BOX SCORE

Well, not much for the way of post game quotes, since our new deadlines only allowed me to get to the Wakamatsu interview and nothing else.

He was relatively positive after the game. Obviously, getting down 9-2 wasn't ideal, but showing a little fight made him happy.

“Just to battle back,” Wakamatsu said. “This team does not give up. To be able to at least have a chance to come back and tie it was awfully exciting.”

As for Gaudin, who tied a career high with the 11 strikeouts, Wakamatsu credited his breaking ball.

“For me, it was his breaking ball,” Wakamatsu said. “He had an extremely good breaking ball and kept hitters off balance.”

The Mariners had a chance to get to Gaudin in the second when they loaded the bases with no outs and got just one run - a bases loaded walk from Cedeno. Johnson struck out, Betancourt struck out and Ichiro almost doubled down the line but it was called foul and then he grounded out.

“Chad set the tone, especially getting out of the 2nd inning with only one run," Padres manager Bud Black said. "The big out for me was Suzuki. I've seen him so much and I think any time you can get Suzuki out it's a big out...you saw it late in the game, he got a base hit, Branyan homered; he got a base hit, here comes the tying run. I've seen Suzuki and he's so good, so that was a big out for me"

"Chad really settled in with his fastball, had good command and a good slider...7 solid innings."

The best example of Gaudin's slider was the swings where Betancourt and Cedeno were reaching at a pitch outside with their butt going the opposite way.

Branyan had the golden sombrero of four K's, while Cedeno, Betancourt, Johnson and Balentien all struck out twice. Of course, Cedeno could have had four strikeouts if they wouldn't have somehow walked him twice. He looks absolutely lost at the plate.

Wakamatsu wasn't completely disappointed with Olson or Corcoran. He didn't like the pitch to Gonzalez or the fact that Olson allowed Everth Cabrera to steal back to back bases on him.

“It’s the little things we talk about being successful,” Wakamatsu said. “I thought he had great stuff today, but the little things like the high pitch to Gonzalez and controlling the running game hurt him.”

As for Corcoran, Wakamatsu said some of the pitches on the two walks were borderline.

Here's the pitch f/x for both at-bats:
Kyle Blanks walk

Henry Blanco walk

PADRES NOTES:
• The Padres scored a season high tying 9 runs (last: 5/25 at Arizona in a 9-7, 10-inning win)…also recorded 13 hits, their most since hitting 13 on May 25 at Arizona, 7th time this season with 13 or more hits in a game.
• San Diego has now won 2 straight and 3 of the last 5 Interleague games after losing 13 in a row.
• Starting pitcher Chad Gaudin struck out 11 batters, tying his career high (Last: 9/30/07 v. LAA w/ OAK) and also tied a season-high with 7.0 frames (last: 5/8 v. HOU).
• Adrian Gonzalez’s 2-run home run in the 4th inning tied him with Albert Pujols (STL) for most home runs in the Majors with 24…Gonzalez leads the Majors with 16 road home runs and has hit safely in 25 of 33 road games (.294/35x119)
• Everth Cabrera went 2x3 with a walk and 2 runs scored, recording the first 2 stolen bases of his MLB career.
• Kevin Kouzmanoff went 2x5 and has now hit safely in 12 of his past 14 games (.321/18x56). Kouzmanoff is a career .313 Interleague hitter (41x131) in 36 games.
• David Eckstein extended his hitting streak to 6 games, going 3x5 with 2 RBI for the night…has hit safely in 15 of his last 18 games (.348/24x69).
• Chase Headley went 2x4 with a run scored. 11 of Headley’s 13 multi-hit games this season have come on the road.
• The Padres improved their record against the Mariners this season to 2-2, scoring more runs than their previous 3 match ups against Seattle combined.
• In his first game back from the DL, Scott Hairston went 2x5 for the night with an RBI.

