San Diego @ Seattle preview
Safeco Field
Last Meeting ( Mar 21, 2014 ) San Diego 7, Seattle 2
The Seattle Mariners halted a five-game losing streak over the weekend by giving Hisashi Iwakuma with some rare run support. The Mariners may not need as much offense for Chris Young, however, when he faces one of his former teams in the visiting San Diego Padres in the opener of a four-game home-and-home series on Monday. Seattle backed Iwakuma with five runs – three fewer than he had received over his previous four starts combined – on Sunday, enabling the Mariners (35-34) to avoid falling under .500.
Young, who spent five seasons with San Diego from 2006-10, has yet to be given a run with which to work in two June starts but draws an opponent in the Padres that has struggled offensively all season. San Diego has scored 25 runs in 13 games this month and tallied 208 in 2014 – both marks easily the worst in the majors. The Padres fell for the sixth time in seven contests following Sunday’s 3-1 road loss to the New York Mets and must travel back across the country as they attempt to end a 13-game stretch during which they have averaged 1.9 runs and gone 3-10.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FSN (San Diego), ROOT (Seattle)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Tyson Ross (6-5, 2.97 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Chris Young (5-4, 3.68)
After an uncharacteristic rough outing to begin June, Ross settled for a no-decision despite fanning seven and allowing only four hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings in Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to Philadelphia. The University of California alum has made eight starts this season in which he has pitched at least six innings and permitted fewer than two earned runs. Ross’ only career outing against the Mariners came as a member of the Oakland Athletics in 2011, when he took the loss after giving up three runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Young closed May with a 5-2 record and 3.27 ERA but fell to 0-2 with a 6.30 ERA in two June starts following Wednesday’s 4-2 setback against the New York Yankees. The 2007 All-Star was tagged for four runs on seven hits in five frames to fall to 6-1 in 10 career turns at Safeco Field. The 34-year-old veteran, who went 33-25 with a 3.60 ERA over 97 starts with the Padres, will face the only team against which he never has pitched on Monday.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mariners 3B Kyle Seager posted his second four-hit effort of June in Sunday’s win and has six hits in his last eight at-bats after going 4-for-40 over his previous 10 contests.
2. San Diego has won seven of 10 in Seattle, while the Mariners have dropped 13 of their last 18 interleague home games.
3. The Padres have scored fewer than two runs in a major league-worst 21 games.
PREDICTION: Mariners 2, Padres 1