By Ryan Divish / The Seattle Times
PEORIA, Ariz. — Padres 6, Mariners 4 at Peoria Stadium
Notable
After a solid first inning, Seattle Mariners starter Felix Hernandez never made it out of the second inning. A controversial single on a swinging bunt, a missed comeback and a few hits knocked him out of the game. He was charged with four runs on four hits with a strikeout in 1 1/3 innings pitched.
The Padres picked up runs in the fifth and sixth inning off lefty Roenis Elias.
The Mariners scored three runs in the fourth inning, capitalizing on two Padres errors.
Seattle got solid relief outings from Hunter Strickland and Gerson Bautista, who had his fastball hitting 99 mph on the stadium radar gun.
Player of the game
After hitting two doubles in a game that didn’t count Thursday, Shed Long continued to swing a hot bat early this spring. The diminutive second baseman flashed more of his power Saturday, smashing a leadoff homer to center to start the game. The missile of a fly ball hit half way up the batter’s eye, well above the yellow line that differentiates between a ball in play and a home run. It more than made up for a fielding error he committed in the top of the first on a slow ground ball. Acquired from the Reds as part of a three-team trade, Long will likely start the season at Class AAA Tacoma as the Rainiers’ starting second baseman.
Quotable
“Offensively today, Shed Long. Wow. It’s not easy to do, hit a ball that far. It is high-wire, fired up, lots of energy. It’s fun to watch him play.” — Mariners manager Scott Servais.
On Tap
The Mariners will head to Salt River Field on Sunday afternoon to face the Colorado Rockies. Left-hander Wade LeBlanc will get the start for Seattle while right-hander Jon Gray will start for Colorado. The Mariners are also to have lefties Justus Sheffield, Tommy Milone and Matt Tenuta along with right-handers Erik Swanson, Robin Leyer and Jack Anderson pitch in the game. The game will have a live radio broadcast on ESPN 710 and mariners.com. There game will not be televised.
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