Tatis Kicks It Off in Style 
It was an electrifying start for us Padres fans
when Fernando Tatis Jr. smashed a homer to left-center right in his first at-bat, giving us an early 1-0 lead. This certainly had Petco Park buzzing, and we all thought it might be the start of a fantastic evening. Luis Arraez followed up with a single, yet Manny Machado and the others could not capitalize further. The inning ended, but the hopes were high as we went up onto the scoreboard first.Struggles on the Mound 
Despite our promising start, the game turned tough as the Mariners gradually picked up steam. Randy Arozarena tied the game with a homer in the 4th inning, and things quickly spun out of our control from there. The Mariners capitalized with some smart batting and key plays. By the end of the 4th, the Mariners had surged ahead, leading 3-1. It was frustrating as the hopes of building on that fantastic start by Tatis Jr. faded away.
Missed Opportunities 
As innings rolled on, our batting lineup struggled to create any substantial threat to the Mariners' defense. Opportunities arose with Jake Cronenworth and Jose Iglesias getting on base, but crucial hits simply eluded us. Pitchers were swapped from Peralta to Reynolds and later Matsui, but the Mariners deepened their lead to 6-1 by the top of the 9th inning. We ended the game with Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill drawing walks in the bottom of the 9th, yet no breakthrough came, and we had to concede to a tough Mariners defense.
It wasn't the win we hoped for, but we keep our heads high and play on. We’ll be back swinging next game, giving our competition another run for their money. Go Padres!
Scoreboard for Mariners @ Padres (May 18th, 2025)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 1 |