SEATTLE — Brian Giles had his third four-hit game of the season, Tadahito Iguchi had a homer among his three hits and the San Diego Padres opened interleague play with a 6-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.
San Diego rebounded from being shut out for the fourth time this season on Thursday against the Cubs, by jumping on Seattle starter Miguel Batista for three runs in the first and another in the second on Iguchi’s solo homer.
Giles’ four-hit night included a pair of doubles and two RBIs, and came on the heels of a 3-for-4 day against the Cubs on Thursday. Iguchi added a pair of singles sandwiched around his second home run of the season as the Padres got three of their five extra-base hits from the duo. The Padres finished with 14 hits.
San Diego’s Chris Young (4-3) won for the third time in his last four starts, overcoming his own early struggles and pitching six solid innings. Staked to a 4-0 lead, Young gave up three runs in the second, two scoring on Kenji Johjima’s two-run homer that just cleared the hand-operated scoreboard in left field on an 1-2 pitch. But Young escaped the second when Adrian Beltre struck out with the bases loaded.
After that Seattle managed just one hit off Young, a double by Raul Ibanez leading off the third. Young gave up five hits and struck out five. Relievers Cla Meredith and Heath Bell kept Seattle scoreless through the seventh and eighth. Trevor Hoffman worked the ninth for his eighth save in 10 opportunities, giving up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Jose Vidro, then striking out the side.
Batista (3-5) managed to last into the sixth, surviving a brutal first inning where he allowed a triple, single and double to the first three batters, and the disgruntled boos of the home fans. After the rocky first, Batista settled down, giving up just two runs, but lost for the third time in his last four decisions.
Batista, who has given up 11 runs on 12 hits with nine walks combined in the first inning of his five starts at home this season, struck out just one and walked three.
Batista left with runners on first and third and one out in the sixth. Ryan Rowland-Smith entered to face Giles, whose ripped a liner that Seattle first baseman Richie Sexson made a diving stop on. But Sexson had no play and the infield single scored Scott Hariston from third to give San Diego a 6-4 lead.
Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki snapped an 0-for-16 skid with a single leading off the seventh.
Notes: Padres manager Bud Black was selected by Colorado’s Clint
Hurdle to be one of the coaches for the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in July. “Yankee Stadium as we all know is a great place. This is the last go around, so to be a part of that in a place I always enjoyed going as a player and coach, it’s going to be a great three days.” … Suzuki stole second base in the fourth inning, giving him 289 in his career, one shy of the Mariners’ record held by Julio Cruz.
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