One day after losing 16-4 against the Mariners in Seattle, the Padres bounced back with a much-needed 14-6 victory against the same opponent.
Perhaps the Padres were aided by a change of venue with the Vedder Cup moving back to Petco Park for the final two games of the series.
Or maybe it was a kick in the pants by team Executive Chairman Ron Fowler, who voiced his displeasure with the Padres performance on local sports talk radio Wednesday morning.
But seriously, it was great to see San Diego jump out to a big lead and then not only maintain it - but add to it as the game progressed.
The first inning started off shaky with Robinson Cano sending a line-drive home run to give the Mariners an immediate 3-0 lead.
Christian Friedrich managed to work his way out of a bases-loaded one out jam or it could have been much worse.
And that was important because San Diego jumped on the recently promoted James Paxton in the first frame as well.
Local
Wil Myers helped the Friars get on the board with a solo shot.
Then the floodgates opened and the Padres batted around. By the time all 9 batters had stepped into the batter’s box, San Diego had built a 6-3 lead and Adam Rosales had lofted his 3rd long ball of the year.
Shortstop Alexei Ramirez later cranked a pair of two-run homers to help push the Padres to an emphatic 14-6 victory.
San Diego had lost 7 of its last 8 during its recent road trip and 12 of its last 15 overall.
Seattle scratched star pitcher Felix Hernandez from his scheduled start earlier in the day and put the ace on the 15-day disabled list with a calf strain.
Seattle’s loss wound up being San Diego’s gain. As Hernandez’s replacement, Paxton allowed 8 runs on 10 hits and didn’t make it out of the 4th inning.
The Padres will try to make it two in a row when right-hander Colin Rea opposes Wade Miley at 6:10 p.m.
