Mariners open Cactus League play with a loss to Padres
Padres 5, Mariners 2 at the Peoria Sports Complex For the first five innings of their Cactus League opener, the Mariners couldn’t muster a hit, which provided easy fodder for fans upset about the lack of moves this offseason. Blake Hunt broke up San Diego’s combined no-hitter with a two-out single in the top of the sixth inning off lefty Ryan Och.
The Mariners had already scored a run prior to their first hit, though. With Seattle trailing 3-0, Tyler Locklear was hit by a pitch from Padres reliever Tom Cosgrove to start the top of the third. Austin Shenton followed with a walk. With one out, Locklear and Shenton were able to execute a double steal with J.P. Crawford at the plate. The veteran shortstop took advantage of the situation, hitting a deep fly ball to the warning track in right-center, allowing Locklear to tag up and score.
“When you get an opportunity like that, they were able to capitalize on it and put us in scoring position,” said manager Dan Wilson. “That’s what we’re looking to do, we’re looking to gain 90 feet where we can, and help score the run at that point.” The Mariners got behind almost immediately when starter Jhonathan Diaz walked the first hitter of the game and served up a one-out, two-run homer to Manny Machado off the batter’s eye in center field. San Diego added another run in the inning.
