SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 26: Ramón Laureano #5 of the San Diego Padres celebrates his grand slam with teammates during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on August 26, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE - Ramón Laureano hit a grand slam off Luis Castillo in the first inning, and a two-run sixth inning from the San Diego Padres sank the Seattle Mariners in a 7-6 loss on Tuesday night.
The Mariners rallied in the fifth inning to take the lead on a pair of three-run home runs from Randy Arozarena and Eugenio Suarez, but Caleb Ferguson coughed up the lead on three straight hits and a squeeze bunt from Freddy Fermin in the sixth inning.
Seattle had a few chances to find the tying run in the closing innings, but were unable to deliver.
It's been a rough stretch recently for Castillo. In his last three starts, Castillo has allowed 14 runs in 13 innings pitched with 24 hits and five home runs allowed, while walking six and striking out 13. Castillo had been coming off a strong July, where he went 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA, allowing only seven earned runs in 30 ⅔ innings. But after two solid starts to open August, Castillo has hit a rut.
Fernando Tatis Jr. scorched a lead-off double over the head of Julio Rodríguez off Castillo to open the game. Castillo quickly got two outs before a walk of Ryan O'Hearn started a spiral. A looping single over third base from Xander Bogaerts drove in Tatis for a 1-0 Padres lead. A walk to Gavin Sheets loaded the bases before Laureano jumped on a fastball at the top of the strike zone that he drove into the Seattle bullpen for a grand slam and a 5-0 Padres lead.
Castillo had a shaky second inning as well, with a walk of Freddy Fermin and a single allowed to Manny Machado. But Castillo kept the Padres from extending the lead before settling in. He allowed just one hit over his final three innings.
Meanwhile, Dylan Cease retired the first 11 Mariners he would face before starting to find trouble in the fourth inning. Rodríguez and Josh Naylor had a pair of two-out singles, and Cease walked Suárez to load the bases. However, an inside fastball to Jorge Polanco led to a routine groundout to second as Cease escaped the jam.
But the Mariners picked up the pressure again in the fifth inning. A single from J.P. Crawford and walk to Cole Young put a pair of runners on base. Randy Arozarena then clobbered his 25th homer of the season deep in the upper deck in left field for a three-run blast that cut the Padres lead to 5-3.
After a walk of Cal Raleigh, Cease's day was done. Jason Adam entered to pitch for San Diego and couldn't stop the rally. Rodríguez singled to put two runners on base. After pulling a pitch foul deep down the left field line moments before, Suárez connected with a three-run blast of his own deep into the Padres' bullpen in left field to give Seattle a 6-5 lead.
Ferguson replaced Castillo to work the sixth inning and immediately ran into trouble of his own. A lead-off double inside the first baseline for Gavin Sheets was followed by a Laureano double over the head of Arozarena in left to put two runners on. Jake Cronenworth followed with an RBI single that scored Sheets to tie the game. A squeeze bunt from Freddy Fermin was enough to score Laureano as the Padres took a 7-6 lead.
Gabe Speier replaced Ferguson and worked out of the jam to keep the San Diego lead at just one.
Seattle had a chance to answer back in the seventh inning with two outs against standout reliever Mason Miller. A Rodríguez two-out walk was followed by a single by Naylor to put runners on the corners, but Miller got Suárez to groundout to shortstop to preserve the lead.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle.
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