Latos Loses Again, Bedard Shines

Mat Latos continues to look anything like the San Diego Padres' ace.

Erik Bedard struck out nine and allowed three singles in eight innings, and Miguel Olivo homered to lead the Seattle Mariners to a 4-1 win over the punchless Padres on Friday night.

Latos (1-6) lost for the 11th time in 13 starts. He didn't lose his sixth decision last year until Sept. 12. The right-hander allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings, struck out four and walked one.

"He just got hurt with some balls up in the zone," manager Bud Black said. "He just got outpitched by their guy."

The Padres avoided their ninth shutout when left fielder Carlos Peguero, who earlier robbed Jorge Cantu of a two-run homer, couldn't hang on to Ryan Ludwick's fly ball as he tried to make a diving catch. Ludwick's single scored Chris Denorfia, but Ludwick was called out for passing Jason Bartlett, who had turned back to first base after thinking Peguero made the catch.

Bedard (2-4) and Chris Ray combined on a four-hitter as Bedard improved to 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA in 16 career interleague starts. The lefty dominated the Padres, who had just one runner reach third base. Bedard won his second straight decision, over four starts, after losing his first four starts. He walked two. In four career starts against the Padres, he is 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA and 31 strikeouts.

Bedard last pitched Saturday, when he recorded two outs before the game at Cleveland was rained out.

San Diego has scored just five runs in its last four games, three of them at Petco Park, after scoring 45 runs in its previous five. The Padres are 8-16 at home, worst in the big leagues.

Peguero made a spectacular catch at the wall to rob Cantu of a two-run homer in the seventh, then Seattle doubled Ludwick off first. It was Seattle's third double play of the night.

Olivo, who was with the Padres in 2005, homered to left-center with one out in the sixth, his third. In the fourth, he hit a leadoff double into the same area, with the ball bouncing into the stands.

"Olivo, two pitches up that he drove, one he hit out," Latos said. "He hit a two-seamer. I had been throwing it all day. I had been throwing it down. I figured worst case, I throw it too low and walk him. I left it up and it flattened out."

The Mariners took a 2-0 lead with two outs in the second when Peguero tripled in Adam Kennedy, aboard on a leadoff single, and scored on Brendan Ryan's single.

Notes: Trevor Hoffman, baseball's career saves leader who's now working in San Diego's front office, and former Padres reliever Akinori Otsuka signed autographs before the game to raise money for Japan disaster relief. According to the Padres, the tsunami stopped 1 mile from Otsuka's home. ... Padres SS Jason Bartlett committed his fourth error in three games and ninth overall.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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