Mariners 10, Padres 5 at Peoria Stadium
Notable
A sellout crowd of 11,718, the largest thus far to watch a game at Peoria Stadium, saw plenty of offense. The two team combined for 15 runs and 18 hits in a game that took three hours and two minutes.
The Mariners roughed up San Diego starter and Shorewood standout Blake Snell, scoring nine runs (seven earned) off the Padres lefty. The Mariners picked up four runs in the first inning off Snell and five in the fourth inning, highlighted by Ty France’s two-run homer.
Chris Flexen made his fourth start of the spring and worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Flexen gave up a solo homer to Fernando Tatis Jr. in the first inning.
He exited with two outs and a runner on first in the fifth, but his replacement, Travis Kuhn, struggled. The hard-throwing reliever walked a batter, hit a batter and the issued a bases-loaded walk that allowed a run charged to Flexen to score. Kuhn allowed a two-run run single to Matt Carpenter and walked another batter before being lifted.
Player of the game
Batting in the leadoff spot, Sam Haggerty set the tone early. He doubled off Snell to spark the four-run first inning. In the big fourth inning, he doubled home Leo Rivas and later scored. He also played a mistake-free game in center field.
Quotable
“Flex was really good. He’s had a really good spring. He had a really good fastball again and he even mixed in a few two-seam fastballs. Haggerty batting right-handed, he swings it really well.” — manager Scott Servais
On tap
The Mariners travel to Goodyear to face the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night. Right-hander Luis Castillo, who will face the Guardians on opening day, will get the start for the M’s. Also scheduled to pitch are right-handers Casey Sadler and Penn Murfee and lefty Gabe Speier. The Guardians will start right-hander Zach Plesac. The Mariners will face top relievers Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchak. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. The game will not be televised. There will be a live radio broadcast on Seattle Sports 710 and mariners.com
Video highlights
Boxscore