Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - Mike Sweeney hit a three-run and two-run homer and finished with four hits and six RBI, as the Seattle Mariners clobbered the San Diego Padres, 15-8, to open a three-game interleague set.
First-Place Padres Given Savage Interleague Beating By Last-Place Mariners
Josh Bard went 2-for-3 with a solo homer, three RBI and three runs scored, while Milton Bradley went 3-for-5 with two runs scored for the Mariners, who won their second straight and scored their most runs since May 4, 2007.
Cliff Lee (2-2) got the win but was charged with eight runs -- seven earned -- on 11 hits with seven strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings of work. In his last outing against Tampa Bay last Sunday, he suffered a loss despite giving up just two runs in a complete game.
Oscar Salazar drove in three runs, Adrian Gonzalez went 4-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored and David Eckstein went 4-for-5 with three runs scored for the Padres, who have lost six of eight.
Wade LeBlanc (2-2) was clubbed for eight runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts over just three innings of work to take the loss. He had not allowed more than two runs in his previous six starts this season.
San Diego grabbed the lead in the first inning on RBI singles off the bats of Chase Headley and Salazar, but Seattle exploded for seven runs in the second to take the lead.
Josh Wilson got things started with an RBI single with the bases loaded. Ichiro Suzuki followed with an RBI single, and Chone Figgins' sacrifice fly gave Seattle a 3-2 advantage.
After Franklin Gutierrez reached base on a fielder's choice that plated Wilson, Sweeney followed with a blast over the left field wall for a 7-2 cushion.
San Diego got two back in the third, as Eckstein led off with a double, Gonzalez followed with an RBI double and Headley reached base on an error from Jose Lopez, scoring Gonzalez to make it a 7-4 game.
Bard hit a one-out, solo home run in the third, and Seattle added five more runs in the fourth inning.
Sweeney hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot, and Bard later added a two-run double. Wilson then brought home Bard with a double for a 13-4 lead.
Sweeney drove in another run in the fifth with a single, and Casey Kotchman hit into an RBI fielder's choice later in the frame for a 15-4 lead.
The Padres cut into their deficit in the seventh. A sacrifice fly from Headley that scored a run was followed by a ground-rule double from Nick Hundley that scored another run. Salazar later added a two-run single to make it a 15-8 game, but that was as close as it got.
San Diego is 88-122 in interleague play, while the Mariners improved to 128-103 versus the NL...The Mariners are 38-31 versus San Diego, which includes a 20-15 mark at home...Lee improved to 13-2 over 23 career interleague starts...Before the game, the Padres agreed to terms with infielder Duanel Jones...It was the 17th multi-home run game of Sweeney’s career.
See More:
