San Diego @ Seattle preview
Safeco Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 16, 2014 ) San Diego 1, Seattle 5
The San Diego Padres could be forgiven if their hearts were a bit heavier than their bats on Monday after learning of the passing of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. One day later, they’ll try to honor the greatest player in team history when they conclude the road half of a home-and-home interleague series with the Seattle Mariners. Like much of the nation, the Padres learned the 15-time All-Star had lost his long battle with oral cancer on Monday morning at the age of 54.
Seattle paid a touching tribute to one of baseball’s most legendary hitters – including etching “19” in the dirt between shortstop and third base (the area of the field Gwynn referred to as the “5.5 hole”) – but wasted little time jumping all over the Padres by scoring all of their runs in the first two innings of a 5-1 victory. "Even though we're away from San Diego, I think the Mariners did a good job of putting Tony out there," Padres manager Bud Black told reporters after the game. Seattle, which has won two in a row after five straight losses, held San Diego to fewer than two runs for a major league-high 22nd time.
TV: 3:40 p.m. ET, FSN San Diego, ROOT (Seattle)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Eric Stults (2-8, 5.79 ERA) vs. Mariners LH Roenis Elias (5-5, 4.13)
Stults’ awful June continued in his last outing, when he gave up four earned runs on eight hits during five innings of work in Thursday’s 7-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The 34-year-old Indiana native dropped to 0-3 with a 9.45 ERA this month and fell to 0-6 in eight turns away from home. Stults was dominant in his only career start against the Mariners in May 2013, allowing three hits while striking out a career-high 12 over eight frames in a no-decision.
After beginning the month with consecutive victories, Elias suffered his worst outing in his 14 major-league starts in Thursday’s 6-3 setback to the New York Yankees. The Cuban rookie was tagged for a career-high six runs on six hits and three walks, throwing only 39 of 70 pitches for strikes over a career-low 3 1/3 innings. Elias, who is 4-2 on the road but 1-3 at home, will face the Padres for the first time.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Mariners’ 15-9 record in day games is the fourth-best mark in the majors.
2. San Diego, the only team in the majors yet to score 100 runs on the road (99), is averaging 1.9 runs during a 3-11 stretch to begin June.
3. Seattle is hoping to send injured 1B Justin Smoak (quad), DH Corey Hart (hamstring) and OF Michael Saunders (shoulder) on rehab assignments by the end of the week.
PREDICTION: Mariners 6, Padres 2