MARINERS NOTES:
• Despite the loss, the Mariners remain 2 ½ games behind the AL West lead (Rangers, Angels tied for 1st).
• Ken Griffey Jr. hit the 5000th home run in team history- a solo shot in 6th inning…Griffey’s 406th with Mariners.
• Ken Griffey Jr. went 2x4 with a home run and has hit safely in 9 consecutive games against Padres...during the streak he is batting .375 (15x40) with 11 runs, 5 doubles, 2 home runs and 8 RBI...between 2000 and 2002, he had a 12-game hit streak against San Diego…also set season high with 3 runs…has hits in 11 of last 14 home games (.381/16x42).
• Ichiro Suzuki went 2x5 with a run scored and extended his home hitting streak against the Padres to 10 games dating back to May 19, 2006...during the streak, he is batting .425 (17x40) with 10 runs, and 11 stolen bases. Ichiro’s .359 batting average leads the American League.
• Miguel Batista tossed 2.0 shutout innings, his 10th appearance this season of at least 2.0 frames...when recording at least 6 outs in a game, he is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA (3 ER, 22.0 IP) this season.
• Franklin Gutierrez went 2x4, extending his hitting streak to 5 games…during the streak he is batting .333 (7x21). Gutierrez’s longest hitting streak this season is 8 games, and his career high is 10.
• Wladimir Balentien went 2x4 and has now hit safely in 18 of his 30 starts this season (.252/25x103).
• Kenji Johjima, on rehab assignment in AAA Tacoma caught 7.0 innings and went 2x4 at the plate.

Ah, the "natural rivals" that are the Mariners and Padres. When I think of bitter enemies, Cats and Dogs, democrats and republicans, Huskies and Cougs, Bobcats and Grizzlies (you might not get that one) or cobras and mongooses (or is it mongeese?).

First inning
I'm getting weird deja vu with this whole Chad Gaudin-Garrett Olson pitching match-up since I just saw it about five days ago. Of course, the weather was a little different.

Olson makes quick work of the Pads in the first inning, and Gaudin does the same.

Second inning
Olson looking sharp again. Funny story about Olson. He's kind of photography nut, kind of like the other writer on this blog, anyway the day after he was out in the outfield of Petco Park taking photos of the spot where Chase Headley crushed a deep homer off of him.

Gaudin has a little trouble loading the bases on a single from Griffey, a walk to Gutierrez, a bloop single to Balentien. He then strikes out Rob Johnson and Yuni Betancourt (who looked awful in the AB), but then inexplicably walks Ronny Cedeno and his .123 batting average to force in a run.

Third inning
Not much going on.

Fourth inning
Remember the last time the Mariners played the Padres and manager Don Wakamatsu talked about not letting Adrian Gonzalez beat them after he went 4-for-4 with a homer. Well, Gonzalez is now 1-for-2 with a two-run homer to left off of Olson. That pitch was up and right down the middle. Most big league hitters will hit that pitch well every time. Gonzalez will hit that pitch out.

UPDATE from TACOMA: Ryan Rowland-Smith has been ejected from his start in the fourth inning. Apparently, Rowland-Smith was unhappy when Las Vegas hitter Angel Sanchez asked for and was granted timeout just as Rowland-Smith was ready to throw. Rowland-Smith was not happy and hit Sanchez with the next pitch. The pitch hit Sanchez in the helmet and he was taken out of the game. Rowland-Smith was ejected. His line: 3 2/3, 5 hits, two runs, two walks, three strikeouts and possibly a suspension.

Fifth inning
Henry Blanco with a double and he later scores on a single from Everth Cabrera. Cabrera then steals second and third on consecutive pitches - which you know irks Wakamatsu - and he scores on David Eckstein's single to right.

The Mariners have two not so great ABs from Yuni and Cedeno and a fly-out from Ichiro.

They now have just three hits off Chad Gaudin.... I repeat three hits off of Chad Gaudin.

