• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Mild West: Padres tangle with M's in battle of last-place clubs

May 20, 2011 - 2:52 PM (Sports Network) - The Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres are both last in their respective Western Divisions and will kick off interleague play tonight in the opener of a three-game series from Petco Park.

The Mariners just swept a two-game series versus the LA Angels of Anaheim and have won three of their last four games, including Thursday's 2-1 win thanks to Carlos Peguero's game-winning single off of Angels reliever Scott Downs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Jack Cust started the inning with a single and moved all the way to third on Adam Kennedy's sacrifice bunt and Luis Rodriguez's ensuing groundout. Peguero then stroked a hit to center field to end the game.

"I like the way that Peguero swung the bat the previous AB," said Seattle manager Eric Wedge. "It was a situation where you give a young man an opportunity to step up and he did, put up a good AB, hit the ball hard, just got under it a tad, but baseball gods were looking down on us today."

Doug Fister was solid through the first eight innings, allowing one run on a homer and six total hits. Fister and Angels hurler Dan Haren went toe-to-toe, as Haren finished with eight innings of one-run ball as well. Mariners relief pitcher David Pauley posted the win with a scoreless ninth inning.

Erik Bedard gets the nod for Seattle tonight and hasn't pitched since a 5-2 loss versus the Chicago White Sox on May 8. He posted a no-decision that day and yielded two runs -- one earned -- in five innings of work with nine strikeouts and two walks.

Bedard, a left-hander, is 1-4 with a 4.78 ERA in seven starts and hopes to keep his unbeaten mark against San Diego intact. He has won all three starts against the Padres, with a 2.29 earned run average over that span. Bedard is 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA in two starts at Petco Park.

Seattle, last in the AL West, will also visit Minnesota for three games on this road trip.

Meanwhile, the Padres split a two-game set with Milwaukee to begin an eight- game homestand and recorded a 1-0 victory over the Brewers on Thursday when Eric Patterson scored on Orlando Hudson's sacrifice fly to right field.

Ryan Ludwick had two hits and Aaron Harang delivered eight shutout innings in the no-decision. Closer Heath Bell earned the win with a scoreless ninth.

"They're a fastball-hitting team, so you have to kind of keep them off- balance," Harang said postgame. "I was able to go out and execute pitches when I needed to."

The Padres, who will also host St. Louis for three games and have won four of six contests, are slated to send struggling starter Mat Latos to the mound Friday. Latos is only 1-5 with a 4.38 earned run average in seven starts, but is coming off his first win of the season in Sunday's 8-2 triumph at Colorado.

Latos allowed two runs -- one earned -- and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, and struck out five batters for the third time in four outings. He has struck out at least five batters in all but one of his seven starts this season. The right-hander won his only start against Seattle and hopes to right the ship at home, where he is 0-3 in four outings this season.

San Diego, basement dwellers in the NL West, won four of six meetings with Seattle a year ago and is 97-127 all-time in interleague play. The Mariners own a solid 136-112 mark against the National League.