The sixth inning changed everything. San Diego turned a 2-0 lead into a commanding advantage with five runs, powered by Gavin Sheets' second home run of the night and a pair of RBI singles from Ty France.
Sheets went 3-for-3 with two home runs and four RBIs, carrying a .262 average with nine home runs and 21 RBIs this season. His first homer came in the opening inning, a 400-foot shot to right field. The second proved more damaging, a two-run blast in the sixth that scored Miguel Andujar and extended the lead to 4-0.
The sixth inning belonged to San Diego. After Sheets' two-run homer, Jackson Merrill doubled home Manny Machado to make it 5-0. France then delivered the knockout punch with a single to center that scored both Merrill and Ramon Laureano, pushing the lead to seven runs. Seattle managed three runs in the bottom half on sacrifice flies from Randy Arozarena and Rob Refsnyder, plus an RBI walk by Josh Naylor, but the damage was done.
George Kirby took the loss for Seattle, allowing 6 runs over 5.2 innings with six strikeouts. His ERA stands at 3.45. The Padres' winning pitcher worked five innings, allowing 3 runs on one hit with three walks and three strikeouts to improve to 1-0.
San Diego extended its winning streak to two games and improved to 27-18. Seattle fell to 22-25 with its second straight loss. Fernando Tatis is eight runs away from 500 career runs scored.