Without Cal Raleigh, Mariners seek elusive win vs. Padres

When the Seattle Mariners returned home Friday, catcher Cal Raleigh was asked what it's going to be like for the next week or so on his first-ever trip to the injured list.

"It's going to (stink)," said Raleigh, who was placed on the 10-day IL a day earlier with a strained right oblique. "I tried to play through it. Unfortunately, what was best for me and the team was just kind of taking some time and getting this thing healthy."

Raleigh could only watch as the San Diego Padres clinched this season's Vedder Cup with a 2-0 victory Friday. The Padres have won the first four contests of the six-game season series, which continues Saturday in Seattle, to earn the prize named for Eddie Vedder, the frontman for the band Pearl Jam who has ties to both cities.

Raleigh hit a record-setting 60 home runs last season -- the most ever not only for a catcher but also for a switch-hitter. He probably could use some time off as he's batting just .161 with seven homers and 18 RBIs.

Raleigh got off to a slow start this season after participating in the World Baseball Classic, batting .132 over his first 10 games while going homerless.

He picked it up over his next 20 games, hitting .241 with seven homers and 13 RBIs.

He first felt discomfort in his side in a May 1 game against the Kansas City Royals. After missing three games, a 0-for-38 slump ensued. He snapped that with a single Tuesday before aggravating the injury Wednesday in Houston.

"Obviously, the last few weeks have not been great, performance-wise and health-wise," Raleigh said. "So just to take a step back and take a deep breath, relax a little bit, maybe watch the game from a different point of view and see where I can get better, what can I do better as a player, as a leader, as a teammate. You usually don't have that kind of time to reflect during the season, but in this scenario, maybe that's something that I can do better. So we'll find out here in the next couple weeks."

The Padres won the opener as Randy Vasquez allowed four hits over six scoreless innings and their bullpen did the rest.

"Randy was amazing," Padres manager Craig Stammen said. "It was really hard to take him out of the game but I think just the way those lefties at the bottom of the lineup had kind of swung against him, I felt like we needed (Adrian) Morejon in there. Trying to switch out those lefties then we get those righties against Mason (Miller) at the end, it kind of worked out for us."

Miller worked the final 1 1/3 innings for his MLB-leading 14th save, retiring all four batters with strikeouts.

The Saturday pitching matchup is set to feature the Padres' Walker Buehler (2-2, 5.20 ERA) against a fellow right-hander in the Mariners' Logan Gilbert (2-3, 3.78)

Buehler didn't get a decision Sunday against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals despite a quality start in which he allowed two runs on three hits over six innings, with no walks and two strikeouts. The Padres needed 10 innings to win 3-2.

He beat Seattle 5-2 on April 16 in San Diego as he gave up two runs on five hits over five innings, with one walk and a season-high seven strikeouts. Buehler is 2-1 with a 6.39 ERA in five career starts against the Mariners.

Gilbert is coming off his best start of the season, in which he pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just one hit against the host Chicago White Sox with no walks and a season-high nine strikeouts on Sunday in a game the Mariners lost 2-1.

He's 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA in five previous starts versus San Diego.

--Field Level Media