Green: Padres' epic meltdown 'borderline inexplicable'
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Padres just can't get out of their own way.
Seemingly on their way to their second blowout win since their executive chairman ripped them in a radio interview, the Padres blew a 10-run lead after five innings and lost 16-13 to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night.
The Mariners scored five runs in the sixth and then nine in the seventh, including seven straight singles with two outs. It was the largest blown lead in Padres' history.
''It's one of those things that's borderline inexplicable,'' rookie manager Andy Green said. ''I've been around baseball a long time and you don't see teams come back from 10. It's just not something that happens very often.
''There were two of those innings, as a matter of fact, where we just weren't able to execute pitches. It wasn't where the defense was necessarily failing. They were all clean hits.''
Related: Mariners' historic 10-run comeback by the numbers
In a radio interview Wednesday morning with flagship station the Mighty 1090, Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler called their recent performances ''embarrassing'' and ''pathetic.'' Fowler was angry about a 1-7 road trip that included a 16-4 loss at Seattle on Tuesday.
The Padres responded with a 14-6 victory Wednesday night. They appeared to be heading for their second consecutive win before the bullpen flopped. Relievers Brad Hand, Ryan Buchter, Brandon Maurer and Matt Thornton combined to allow 10 runs on nine hits in 1 2/3 innings.
''I think I was just trying to do too much out there and stop the bleeding and trying to make that perfect pitch and leaving the ball up,'' Maurer said. ''It's tough. We let the guys down today.''