Timely hitting, strong pitching bode well for San Diego Padres in victory

The bats woke up as the San Diego Padres cruised to a 9-4 victory against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

The San Diego Padres finally found a way to score runs outside of the long ball.

The offense and pitching had field days en route to a 9-4 victory against the Seattle Mariners. While Seattle owns a worst record than the Friars (47-68), the no-no bid was exciting as ever and the timely hitting was still refreshing to watch. The team went 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left only three runners on base.

The Padres jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning and never relinquished it. With no outs and runners on first and second, Manuel Margot kicked off the scoring with an RBI double to plate Hunter Renfroe. Luis Urías followed up with an RBI single to drive in Josh Naylor.

Austin Hedges then executed a squeeze play as he bunted towards first base and allowed Margot to score. Fernando Tatis Jr. topped off the inning with a two-run homer.

Part of the offense’s woes this season has stemmed from a heavy reliance on home runs to score. As the Padres ability to hit long shots fizzled out, so did their scoring opportunities. Not in this game though — they executed smart play-making and situational hitting.

The Friars still wanted to put on a show though, as Eric Hosmer and Josh Naylor followed up the five-run inning with home runs of their own.

Meanwhile, the offense and pitching were on the same page the entire game. Dinelson Lamet finally had a stellar performance, tossing seven scoreless innings in pursuit of the Padres first no-hitter. Unfortunately, the bid ended in the seventh when Omar Narvaez hit a one-out single.

Regardless, Lamet had a start to remember. He ended the night allowing two hits, no runs, and a career-tying 12 strikeouts. This is exactly what the Padres were hoping for in his return from Tommy John surgery; hopefully it’s just the beginning of Lamet picking up where he left off two seasons ago.

San Diego will go for the two-game sweep on Wednesday in pursuit of their first series win of 2019’s second half. Joey Lucchesi (7-6) will start against Seattle’s Yusei Kikuchi (4-8), who’s been arguably the Mariners’ biggest disappointments this season.

The Padres at Mariners series finale will start at 3:40 PM PT/6:40 PM ET on Wednesday, August 7.

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