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Mariners can't hold another lead

Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 12 years, 10 months AGO
| June 23, 2012 9:00 PM

SAN DIEGO (AP) - After being handed an early four-run lead, Seattle Mariners pitcher Kevin Millwood wanted to make it stand up.

The Mariners' pitching staff had taken a beating in the first three games of this road trip at Arizona, having surrendered 30 runs in losing two of three games.

But Millwood was unable to hold the lead as Padres starter Clayton Richard recovered from a shaky start and drove in three runs to lift San Diego to a 9-5 victory Friday night.

Millwood (3-6) allowed eight runs - five earned - and eight hits over five innings. The right-hander is 0-2 in his last five starts, including Seattle's 1-0 combined no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 8 when he received a no-decision.

"The balls were up, breaking balls weren't good," Millwood said. "I just didn't pitch good, bottom line."

Richard (5-7) gave up four runs - including two home runs - over the first three innings before he allowed only an unearned run the rest of the way as he pitched into the seventh.

A two-run double by Richard keyed the Padres' five-run, fourth inning when they took a 7-4 lead.

""(Richard) did what he needed to," Millwood said. "The ball was up. If I got them to hit the ball on the ground, it found a hole. They did everything they needed to win the ballgame."

Chase Headley drove in three runs, two on sacrifice flies, for San Diego.

Franklin Gutierrez and Miguel Olivo homered for Seattle.

"Our starters have been struggling on the road and it makes it tough," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said.

Richard gave up five runs - three earned - and six hits in 6 2-3 innings. He struck out six and walked three as he won his third straight start, all in interleague play.

Huston Street got the final out with two runners on for his ninth save in as many chances.

The Padres fell behind 4-0 before they rallied for two runs in the third inning and then sent nine batters to the plate in the fourth.

Millwood hit Yonder Alonso to lead off the inning. After Logan Forsythe's infield single, Everth Cabrera doubled in one run. With one out, Richard lined a two-run double down the right-field line.

Will Venable followed with a run-scoring single. After third baseman Kyle Seager committed his second error of the game on Cameron Maybin's grounder, Venable and Maybin pulled off a double steal. Headley hit a sacrifice fly for the final run.

Richard, who came into the game with one hit in 25 at-bats, added a two-out RBI single in the fifth.

Gutierrez had four hits and Ichiro Suzuki finished with three for Seattle, which is only 1-3 on the trip despite hitting seven home runs and scoring 28 runs.

Notes: Richard has won his last five starts against AL teams and is 4-1 against Seattle. ... The Mariners lost for just the seventh time in 22 games at Petco Park. . San Diego RHP Anthony Bass, who left in the fifth inning on Wednesday with shoulder inflammation, is still sore. The Padres are not sure if Bass will make his next start. The Padres already have five starters among seven pitchers on the DL. . Mariners RHP Felix Hernandez (4-5, 3.52) will face Padres RHP Jason Marquis (1-2, 1.86) in the middle game of the three-game set on Saturday night.

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