By Charles Hamaker 

Peoria, AZ – In the final game of Spring Training for both the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres, the Padres were able to jump on Mariners starter Marco Gonzales early to build a lead that Seattle couldn’t come. The Mariners again saw their bats go quiet in comparison to a few games ago when they were putting up 17 and 15 runs, and they couldn’t put enough offense together to win their final matchup of the Spring. Seattle saw many starters leave the game in the early innings, as the team headed for the airport nearly as soon as the game had ended. 

Marco makes his final appearance of Spring 

Starting pitcher Marco Gonzales took the mound today for the Mariners for the final outing of the Spring, with his fresh haircut in tow. The former Gonzaga Bulldog, slated to be the fourth starter in the Seattle rotation, surrendered only a double through the first two innings, but San Diego finally started to click in the third. The big boys of the Padres lineup came to play after Rougned Odor and Trent Grisham’s walks, as Xander Bogaerts doubled him home. In the fourth, former Mariner Austin Nola (single) was doubled home by former Yankee Matt Carpenter to push the score to 3-2.  

Mariners start Marco Gonzales stops a comebacker with his glove (Photos by Liv Lyons)

Starters get some swats in before heading out 

When it comes to the Mariners offense in this game, the runs came in the second inning courtesy of the bats of Julio Rodriguez and Kolten Wong. Seattle had the hits rolling in the third as Tom Murphy began things with a single, but tried to stretch to third on Sam Haggerty’s following single and was thrown out. Superstar centerfielder Julio Rodriguez singled to center, and an error by Trent Grisham in the outfield allowed Haggerty to score from first. Kolten Wong piled on; singling home Tanner Kirwer who had come into pitch run for Julio. The Mariners offense will need contributions up and down the lineup to improve upon their mediocre hitting numbers from last season and seeing that happen with names like Haggerty and Wong in addition to Julio is a nice sign.  

Seattle infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty made his way around the bases, but not without… an obstacle (Photos by Liv Lyons)

Looking back on the Spring 

This Spring Training didn’t offer a ton of surprises necessarily, like last year. The roster was mainly sorted out by the time that we entered camp, and while there was the potential of a Bryce Miller insertion into the starting rotation with rumblings of a potential trade of Marco Gonzales or Chris Flexen, nothing materialized. There aren’t any surprises when it comes to the starting lineup, and the only real unique twist may be in left field where we’ll see a platoon of Jarred Kelenic and AJ Pollock until Taylor Trammell is back healthy, when he’ll be inserted there as well. Kelenic very well could take over that corner of the outfield for himself if his Spring is any indication of what is to come.  

Mariners catcher Tom Murphy’s day through photos (Photos by Liv Lyons)

Quick notes 

• Seattle starter Marco Gonzales’ line on the day: 5.2IP, 4 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 2 walks, no strikeouts  

• Today’s attendance for Padres vs Mariners at the Peoria Sports Complex was 9,723 

• Today’s game time for Padres vs Mariners was two hours and 19 minutes 

What’s next? 

Next up, the Seattle Mariners will begin their 2023 regular season on March 30th at T-Mobile Park against the Cleveland Guardians. The Mariners are looking to build off last year's historic season that saw them bust through their playoff drought that had them on the wrong side of history. First pitch against Cleveland is at 7:10PM PST, and there will surely be plenty of festivities taking place at the ballpark as a sold-out ballpark celebrate their Mariners and the beginning of another season. Seattle’s hopes and excitement for its baseball team are high, and it’s surely going to be another thrilling ride of 162 games.  

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