SEATTLE -- Tim Lopes waited a long time for his first Major League hit, but it turned out to be a moment he’ll never forget as the 25-year-old infielder ripped a two-run homer in the eighth inning of the Mariners’ 9-4 loss to the Padres on Tuesday.

Lopes had been knocked out of his first MLB start on July 25, suffering a concussion on a fastball off his helmet. But in his first game back from the 7-day concussion list, the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder got another chance as a late-inning replacement after Daniel Vogelbach was ejected and he delivered a 397-foot homer to left-center.

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“That’s something I’ll cherish in my heart forever,” said Lopes, who spent eight years in the Minors and only got the call back up on Tuesday after Tim Beckham’s 80-game suspension opened a roster spot.

Lopes initially was promoted to the Mariners two weeks ago when Dee Gordon went on the 10-day injured list with a strained left quadriceps. There was no guarantee Lopes would get another opportunity with Gordon close to returning, but Beckham’s departure provided a second chance and Vogelbach’s ejection led manager Scott Servais to summon him in the eighth.

“I’m just trying to put what happened earlier in the rearview mirror a little bit,” Lopes said of his concussion. “But that was definitely worth it and something I wouldn’t trade for the world. I’m just happy to be back with the team and around all the guys in the clubhouse again. I’m just excited for the moment.”

It was a welcome moment for a Mariners team struggling to get hits, let alone score runs these days, capping a four-run eighth inning that closed the gap on the Padres and led to a standing ovation and curtain call for the rookie from the crowd of 24,020 at T-Mobile Park.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Lopes said. “Tim Laker, the hitting coach, is the one who grabbed me and said, ‘Hey, get out there.’ I’m like, OK, I’ve never done it before. I didn’t know what to do. It just kind of happened, which was definitely a cool moment for me.”

Lopes was a sixth-round Draft pick of the Mariners in 2012 as a high school senior out of Huntington Beach, Calif., but was traded to the Blue Jays in 2016 and then re-signed with Seattle as a six-year Minor League free agent last winter.

He never hit more than seven homers in a season until popping 10 for Tacoma this year, so he certainly didn’t expect his first big-league hit to clear the wall.

“That’s a great thrill for him,” Servais said. “It’s too bad we weren’t on the right side of the ballgame so he could enjoy it a little more. But it’s hard. It’s a struggle to get through the Minor Leagues, especially when you sign as a young player like he did. It’s a big thrill for him and the guys in the dugout realize it, too. Certainly your first homer with your first hit, it’s special for him.”

Mariners fans certainly were looking for something to cheer after Seattle seemed on the verge of being no-hit for the second time in four days. After being no-hit for the second time this year on Saturday in Houston, they couldn’t crack the code against Padres right-hander Dinelson Lamet until a one-out single in the seventh by Omar Narváez.

They wound up with six hits against the Padres, who remain the only team in Major League history who’ve never recorded a no-no. But the late rally wasn’t enough to avoid a fifth straight loss as Seattle fell to 47-68.

The Mariners have hit .109 (13-for-119) and scored seven runs in the first four games of August.

“Certainly tonight was a struggle for the first six innings to get anything going offensively,” Servais said. “We got a little life at the end, but we’ve got to get some consistent offense going and it’s been a struggle.”

Vogelbach was ejected by home plate umpire Mark Wegner after being rung up on a called third strike leading off the seventh. Narvaez followed with his single to break the ice, though the Mariners didn’t score until their eighth-inning rally.

“Vogey knows the strike zone very well,” Servais said. “He’s one of the best in the league at that. The pitch, after looking at it, the ball was in. Vogey expressed his opinion. I don’t have a problem with that at all. But it’s not going to end well after the back-and-forth with the umpire.”