Mariners 16, Padres 13: Pitching blows giant lead in Vedder Cup finale

After five innings tonight, the Padres looked to repeat their beatdown of the Mariners. They started the game with a four spot to put them up 4-1 on Seattle, and in the bottom of the fifth they sent a whopping seven men around to score for a 12-2 lead. It was an insurmountable lead... or at least it should have been.

With one out in the sixth inning, Colin Rea gave up a two-run double to Kyle Seager, but with an eight-run buffer remaining, who cared? Even after Dae-Ho Lee hit a monster three-run homer off Brad Hand, the Friars were still up by five. Sure, they were playing sloppy baseball, but they were still going to win.

And then the seventh inning happened. The Mariners scored a gobsmacking nine runs during the tire fire that started on Ryan Buchter's watch. They got four off of Buchter before Andy Green had seen enough, sending Brandon Maurer in to hang on to what had turned into a one-run margin. That turned out to be the wrong call. Maurer gave up three runs without retiring a single damn batter. Even if Matt Thornton hadn't given up two more before wrapping up the most godforsaken inning in Padres history, the Mariners still would have won.

If you aren't sickened by the thought of more Padres baseball, they're back at Petco Park tomorrow to start a series against the Rockies. Drew Pomeranz has the first pitch at 7:40 PM.