six nearly-perfect innings with just one walk and nine strikeouts against the Cleveland Guardians before pitching 6.2 one-run innings on six hits with five punchouts against the Los Angeles Angels and five innings of three-run ball on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts against the Houston Astros.
After the Padres struggled to hit and pitch well in the early going, the team has hit a stride in April, winning 10 of 12 games to stay within two games of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.
First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.