Sweepless in Seattle: San Diego Padres drop series finale to Mariners

The San Diego Padres lost another close and frustrating game to split the two-game interleague series with the Seattle Mariners.

The San Diego Padres will carry on without a series win since the All-Star break.

In a close and low-scoring affair with the Seattle Mariners, the Friars were unable to eke out a win for the series sweep. Instead, they split the series and will return to San Diego with a 52-61 record, 9.0 games below .500 and 7.0 games back from a wild card spot.

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Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his 21st home run of the season in the first inning while Francisco Mejía launched his own solo shot in the sixth to tie the game at 2-2.

After some fielding difficulties in the bottom of the eighth, including a very close throw by Austin Hedges to third base for an out that was overturned, the Mariners took a 3-2 lead. They carried that into the top of the ninth and promptly shut the door.

The Padres offense struggled once again in clutch situations. They went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base.

Meanwhile, Joey Lucchesi had a solid outing on the mound. He pitched 5.1 innings, allowing only two runs off of five hits with eight strikeouts and a walk.

Andrés Muñoz was charged with the earned run in the bottom of the eighth, but overall the pitching did its job.

The Padres will need to move on quickly as they head home to host the Colorado Rockies in a four-game divisional series. The Rockies have taken a similar fall from grace as the Padres, going from contenders at the All-Star break to last place in the National League West with a 52-62 record.

The division rivals haven’t played since that record-setting series in June when they scored a combined 92 runs, the most ever in a single series. Hopefully the Padres will allow less runs this time around.

The San Diego Padres vs. Colorado Rockies series will begin on Thursday, August 8 at 7:10 PM PT/10:10 PM ET.

For complete coverage of the San Diego Padres 2019 season, continue following Friars on Base all season long.