Two Red-Hot Teams Collide in San Diego and One's Unbeaten Streak Gets Snapped Tuesday Night

Here's what's about to go down: the Seattle Mariners just swept Houston on the road. The San Diego Padres just swept Colorado at home. Both teams are rolling hard, and when they meet Tuesday night to start a three-game series, something's gotta give. One of these hot streaks ends, and the pressure will be on whoever blinks first.

San Diego's Bats Have Woken Up

The Padres came out of the gate rough, sitting 2-5 after facing ace after ace and getting unlucky on hard contact. Their .227 batting average early told the whole story. But then they faced Colorado's hittable rotation, and suddenly the baseball gods started cooperating. San Diego put up 28 runs in sweeping the Rockies, launching nine homers in the process. Jackson Merrill, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Gavin Sheets, and Ramon Laureano all went deep.

Merrill summed up the mindset perfectly: "We don't really care who's ever on the mound. Doesn't matter. Throwing 100 (mph), throwing 85... just be ready at all times." That's the kind of confidence that's hard to stop. The Padres have won five straight and are 8-9 in their last nine games. Laureano is leading the charge with four homers and has become the cleanup hitter, batting .268 with 11 RBIs.

Woo's Home Splits Are the Real Story for Seattle

The Mariners put on a show against Houston's weak rotation, scoring 29 runs over four games to finish the sweep with a 6-2 win Monday. Josh Naylor was the star, smashing a three-run homer in the first inning and a two-run shot in the third. He credits adjusting his timing mechanics after a rough start to the season, tinkering with a bigger leg kick to see what sticks.

Bryan Woo gets the ball Tuesday for Seattle, and here's the thing: he's basically been unhittable against San Diego in his career. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA in three starts against the Padres, walking just two batters in 19 and two-thirds innings. Woo's coming off a tough loss to Texas where he allowed only one earned run in five innings but a throwing error by Connor Joe broke a scoreless tie and sank Seattle's ship.

San Diego counters with Michael King, who is 0-3 with a 2.84 ERA in five career outings against the Mariners. He pitched into the seventh last time out against Pittsburgh, giving up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts. King's never had success in Seattle, so Woo's track record suggests the Mariners have a real edge in this matchup.

First pitch Tuesday night. One hot streak survives. The other goes cold.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.