Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Zunino hit two of the Mariners' six home runs in their 11-4 win over the Padres in the first game of a brief two- game interleague series.
Kyle Seager's three-run blast keyed a four-run first inning that provided more than enough run support for James Paxton (1-2), who walked five but got through six innings without yielding a run.
"His arm felt great, he was touching 97 (MPH) at times," said Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon. "He just couldn't harness it tonight for some reason. Pitch count got way up there. Fortunate he was able to give us six innings."
Logan Morrison, Justin Ruggiano and Nelson Cruz also went yard for Seattle, which was coming off a three-game sweep of Oakland.
The six home runs matched a Safeco Field record that was set on July 27, 2004, against Kansas City.
The Mariners roughed up Padres starter Ian Kennedy (2-2), who didn't make it out of the fifth inning after allowing five runs on eight hits. It was Kennedy's third time in five starts this season that he was lifted in the fifth inning or earlier.
Kennedy pitched himself into an immediate hole, allowing four hits and two walks in the first inning. Robinson Cano plated the game's first run with a single to center, and Seager followed a walk to Cruz with his shot to right.
"First inning got (Kennedy) off to a bad start," said Padres manager Bud Black. "Lot of pitches up ... couldn't seem to dial in."
Morrison added to the lead with a solo blast with two gone in the third inning.
Shawn Kelley replaced Kennedy with two outs in the fifth and stayed in for the sixth. Zunino, who was at the dish when Dustin Ackley was caught stealing to end the fifth, led off with a homer to make it 6-0. Cruz drove home Chris Taylor with two outs to further extend the lead.
The Padres put together a rally in the top of the seventh inning against a pair of relievers. Danny Farquhar walked two after Clint Barmes singled before giving way to Tom Wilhelmsen.
Wilhelmsen induced a Matt Kemp grounder to shortstop, but Taylor's throw was off the mark to allow San Diego's first run. Yangervis Solarte drove home two more with a single to center, but Jedd Gyorko struck out swinging with two on base to end the threat.
Zunino hit his second long ball of the game with one gone in the seventh inning, and Ruggiano smacked his first of the season later in the frame.
Cruz hit his major-league leading 15th homer in the eighth inning, and the Padres got one back in the ninth on a Derek Norris RBI double.
Game Notes
San Diego finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 ... Norris' ninth-inning double was San Diego's lone extra base hit ... Zunino had three of Seattle's 15 hits.
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