Sixth inning
Some of you may have been scared off by that five run inning where everything that could go wrong did. Garret Olson finally got chased after giving out a one-out single and then a double. He went 5 1/3 innings allowing six runs and eight hits while striking out two. Roy Corcoran came in and got squeezed a little by home plate umpire Angel Hernandez, walking back to back hitters, including one for a run. Then there was infield single that scored a run, a soft sac fly to center and Eckstein's single that barely made it off the infield dirt and another single from Scott Hairston that barely got out of the infield. It's now 9-1.

In the bottom inning, Junior hit his 406th homer as a Mariner and the 5,000 homer in franchise history. That's four hits off Gaudin.

Seventh inning
Russell Branyan has three strikeouts, CEdeno two, Johnson two, Betancourt two, Balentien two. Apparently, Chad Gaudin is channeling his inner Jake Peavy. I miss the Anchorman references.

It's times like this in games like these that I often peruse the Internet for wisdom. Today, I'm calling on early 80s philosopher Clifford C. Clavin. who once said ...

- It's a little known fact that the tan became popular in what is known as the Bronze Age.

Eighth inning
Ahh the magic of Cliffy. The Mariners get four runs off reliever Greg Burke as Branyan hits a two-run bomb and then Wlad Balentien delivers an RBI single and Mike Carp gets a pinch-hit sac fly. Mariners trail 9-6.

And as not to mess with karma or luck, I offer this Cliff nugget to keep the rally going.

Everyone in the Swiss Army owns a Swiss Army Knife. That's why no one messes with Switzerland.

Ninth inning
THe Mariners get a run, but the magic runs out. I'd feel a little better about the loss after the late rally. Only marginally though.

It was a crowded media session with manager Don Wakamatsu today. I guess that happens when you are above .500.

So let's get to the "nuggets" of news as he likes to refer to them as.

* Erik Bedard played catch for seven minutes today, he'll play catch again tomorrow and then throw a bullpen on Thursday.

"If everything works out, we'll probably see him pitch in New York," Wakamatsu said.

* Shawn Kelley pictured above threw a simulated game with Josh Wilson and Mike Carp hitting off of him. Kelley threw 33 pitches and looked good.

"It felt great. It was amazing," he said. "Just to be out on the game mound throwing to hitters and to be able to get some feedback from the hitters as far as them swinging at pitches and stuff. It felt great."

Kelley said he felt "100 percent normal and even got the adrenaline rush of facing hitters, even it was a simulated situation.

"Today was a big step," he said. "With the hitters in there, you step it a another level. You throw a little harder, you test it out a little more. Today was a huge day for me and it couldn’t have went better."

Kelley will throw a bullpen session on Thursday and then fly to Peoria. He'll throw on Saturday and throw on Monday and then join Triple A Tacoma on Tuesday in Reno and pitch two or three times. He could then be activated on the eight-game homestand starting on July 6th

* Jose Lopez flies back in on Wednesday afternoon/evening but probably won't be activated until Thursday.

* Kenji Johjima will be in the line-up for the Rainiers catching Ryan Rowland-Smith. He'll catch seven innings and get three or four at-bats. He'll DH on Wednesday and catch close to nine innings on Thursday. He'll then join the Mariners in LA for the series against the Dodgers and most likely get activated on Saturday.

Also ...

Based on the Buster Olney blog today, which talked about heavy bullpen usage - the Mariners being one of those teams.

"The use early in the season, shows up late," Wakamatsu said. "There's been times we've been fairly careful with guys like Aardsma. If it's 3 or 4 out of 5 days, we make sure he doesn't throw. I know there that philosophy-wise there are other managers that will go longer than that. But Rick (Adair) and I talk about it every day."

Wakamatsu pointed to Kelley's return to helping out.

"But you see some fatigue in these guys a little bit and when you get to that point, you'd like to be able to back them off a little bit," Wakamatsu said.

Yes, that's the difference between the Mariners record after 69 games this season and last - although the changes go much further than the numbers.

