PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Jason Bay and Justin Smoak hit two-run home runs for the Mariners in Saturday’s 8-6 victory over the San Diego Padres.
Bay hit a line shot beyond the left-field wall in his first at-bat, a welcome start to an exhibition season in which he must earn a spot on the opening day roster. He walked twice in three turns at the plate, once driven home in the fifth inning by another Mariner in need of a good start.
Smoak, the switch-hitting cleanup hitter who underwhelmed with a .217 average in 2012, hit a home run to right field from the left side of the plate that gave Seattle a 4-0 lead.
The Padres scored once on Jeudy Valdez’s RBI double in the fifth.
Padres starter Tyson Ross pitched two innings in the loss and gave up Bay’s home run. Blake Beavan started for Seattle and pitched two scoreless innings.
