Padres on deck: Mariners in town to defend Vedder Cup title

Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres

• Game 1: 6:40 p.m. Tuesday (Padres.TV)
• Game 2: 6:40 p.m. Wednesday (Padres.TV)
• Game 3: 5:40 p.m. Thursday (Padres.TV)

In the standings

Seattle Mariners (8-9, T-3rd in AL West)

The Mariners are coming off a four-game sweep of the Astros. Seattle breezed to five wins in six games last year against the Padres in the inaugural, official Vedder Cup. The Mariners also won the AL West and advanced to the ALCS. They are 1½ games behind the Texas Rangers to start this season.

San Diego Padres (6-6, T-2nd in NL West)

The Padres have won five in a row after a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies and are two games behind the Dodgers in the division. The Padres' plus-14 run differential is seventh best in the majors. The Padres are also 6-4 so far at home.

Trending

Seattle: 1B Josh Naylor has two homers over his last five games but is just 3-for-19 over that span. His five RBIs in the last week are tied for the team lead with C Cal Raleigh, who is 4-for-24 over his last six games. Meantime OF Luke Raley is 9-for-22 with four RBIs over the last week and OF Julio Rodriguez is 8-for-22. LHP Jose A. Ferrer (2.57 ERA) leads the team with eight appearances and RHP Andres Muñoz (3.00 ERA) leads Mariners relievers with nine strikeouts.

San Diego: OF Fernando Tatis Jr. is 8-for-25 over his last six games but still looking for his first home run of the season. SS Xander Bogaerts, OF Ramón Laureano and 1B Gavin Sheets all have two homers each over the last six games. C Freddy Fermin is 1-for-10 over that span and hitting just .161/.270/.226 on the season. In the bullpen, RHP Mason Miller (0.00 ERA) is 4-for-4 in save chances and has 19 strikeouts against one walk and one hit allowed in 7⅓ innings. Here's a closer look at the rest of the bullpen.

Pitching matchups

Tuesday

Mariners RHP Bryan Woo (0-1, 1.50 ERA) | He's turned in quality starts in two of his three outings so far and has 17 strikeouts against four walks through 18 innings. Woo has won all three of his starts against the Padres, allowing a 2.33 ERA while posting a 16-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 19⅓ innings. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Miguel Andujar both have two homers off Woo, while Gavin Sheets has one.

Padres RHP Michael King (1-1, 3.24 ERA) | He's coming off his first quality start (6 IP, 2 ER) and win of the season. King has struck out 15 against eight walks over 16⅔ innings. King has a 2.84 ERA over 19 innings against the Mariners, but he has lost all three starts against them as a Padre (2.76 ERA).

Wednesday

Mariners RHP Emerson Hancock (2-1, 2.04 ERA) | The 26-year-old has 19 strikeouts against three walks through his first three starts (17 ⅔ IP). Two of his three starts have been quality starts. Hancock has a 1.86 ERA across two starts against the Padres, including allowing one run in 4⅔ innings last year.

Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (1-0, 1.02 ERA) | He was one out away from starting the season with three straight quality starts. He has two eight-strikeout games so far and 19 strikeouts against four walks through 17⅔ innings. This is Vásquez's first career appearance against the Mariners.

Thursday

Mariners RHP Luis Castillo (0-0, 6.92 ERA) | Right-handed hitters have a .985 OPS so far against Castillo. He has allowed 10 earned runs over his last two starts (7 IP) after opening the season with seven strikeouts over six shutout innings. Castillo has a 3.71 ERA over nine career starts against the Padres. He allowed five runs in five innings in a no-decision last year.

Padres RHP Walker Buehler (0-1, 4.97 ERA) | He needed just 68 pitches to get through six shutout innings in his last start. He struck out four and did not walk a batter after walking five through his first two starts (6⅔ IP). Buehler has a 7.08 ERA in four career starts against the Mariners, including two since his Tommy John surgery (7⅓ IP, 11 ER).

2025 team leaders

• OPS: Mariners-3B Brendan Donovan (1.007), OF Luke Raley (.814), OF Randy Arozarena (.776); Padres-OF Ramón Laureano (.875), 3B Manny Machado (.774), OF Jackson Merrill (.705).
• HRs: Mariners-Donovan (3), Raley (3), four tied with 2; Padres-Laureano (4), Merrill (3); three tied with 2.
• RBIs: Mariners-C Cal Raleigh (10), Raley (10), 2B Cole Young (9); Padres-Laureano (11), Merrill (11), Machado (9);
• Steals: Mariners-Arozarena (4), several tied with 1; Padres-OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (4), Laureano (3), Merrill (3).
• Saves: Mariners-Three tied with 1; Padres-RHP Mason Miller (4-for-4, 0.00 ERA),
• Holds: Mariners-RHP Matt Brash (2, 0.00 ERA), three tied with 1; Padres-RHP Jeremia Estrada (3, 5.14 ERA), LHP Kyle Hart (3, 4.91 ERA), three tied with 1.

Training room

Seattle: RHP Bryce Miller (oblique) could return by the end of the month. OF Victor Robles (pectoral) and INF Miles Mastrobuoni (calf) remain without a timetable, while RHP Carlos Vargas (lat) won't be back before May. RHP Logan Evans' Tommy John surgery will keep him out until next year.

San Diego: RHP Nick Pivetta exited Sunday's start with elbow stiffness and is day-to-day. RHP Jeremiah Estrada hit the injured list Friday with elbow tendinitis. RHP Matt Waldron (surgery), RHP Griffin Canning (Achilles) and INF Sung-Mun Song (oblique) are rehabbing at Triple-A El Paso. RHP Joe Musgrove (Tommy John surgery) is not yet back to throwing bullpens.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 8:23 AM.