A year ago, Seattle was waiting for Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro to heat up, for Carlos Silva to win another game, for J.J. Putz to get healthy and for someone - anyone! - to show a little joy in the clubhouse.

Now, the Mariners are waiting for Ken Griffey Jr. and Adrian Beltre to heat up, for Jarrod Washburn to win another game, for Erik Bedard to get healthy. And the clubhouse? Not an issue. Not with Junior and Sweeney in house and new manager Don Wakamatsu and his staff on board.

What we're seeing in 2009 is better baseball, even with the obvious holes still waiting to be filled.

A team that has played 31 one-run games in its first 69, the Mariners are very much a work still in progress.

No one knows it better than GM Jack Zduriencik, whose 'state of the Mariners' interview will run in Tuesday's paper.

One of the qualities you have to appreciate in Zduriencik is he's a fan as well as a baseball lifer.

A teaser from tomorrow's story:

“We aren’t aggressively pursuing anything, but I listen,” he said. “Other teams call or I call them – it’s what GMs do. I want to stay in this race as long as possible, and I want to keep the big picture in mind. You have to think not only about right now but down the line, what’s best for this club?

“Offensively, what you’d love to have is one more big bat in the middle of the order. If we had that, we might make it a lot more interesting in the American League West."

He knows there's a lot to be done with this franchise. And he's seen how far it's already come.

No, this isn't a team - as presently constituted - that is likely to be contending in September.

Credit it, however, with playing a style of baseball that makes watching it all summer something to look forward to.

This may seem kind of redundant since he's already been with the Rainiers the last few weeks, but with his rehab time slowly dwindling down LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith has been recalled from his rehab assignment, activated from the 15-day DL and optioned to the Rainiers.

He will start tonight at Cheney Stadium against Las Vegas.

It will be interesting to see how Rowland-Smith looks tonight. I talked to a few people with the Rainiers that thought he was looking much stronger in his last two rehab starts.

"We don’t know which direction we’re headed as far as the pitching with Morrow. That’s a day-to-day thing," Wakamatsu said. "We still see Rowland-Smith as a big part of our future and he's more than likely going to be up here later in the year. But it’s just matter of continuing to let him develop, getting confidence in his pitches and building his pitch-count up.”

When asked if Rowland-Smith was disappointed, Wakamatsu said he was a little.

“I’m sure he is. I talked to him at the golf tournament a little bit and Rick (Adair)talked to him at length about the situation and asked him to just be patient," Wakamatsu said. "With Morrow pitching up here, we are going down that road and he just needs to be patient.”

Wakamatsu said that with only 11 pitchers on the staff, the Mariners could have called up Rowland-Smith to help the bullpen today, but they chose not to.

"One of the biggest things was not set him back - to have him come up here and sit and in a couple of weeks if we need a starter at that time," Wakamatsu said. "We'd rather have him stay down there and continue to pitch and see how that goes."

Wakamatsu was asked about RRS' velocity which had been in 84-85 in his first couple of starts.

"He’s back up 89-91 in his velocity, which is a couple of miles an hour faster than his first couple of outings so he’s headed in the right direction," Wakamatsu said. "He just needs to pitch. He hasn’t pitched a whole lot this year.”

Rowland-Smith was originally placed on the 15-day disabled list April 15, retroactive to April 11, with triceps tendonitis.

Rowland-Smith was placed on a rehabilitation assignment prior to his start in Tacoma on May 23. He has made five rehab starts with the Rainiers, posting a 1-3, 6.92 mark. While he has allowed 20 earned runs in the five starts, 12 runs came in one game (June 5 vs. Reno). He was recalled from the rehabilitation assignment on Sunday, June 21. Today he was activated from the disabled list and optioned to Tacoma. He is scheduled to be the starting pitcher for the Rainiers in tonight's game in Tacoma.

Rowland-Smith made one start with Seattle this season on April 10 at Oakland. He pitched 3.1 innings, allowing a pair of unearned runs while walking four.