When the Padres signed Lucas Giolito in late April, they were hoping he could be a stable presence in a starting pitching rotation hit hard by injuries. If his first San Diego start is any indication, they will be getting more than their money’s worth. After just four minor league outings to bu ild up, Giolito made his Friars debut in Seattle against the Mariners, on NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball, and lived up to his reputation as a big-game pitcher with a masterful performance to complement a Padres offensive outburst in a 8-3 Padres win. Gavin Sheets seems to really like playing the Mariners. After homering in his first at-bat on Saturday night, the San Diego slugger turned the first pitch he saw from George Kirby, a 98-MPH fastball, into a 400-foot home run into the right field seats for a 1-0 Padres lead. In the 5th inning Xander Bogaerts drew a walk and decided to turn back the clock a little bit, stealing both 2nd and 3rd base and scoring on a single by Ty France to make it a 2-0 San Diego lead. Also, did we mention Gavin Sheets swings the bat really well against the Mariners? In the 6th inning, after Miguel Andujar doubled, Sheets got a changeup from Kirby and hit it to almost the same spot, sending a 404-foot missile into the bleachers for a two-run homer. After that the Padres got what could potentially be a very positive sign. Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill, two of their struggling superstars, took some of the best swings they’ve had in a while, ripping doubles to make it 5-0. After Ramon Laureano walked, France dropped a single to centerfield to bring in two more runs and pump the Padres lead up to 7-0 as the Padres batted around. The only problem with the long inning is it was a LONG INNING. Giolito didn’t throw a pitch for 25 minutes and when he got back on the mound he was a little off. After allowing just one hit and not walking anyone for five innings he issued a free pass to the first three hitters he faced in the bottom of the 6th, loading the bases with nobody out before manager Craig Stammen replaced him with Yuki Matsui. The lefty immediately walked Josh Naylor to bring home a free run to make it 7-2. Seattle got another run on a sacrifice fly by Randy Arozarena that could have been a double had Merrill not made a nice running catch in right-centerfield. Rob Refsnyder followed with another sac fly, plating three runners who reached base via the walk. Matsui Struck out Cole Young to end the madness. Also, did we mention Gavin Sheets swings the bat really well against the Mariners? In the 7th inning he hit a laser of a double down the right field line to bring home Fernando Tatis Jr. and make it an 8-3 San Diego lead. Since joining the Padres, Sheets has played 12 games against Seattle. In those outings he has 15 hits including five home runs and five doubles. With the win the Padres sweep the season series (6-0) from the M’s and head home to start a nine game homestand on Monday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers come to Petco Park for their first meeting of 2026. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less