Mariners fans were happy to see Felix Hernandez back on the mound last night in his first start since June 1st. Come the sixth inning, however, their cheers turned to cries. In addition to a lone run in the third, our Padres scored four runs off King Felix in the sixth, which held up for the victory in the series opener. Read about how it happened after the jump.
Hernandez made it difficult for our Padres for most of his start. We left five out of six runners on base over the first three innings. In the fourth, Chris Denorfia hit a leadoff triple, but nothing came of it as Hernandez retired his next six batters in order. He was on fire going into the sixth, but that is when the wheels came off. He issued a leadoff walk to Carlos Quentin, followed by a single to Yonder Alonso. Cameron Maybin and Nick Hundley hit back-to-back RBI singles. A wild pitch added another run. Then Everth Cabrera tripled in a run to give our Padres a 5-1 lead. That was the last we saw of King Felix, as the Mariners then went to their bullpen for three shutout innings.
As for San Diego's starter, Clayton Richard ran into trouble a few times last night, but he was able to escape his seven innings of work allowing just one run to the Mariners. He pitched himself out of some tough spots and our defense helped him out with some great plays, including an awesome diving catch by Will Venable and a couple of strong plays (like this one) by Chase Headley at third. Richard allowed eight hits, walked one, and struck out three. As a result, he earned his first win on the road since last July and his first win this season since May 16th.
Our bullpen was rolling along as well, until the ninth inning. Luke Gregerson recorded the first out of the inning, and then for whatever reason Bud Black decided he was done. Joe Thatcher came in and immediately allowed a solo home run to Michael Suanders followed by a double to Chone Figgins. Then, as the inning turned into a save situation, Black turned to Huston Street to close the game. However, he gave up an RBI single to Munenori Kawasaki and another single to Ichiro Suzuki. He finally got the second out of the inning when he struck out Dustin Ackley, but the ball got away from Hundley and another run scored. Thankfully Jesus Montero grounded out to end the game and our Padres came out with the win.