Mariners vs Padres : 10 - 8

After 45 games, the Seattle Mariners finally have two things they haven't had all season. A series sweep and a positive vibe.

Raul Ibanez and Carl Everett each homered during an eight-run second inning Sunday as the Mariners held on to beat San Diego 10-8, the third consecutive win for the last place team in the AL West the previous two seasons.

The Mariners' biggest inning in nearly three full seasons included a squeeze bunt for an RBI by Yuniesky Betancourt, a play no one in Seattle can remember seeing. That gave the Mariners a 3-1 lead. The Padres, who began May by going 13-1, were swept in a series for the third time in their streaky season.

Bard, catching for the third straight game while Mike Piazza was the designated hitter, hit a home run off Rafael Soriano that banged off the second deck facing to rally the Padres to within 10-8 in the eighth inning. But J.J. Putz completed a scoreless ninth for his sixth save. He saved all three games in series.

Seattle Mariners' Carl Everett hits an RBI-single against the San Diego Padres during the sixth inning of their interleague Major League Baseball game in Seattle, Sunday, May 21, 2006. Everett also scored and hit a home run during the second inning in two at-bats in the 10-8 win over the Padres. The Mariners lost all three games of a series that ended Thursday at Oakland. That dropped them to a season-low eight games under .500 and into a 57-minute postgame team meeting when the series ended.

Now, there's some hope. Next up is Baltimore, followed by Minnesota. Both are below .500. Not for Park, who had entered the game having allowed one earned run in his previous 22 innings. That made the Padres think he was returning to the ace form from his Los Angeles Dodgers days of five years ago. Think again. Park allowed 10 earned runs in 5 1-3 innings, the most earned runs he had allowed since June 21, 1998, for the Dodgers at Colorado.

His troubles began when he gave up four straight singles to start the second inning and give Seattle a 2-1 lead. After Betancourt's bunt, Ichiro Suzuki added a run-scoring single to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Ibanez then golfed a low change-up for a three-run homer to make it 7-1. Everett added a solo shot to finish off the inning.

Park walked Richie Sexson with the bases loaded in the sixth to force in Seattle's ninth run. Then Everett singled home Suzuki to make it 10-7, after San Diego had erased all but one run of the Mariners' 8-1 lead. Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki runs to first after hitting a single against the San Diego Padres during the sixth inning of their interleague Major League Baseball game in Seattle Sunday, May 21, 2006. Suzuki was 4 for 5 in the 10-8 win over the Padres.

That was because Felix Hernandez's problems continued. Hernandez (3-5) was in control with an 8-3 lead two outs into the sixth inning. But Geoff Blum's swinging strike three was a wild pitch past catcher Kenji Johjima. Adrian Gonzalez then singled. Blum and Gonzalez both scored on Josh Barfield's bloop double past diving center fielder Jeremy Reed. That made it 8-5. Two pitches later, Dave Roberts hit his first home run of the season to bring San Diego within 8-7. Hernandez, the 2005 rookie phenom, allowed a career-high seven runs in his six innings. He allowed 10 runs -- five earned -- in his previous start, at Oakland.

Seattle Mariners' Raul Ibanez hits a three-run home run on a pitch from San Diego Padres' Chan Ho Park during the second inning of their interleague Major League Baseball game in Seattle, Sunday, May 21, 2006.