Padres vie for Vedder Cup in road series vs. Mariners

The San Diego Padres won't have to worry about Cal Raleigh this weekend in Seattle.

The Mariners' slugger, who set multiple records with 60 home runs last season, was placed on the 10-day injured list for the first time in his career Thursday with a strained right oblique.

That means he'll miss the Vedder Cup, named for Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder -- who has roots in both San Diego and Seattle -- when the teams open a three-game series Friday night.

"Nobody wants to go on the IL, and especially not Cal," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Thursday's 8-3 victory in Houston. "But I think at this point it's the smart thing to do."

Raleigh originally felt soreness in his right side after a May 1 game against Kansas City. The catcher sat out the next three games but clearly wasn't at 100% after his return, going through an 0-for-38 slump that he snapped Tuesday with a single vs. Houston. He was hitless Wednesday, dropping his average to .161. He has seven homers and 18 RBIs.

Wilson said there's no timetable for Raleigh's return. He was scheduled to undergo medical imaging Friday.

"It's never the right time to get injured. It doesn't matter when it happens; it's just never the right time," Wilson said. "But I think that the good news here is that he's got a chance to get himself back, to get himself healthy and come back with a lot of the season left."

Mitch Garver filled in behind the plate Thursday and hit a home run, as did outfielder Luke Raley. The Mariners won three of four games in Houston.

The Padres, meanwhile, lost a road series for the first time all season when they fell 7-1 Thursday to Milwaukee. Griffin Canning allowed six runs in the opening 1 2/3 innings.

"We've been fighting back all year," Padres manager Craig Stammen said. "Sooner or later, you just can't put yourself in those types of holes."

The Padres swept a three-game series from visiting Seattle from April 14-16, putting San Diego on the verge of claiming the Vedder Cup for 2026.

Friday's series opener will feature a pair of right-handers in San Diego's Randy Vasquez (4-1, 3.05 ERA) and Seattle's Emerson Hancock (3-1, 3.21).

Vasquez bounced back from his lone loss of the season at San Francisco on May 4 to defeat visiting St. Louis 4-2 Saturday. He allowed one run on six hits over five innings, with no walks and six strikeouts.

Vasquez's lone career start against Seattle came April 15, when he gave up four runs on five hits over five innings, with four walks and six strikeouts. He didn't get a decision as the Padres rallied from a six-run deficit, scoring five times in the bottom of the ninth for a 7-6 victory.

Hancock is coming off his worst start of the season but still got the victory as the Mariners beat the host Chicago White Sox 12-8 last Friday. He allowed five runs on five hits over six innings.

Hancock is 0-0 with a 2.30 ERA in three previous starts vs. the Padres. He went against Vasquez in that April 15 game, giving up two runs on four hits over six innings, including Xander Bogaerts' two-run homer in the sixth that helped spark the comeback.

--Field Level Media