Mariners Game Recap: Cano, Walker Help M’s Sweep Padres

The Seattle Mariners (36-42) completed the sweep of the San Diego Padres (37-43) on Wednesday afternoon, winning 7-0 in the series finale at Petco Park. The M’s played their best games of the season this week, outscoring the Padres 12-0 in the mini 2-game series. Taijuan Walker (7-6, 4.34 ERA) was credited with the win today for Seattle after hurling 6 shutout frames. James Shields (7-3, 4.14 ERA) pitched well, but his offense failed to support him.

Taijuan Walker is unstoppable these days, and Mariners’ fans are very grateful. Prince Tai pitched 6 shutout innings while allowing just 1 hit today. The 22-year-old right-hander fanned 7 Padres, and did not issue any free passes. Walker’s command is amongst the best in the league over the past month, and 52 of his 76 pitches found the strike zone today.

Vidal Nuno and Mark Lowe combined to pitch a scoreless 7th inning in relief for Seattle. Fernando Rodney was called on to pitch the 8th. As usual, Rodney got himself in trouble by allowing a leadoff single, and walking Melvin Upton Jr., but managed to tiptoe out of danger. Tom Wilhelmsen served up a perfect final frame to secure the M’s sweep of the Padres.

James Shields allowed 2 runs on 4 hits across 6.2 innings today. The Padres’ ace struck out 7, but walked 4 and allowed a key solo home run. Shields was not bad against the M’s, but he was not good either. The Mariners beat up on the Padres’ bullpen today, hanging 3 runs on Kevin Quackenbush and 1 more on Marcos Mateo.

Jul 1, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager (right) congratulates Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano (22) after a solo home run by Cano during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Robinson Cano was phenomenal today for the Mariners, going 4 for 5 and driving in 3 runs. Cano hit his 3rd home run in 8 games, and his 5th of the season. He also contributed an RBI single and double in the win. Today is Nelson Cruz‘s birthday, and he switched things up by giving Mariners’ fans a present. Cruz went 2 for 5 with a 2-run home run. Logan Morrison and Austin Jackson tallied an RBI apiece.

It has been a rough couple days for the Padres’ hitters. San Diego was shut out for the second time in 24 hours on Wednesday afternoon. Yangervis Solarte was the only Padre to have an extra-base hit today. Yonder Alonso and Jedd Gyorko were the other San Diego players to come through with hits in the loss. The Padres’ bats must be very happy to see the Mariners leave town.

The biggest takeaway from today’s big win was the performance of Taijuan Walker. The former top prospect has literally gone from the worst starting pitcher in baseball to the best in the course of 6 weeks. Prince Tai went 1-5 with a 7.33 ERA across his first 9 starts of the season. The uber-talented righty has gone 6-1 with a 1.68 ERA in the 7 outings since. His 51:3 strikeout to walk ratio over his last 48.1 innings is legendary. Not enough people are talking about Tai right now, but he is well on his way to becoming a star in the Emerald City.

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Seattle remains in 4th place in the American League West, 9 games back of the division leading Houston Astros. Don’t look now, but the M’s are slowing inching their way back into the wild card hunt. The Mariners currently sit 5 games back in the race for the second wildcard spot.

The Seattle Mariners (36-42) will now head north to Oakland to begin a 4-game weekend series with the A’s (36-45) on Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm from the O.co Colosseum in the East Bay. Roenis Elias (4-5, 4.25 ERA) will get the ball for Seattle in the opener tomorrow. Scott Kazmir (4-5, 2.79 ERA) will toe the rubber for the last place Athletics. Root Sports Northwest will broadcast the game live locally, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices.

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