Padres 4, Mariners 2
SEATTLE -- Starter James Shields bounced back from two rough outings to lead the San Diego Padres to a 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.
Shields (5-0) struck out nine batters while allowing just one earned run over six innings, ending the Mariners' five-game winning streak. It was his best performance this month, despite the six hits and three walks he allowed.
The only run on Shields came on a solo home run by Mariners shortstop Brad Miller in the fifth. Seattle (15-18) went 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position, with Miller breaking an 0-for-11 night with his second RBI of the game on a ninth-inning double.
Closer Craig Kimbrel came on in the ninth to earn his 10th save of the season for the Padres (18-17). Kimbrel allowed two hits and a run and now has a 5.93 ERA in 15 appearances.
Mariners starter Taijuan Walker (1-4) allowed just two earned runs and four hits in six innings but suffered the loss. Seattle was trailing 2-1 when he gave way to the bullpen to open the seventh inning, then former Mariner Abraham Almonte tacked on a run for the Padres with an RBI single off reliever Joe Beimel for a 3-1 San Diego lead.
Padres third baseman Will Middlebrooks homered, while second baseman Cory Spangenberg added two hits, a run, an RBI and a stolen base for San Diego.
Seattle's Miller went 2-for-4 while driving in both of the Mariners' runs.
First baseman Logan Morrison had two hits for the Mariners, who had won the first five games of their homestand before falling Wednesday. Seattle right fielder Nelson Cruz went 1-for-4 but was held without a home run for the first time in his past six interleague games, dating back to last season. The five-homer streak in interleague play had matched a major league record.
Seattle struck out 14 times and left 10 runners on base in the loss.
Third baseman Will Middlebrooks gave the Padres a 1-0 lead with a leadoff home run in the top of the third inning. The solo shot to left field was the first hit allowed by Seattle starter Taijuan Walker. San Diego went ahead 2-0 three batters later, when shortstop Alexi Amarista scored from third on a sacrifice fly from second baseman Cory Spangenberg.
Padres starter James Shields bounced back from a shaky start to pitch scoreless baseball over the first four innings. He gave up a leadoff single and a walk to the first two batters he faced but got out of that jam -- and two more in the second and fourth innings. Shields stranded runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings, during which Seattle went 0-for-7 with runners on second or third.
The Mariners finally got on the board when shortstop Brad Miller's two-out solo shot in the bottom of the fifth cut the San Diego lead to 2-1. That marked the 51st homer allowed by the Padres this season and the eighth Shields has given up over his three most recent starts.
NOTES: San Diego 1B/OF Wil Myers (left wrist) was not in the lineup for the second game in a row. The Padres sent him back to San Diego for further tests. ... After allowing six home runs in Tuesday night's loss at Seattle, the Padres led all of baseball in home runs allowed with 50. Milwaukee was second at 49, while no other team had given up 40 home runs or more heading into Wednesday's action. ... Wednesday marked the final day of a nine-game, 10-day road trip for San Diego. ... Mariners RF Nelson Cruz went into Wednesday leading the AL in batting average (.349) and home runs (15) but was one RBI behind Oakland's Stephen Vogt (30).