Walker Buehler and the Padres looked to sweep the Mariners and the seven-game homestand on Thursday night.

On Wednesday, the Padres rallied from a 6-2 deficit in the ninth inning to win 7-6 on a Jackson Merrill two-RBI double down the left field line. This win extended their winning streak to seven games. San Diego looks to keep the vibes high and make it eight in a row on Thursday.

First repeated lineup of 2026

Game 19 of Craig Stammen‘s young managerial career would be the first time that he has used the same lineup from a previous game. This version of the lineup was used in Buehler’s last start, April 10.

Thursday night baseball. pic.twitter.com/f68pBDUHEJ

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 16, 2026

Starting the scoring in the second

With an out in the bottom of the second inning, Gavin Sheets got San Diego’s first hit of the night with an opposite-field double. Miguel Andujar followed Sheets with a single to put runners on the corners. Luis Campusano came through once again with an RBI single into left field. This would extend Campusano’s hitting streak to eight games and make the score 1-0, Padres.

Jake Cronenworth then reached on a Luis Castillo error to load the bases for Ramón Laureano, still with only one out. Laureano would ground out to first baseman Josh Naylor with his only play at first base. Andujar would score through the back door to extend the Padres’ lead to 2-0.

With runners on second and third for Fernando Tatis Jr., he would hit a liner that would drop in front of Julio Rodriguez and plate Campusano and Cronenworth. Tatis’ hit widened the lead to 4-0 and capped a four-run inning.

Getting after it. pic.twitter.com/KleTU2SXeL

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 17, 2026

Buehler’s solid outing

Against a struggling Mariners team, Walker did a nice job in five-plus innings of work. Through five innings, Buehler only allowed two hits and a walk. To start his sixth, the Mariners rallied three consecutive singles that would plate a run and chase Buehler out of the game. Buehler’s final stat line consisted of five hits allowed, two earned runs, a walk, and seven strikeouts. The 31-year-old threw 88 pitches, with 58 of them being for strikes.

Pitching staff picks each other 

Bradgley Rodriguez would come into the game in the sixth inning to replace Buehler with his runners on the corners with no outs with a 4-1 San Diego lead. Mariners’ Rodríguez would pepper a single to score Brendan Donovan and narrow the deficit to 4-2. With runners on the corners and one away, Rodriguez would walk Randy Arozarena on a failed Padres ABS challenge to load the bases. This ended Rodriguez’s outing, as Adrián Morejón would try to escape this jam.

Right-handed Connor Joe would pinch hit to face the lefty instead of red-hot Luke Raley. Joe would strike out on three pitches for the second out. J.P. Crawford would ground out for the third out of the top of the sixth inning and limit the damage to just two runs in the inning.

Insurance in the seventh

Only up 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, tacking on more would be in San Diego’s best interest. Tatis Jr. got plunked to lead off the inning. Then Jackson Merrill doubled for his first hit of the game and moved Tatis to third. Captain Manny Machado singled to score Tatis and the fifth Padres run. This is all the offense that the pitching staff needed.

M-A-M

Morejón, Jason Adam, and Mason Miller were the guys who would close the last third of the game.

Morejón went back out in the seventh and induced a 1-2-3 inning. The left-hander got on track for his second straight outing, with his second consecutive scoreless outing. Morejón punched out two Mariners in his outing on Thursday.

Jason Adam pitched his fourth outing coming back from the injured list. Rodríguez and Arozarena would reach base via hit by pitch and base hits, respectively, but Adam got out of the inning unscathed.

Mason Miller pitched the ninth for the Padres. He struck out the side, all looking. What else did you expect? Miller is on a 30 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings streak. Cla Meredith holds the current Padres’ scoreless innings record at 32 2/3 innings pitched. Miller has struck out 23 of the 30 batters he’s faced and betters his K% to 76.7%.

Wrap-up

Buehler would receive the win on Thursday, his first as a member of the brown and gold. Castillo struggles in consecutive starts and gets the loss. Miller notched his sixth save of the season, moving into a tie for the league lead. Diamondbacks’ Paul Sewald also has six saves.

Thursday’s win against the Mariners marks a Padres’ homestand sweep. San Diego won all four vs. Colorado and all three vs. Seattle. The Padres are playing great baseball, having won eight games in a row and 11 of their last 12. The brown and gold improved their record to 13-6 in the young season.

On the road again

The Padres will make the drive up the I-5 North to Anaheim to take on the Angels for a three-game weekend set, starting on Friday night.

On Friday, it will be Matt Waldron scheduled to make his 2026 debut in place of injured Nick Pivetta. Pivetta was placed on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday night with a right elbow flexor strain. Opposing Waldron will be Angels’ ace Jose Soriano, who is off to a historic start to his 2026. Over Soriano’s last two outings vs. Atlanta and Cincinnati, he has a combined 14 innings pitched with one earned run allowed. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:38 PM PT.

Angel Flores

Angel grew up a San Diego sports fan, following the Padres, SDSU athletics, San Diego FC, as well as the Chargers. He is currently a third year community college student, and will transfer to SDSU to pursue a career in Journalism.