Seattle @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 11, 2010 ) Seattle 3, San Diego 4
Cliff Lee rarely has outings as poor as the one he endured against the San Diego Padres on May 21, giving up seven runs on 11 hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Then again, the Mariners rarely enjoy offensive games like the one they had that night as Mike Sweeney belted two homers and drove in six runs in a 15-8 victory.
The losing pitcher that night was Padres left-hander Wade LeBlanc, who allowed eight runs in three innings.
Lee and LeBlanc face each other again on Saturday in the second of a three-game series - with both hoping for better personal results.
The Mariners seemingly had Friday’s opener in the bag as they gave closer David Aardsma a 3-2 lead entering the ninth. But Aardsma allowed an RBI double to Adrian Gonzalez that tied the score and Nick Hundley’s sacrifice fly ended the contest. Aardsma fell to 0-4 with his fourth blown save of the season following the 4-3 loss.
The Padres held the Mariners hitless in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Milton Bradley was one of the bright spots for the Mariners with three hits, including his first homer since May 25.
Seattle has lost four straight and seven of eight, scoring three runs or fewer six times.
Lee has been outstanding recently, posting a 2-0 mark with a 1.80 ERA in his last three outings.
He pitched his second complete game of the season Monday night, striking out seven in a 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers. Of his 107 pitches, 84 were strikes.
In 61 2/3 innings, Lee has walked only four batters and struck out 57 - by far the best strikeouts to walks ratio in the majors. He has pitched into the seventh inning in all eight of his starts.
Lee is 1-0 with a 4.12 ERA in three outings against San Diego.
LeBlanc is coming off a strong start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday when he threw seven scoreless innings and allowed four hits.
LeBlanc has struggled against the Mariners, however. He has lost two starts and permitted 12 runs in 4 1/3 innings for a whopping 24.92 ERA.
Seattle right-hander Mark Lowe will have surgery on his lower back Tuesday in Seattle and is likely done for the season. Lowe has been on the disabled list since May 5 with a lower back disk inflammation.
San Diego manager Bud Black left Friday to catch a flight so he can attend his daughter Jamie’s graduation from Oregon State on Saturday. Black will miss his first contest since taking over as manager in 2007. Bench coach Ted Simmons will take over for Black.
Padres veteran outfielder Matt Stairs was placed on the 15-day DL with a sore right knee. San Diego recalled outfielder Aaron Cunningham from Triple-A Portland. Cunningham had spent considerable time with the team in spring training.