Padres rout Mariners after being ripped by team executive
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The San Diego Padres apparently heard their executive chairman loud and clear.
Alexei Ramirez homered twice and matched his career high with five RBIs, Adam Rosales and Wil Myers also went deep, and the Padres routed the Seattle Mariners 14-6 Wednesday night hours after executive chairman Ron Fowler strongly criticized the team's poor play.
Ramirez had a pair of two-run homers and an RBI single. Jon Jay had four hits, and Myers and Yangervis Solarte added three hits apiece. Myers finished a triple shy of the cycle.
The Padres snapped a four-game losing streak, winning for the second time in 10 games.
On Wednesday morning, Fowler told the team's flagship radio station, the Mighty 1090, that the Padres' recent performances have been "embarrassing" and "pathetic." His comments came a day after James Shields allowed 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings of a 16-4 loss at Seattle.
Manager Andy Green downplayed San Diego's outburst, which started with a six-run first inning against James Paxton (0-1), who made the start after Felix Hernandez was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right calf strain.
"I didn't think about it as a response to any comments or anything like that," Green said. "I thought the runs we scored in the first were a response to their runs in the first. It was good to flip the script. It was a great way to start a homestand and it was a good response to the road trip."
It was a 1-7 trip that set off Fowler, including 9-3 and 16-4 losses at Seattle.
The Padres still had a shaky start, with Christian Friedrich allowing Robinson Cano's three-run homer during a 37-pitch first inning in which the lefty escaped a bases-loaded jam.
Paxton was roughed up in the first, allowing six runs on five hits. Myers homered to right field with one out, his eighth. Rosales homered into the second deck in left with two outs, his second. Ramirez was aboard on an RBI single, and Rosales almost caught up to him approaching third base.
Five of the runs that inning were unearned after Paxton overthrew second trying for a force play on a comebacker.
After the Padres chased Paxton in the fourth, Ramirez greeted Joel Peralta with a two-run homer. Ramirez also hit a two-run shot off Steve Johnson in the sixth, after Derek Norris hit a leadoff double. Ramirez has three homers this season.
"What happened in Seattle is already in the past," Ramirez said through a translator. "I think it's important to say I'm still learning every day. My swing has always been that way. Every game is different."
Myers hit an RBI double in the fifth and a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Kyle Seager had four singles for Seattle.
Friedrich (2-1) allowed four runs, three earned, and nine hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked four.
Paxton gave up eight runs, three earned, and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked one.
Paxton could have gotten out of the first with less damage if not for the error.
"I was just way too amped up, just going too fast," he said. "Didn't get my feet set to throw the ball. Just going too quickly. That first inning got away from me."
Besides the error, Paxton couldn't get his secondary pitches going, manager Scott Servais said.
"He hung in there. I tried to get as much out of him as I could but he was at 100 pitches and you don't want to go any farther than that," Servais said. "Obviously, not the kind of outing he wanted to have coming back. We'll see where it goes from here."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mariners: Servais said he hopes Hernandez misses only a few starts.
Padres: RHP Tyson Ross (right shoulder inflammation), who hasn't pitched since opening day, played catch. Green said it would be "aggressive" to anticipate Ross' return before the All-Star break.
UP NEXT
Mariners LHP Wade Miley (5-2, 4.95 ERA) is scheduled to start the final game of the split, four-game series on Thursday night. RHP Colin Rea (3-2, 4.47) goes for San Diego.
