MLB Game Preview - San Diego at Seattle

Tue Aug 6, 2019 10:10 PM EDT

With the Seattle Mariners adhering to general manager Jerry Dipoto's "step-back" rebuilding plan, it's not surprising to find them struggling following the trade deadline.

Conversely, after signing free agent Manny Machado in the offseason, the San Diego Padres had bigger plans.

But when the teams open a two-game interleague series Tuesday night in Seattle, it will feature the cellar dwellers in the West divisions of the American and National leagues.

The Padres reached that point Sunday with a 11-10 loss to the host Los Angeles Dodgers, who have run away with the NL West. San Diego twice rallied from deficits only to suffer a walk-off loss.

"We battled," first baseman Eric Hosmer, who hit a grand slam, told MLB.com. "This one's definitely a gut punch."

One could say the same about the entire month of July for the Padres, who went 8-16 in the month to drop to the bottom edge of the wild-card race.

"We've just got to play good baseball," Hosmer said. "We're getting to the point now where we've just got to win."

The Padres plan to send right-hander Dinelson Lamet (0-2, 5.09 ERA) to the mound Tuesday. This will be Lamet's sixth start since a lengthy layoff following Tommy John surgery. He's been on a strict 90-pitch limit and has yet to go past five innings of any 2019 start.

In his outing last Tuesday, Lamet left with a lead against Baltimore in a game the Padres eventually lost 8-5. He allowed three runs on five hits in five innings, with two walks and five strikeouts.

"The more hitters I see, the more comfortable I am, and I think that's going to continue," Lamet told MLB.com after that start. "After 15 months not throwing a baseball, I'm going to have some control issues. I'm going to have some mechanical stuff. As that goes on, as I see more hitters, it's going to get better."

Lamet will be facing the Mariners for the first time.

Seattle is set to use a reliever as an opener before handing the ball to veteran left-hander Wade LeBlanc (6-4, 5.17 ERA). He's 0-2 with a 2.93 ERA in seven career appearances against the Padres, including two starts.

LeBlanc seems to have grown accustomed to coming out of the bullpen following an opener. He's 4-0 with a 2.86 ERA in nine such appearances.

Mariners manager Scott Servais decided to start LeBlanc last Wednesday at Texas, in part because it was trade-deadline day and Servais wasn't sure who might still be left in the bullpen, and also because of the Rangers' lefty-dominated lineup.

It didn't go well.

LeBlanc lasted just 4 1/3 innings of a 9-7 loss, allowing six runs on 10 hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

"There was no finish, no life on the pitches, which is really frustrating," LeBlanc told the Seattle Times. "But I will keep trying to figure it out."

That loss snapped Seattle's six-game winning streak, which matched a season-high. The Mariners have dropped all four games since, including being no-hit by the Houston Astros on Saturday. That was the second no-hitter thrown against the Mariners since the All-Star break.

"It's kind of embarrassing, but it's baseball, sports," Mariners outfielder Mallex Smith told the Times. "Sometimes the dice roll your way, and sometimes they don't."

--Field Level Media