Seattle @ San Diego preview
PETCO Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 17, 2014 ) San Diego 1, Seattle 6
The month of June has been a bit of a roller coaster for the Seattle Mariners, but some power hitting and strong pitching lately has their fortunes back on the upswing. The Mariners turn to ace Felix Hernandez on the road Wednesday as they eye their fourth straight victory against the struggling San Diego Padres. Seattle began the month with four straight wins and seven over its first eight games before dropping five in a row when its offense could not muster more than three runs.
The Mariners ended their losing streak Sunday against the Texas Rangers and have tallied five runs - thanks in part to five homers - while yielding one run in each of their victories during their three-game winning streak. The opposite has been true for the Padres, who have scored one run in each of their last three games – all losses – and fewer than two runs eight times this month. San Diego, which is 3-12 and averaging 1.8 runs in June, will be thankful to return home after getting outscored 11-2 in Seattle to complete a 1-7 road trip.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), FSN San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Felix Hernandez (8-2, 2.29 ERA) vs. Padres RH Andrew Cashner (2-6, 2.47)
Hernandez is off to the best start of his career despite suffering his first setback in 10 outings following Friday’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Texas Rangers. The four-time All-Star, who has surrendered only three home runs all year and none since April 21, took the hard-luck loss after permitting a run on four hits over 8 1/3 innings. Hernandez has toyed with the Padres in San Diego (5-0, 1.54 ERA in six career turns) and is 6-3 with a 3.05 ERA in 11 all-time starts against them.
Cashner, making his second start since returning from the disabled list, labored through six frames en route to a 6-2 loss against the New York Mets on Friday. The former first-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 2008 matched a season high by yielding four runs and eight hits to fall to 0-5 over his last seven outings despite a 3.29 ERA. Cashner has a 2.23 ERA in his career at Petco Park, but is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in two all-time appearances (one start) against the Mariners.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mariners 3B Kyle Seager, who is 6-for-10 with a homer and eight RBIs over his last three games, is batting .215 with one home run and 17 RBIs on the road; .311 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs at home.
2. Cashner has allowed two earned runs or fewer in nine of his 11 starts.
3. Seattle’s bullpen leads the American league with a 2.67 ERA.
PREDICTION: Mariners 3, Padres 0