Sean Manaea roughed up as Padres lose to Mariners
Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
The San Diego Padres were riding high after a thrilling, come-from-behind victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. However, Monday was a different story, and the Padres fell to the Seattle Mariners, 8-2, on an afternoon 4th of July game at Petco Park.
Sean Manaea took the hill for San Diego and suffered a rare off-day. Of course, the Mariners are more than familiar with Manaea from his days pitching with the Oakland Athletics. The southpaw went just 3.1 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and four walks in a rough outing.
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The Mariners jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before the Padres even got to the plate, and rookie sensation Julio Rodriguez smacked a 387-foot two-run home run in the fourth inning to send Bob Melvin to the mound and take Manaea out of the game.
Tayler Scott, who joined the team before the game on Sunday, threw two innings and gave up three runs (two earned). Craig Stammen, Tim Hill, and Nabil Crismatt finished things off for San Diego, but surely Melvin was expecting a longer outing from Manaea.
On the other hand, Melvin was impressed with the outing from Scott, who threw 49 pitches and struck out four batters to help out a taxed bullpen.
“It was good to see Taylor Scott come in… Good first impression, especially the first inning and a third.”
It was Scott’s first MLB outing since 2019, and he struck out the side in the fifth. For a bullpen that has been overworked, this is terrific news for the Padres.
Speaking of debuts, Matt Batten earned his first career knock with a pinch-hit double in the bottom of the eighth inning.
First AB at Petco Park, first career @MLB hit!
Congrats, @batten4 👏 pic.twitter.com/yy0VApKL1c
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 5, 2022
It looked as if it was going to be a shutout for the San Diego offense, but Trent Grisham gave the Padres something to smile about with a two-run homer in the ninth inning.
Chris Flexen dominated all game for the Mariners and gave the Padres’ offense fits. Flexen went 6.2 innings, giving up just four hits and three walks while striking out eight in a brilliant outing. Melvin stressed the recent struggles on offense and admitted they haven’t played well.
“This is a stretch that we have not played very well and did not look very good.”
The Padres have dropped eight of the last 11 games and are dropping quickly in the National League West standings. The second and final game of this brief Vedder Cup is on Tuesday. Logan Gilbert (9-3, 2.66 ERA) will take the mound for Seattle, with Mike Clevinger (2-0, 2.79 ERA) on the rubber for San Diego. The first pitch is at 1:10 PST before a much-needed off-day on Wednesday.
Matthew Wadleigh, born in Oceanside and currently lives in Fresno. He lives with his wife and 2 dogs and is a sports enthusiast. Retired drummer and member of the Fresno State Marching Band. He has been a Padres fan since childhood and has suffered during the struggles just like everybody else.