Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
Perhaps the key pronouncement Thursday at Petco Park - aside from Andy Green's description of the game events as "borderline inexplicable" - came before the game.
During his pregame media session, Green announced that 28-year-old relievers Jon Edwards and Buddy Baumann were ready to start rehab assignments after missing all of the first two months of the season.
In fact, Edwards, who has been on the disabled list with a flexor strain, struck out all three hitters he faced Thursday night for high Single-A Lake Elsinore. Baumann, who developed back problems during spring training, has joined Triple-A El Paso.
The right-handed Edwards might be days away from joining the Padres. Acquired from Texas for outfielder Will Venable last July, the 6-foot-5 Edwards will likely be tested in back-to-back games over the weekend at Lake Elsinore before being considered for activation.
The left-handed Baumann is farther away. He'll need to work multiple innings for El Paso before he can be considered to join the Padres. And, clearly, the Padres need bullpen help.
Thursday night four Padres relievers - Brad Hand, Ryan Buchter, Brandon Maurer and Matt Thornton - were charged with 10 earned runs on nine hits, a walk and a hit batter in a span of 1 2/3 innings. Eleven of the 16 hitters they faced reached base, including seven straight two-out singles in the nine-run Mariners' seventh.
Thursday night, however, wasn't the start of some of the struggles. --Right-hander Maurer has allowed 14 runs (13 earned) on 14 hits over his last nine outings covering 7 2/3 innings as his ERA has shot up from 3.57 to 7.01. He allowed three runs on three hits without retiring a hitter Thursday night.
-- Left-hander Buchter has allowed five runs on four hits a walk and a hit batter over his last three innings as his ERA has jumped from 0.43 to 2.25.
-- Left-hander Hand has allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk over the last 5 2/3 innings he has worked. The home run he gave up to pinch-hitter Dae-Ho Lee Thursday also resulted in two runs being charged to starter Colin Rea.
-- Right-hander Luis Perdomo has allowed eight runs on nine hits, including three homers, with three walks over 5 1/3 innings in his past three relief appearances.
-- Left-hander Thornton has given up three runs on six hits and a walk in 2 1/3 innings since he came off the disabled list. Lost in the debacle Thursday night was the fact that closer Fernando Rodney worked a scoreless ninth. He has yet to allow an earned run in 20 innings - the longest such streak to start a season ever by a Padres pitcher.
NOTES FROM THE SCOREBOOK
-- Over the past two games, the Padres have scored 26 runs on 39 hits, marking the first time since Petco Park opened in 2004 that they have scored 10 or more runs in back-to-back home games. The Padres have gone 39-for-90 over the past two games to raise the team's season batting average from .226 to .236 in two days.
-- Center fielder Jon Jay is 9-for-11 the last two games with four runs scored and two RBIs to raise his batting average from .274 to .301. He has six doubles in his last seven games. Jay Thursday became only the fourth Padre ever to have four or more hits in back-to-back games, joining Tony Gwynn (1993), Reggie Sanders (1999) and Cameron Maybin (2011).
-- Catcher Derek Norris is 4-for-8 over with a double and two RBIs over the last two games to raise his batting average from .179 to .195.
-- Right fielder Matt Kemp is 5-for-11 in the first two days of June after hitting .186 in May for the second straight season.
-- First baseman Wil Myers was 5-for-10 the past two games with two doubles and a homer for five RBIs.
-- Shortstop Alexei Ramirez was 4-for-9 the past two days with two homers and six RBIs.
-- Infielder Adam Rosales was 4-for-9 with a triple and a homer for three RBIs.
--Third baseman Yangervis Solarte was 5-for-9 over the past two Games.