Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres 2/24/23 - MLB Picks & Predictions

MLB Spring Training games begin Friday, Feb. 24, with two Cactus League games. In the first game, Kansas City hosts Texas with the first pitch set for 3:05 p.m. EST. The San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners game gets started at 3:10 p.m. at the Padres Spring Training home, the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria Arizona.

We’ll preview the San Diego-Seattle game below. You can check out our preview of the Royals-Rangers game on our MLB Picks page.  

San Diego made the playoffs with an 89-73 record last season, finishing second in the National League West 22 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, and advanced to the NL Championship Series before losing 4-1 to Philadelphia. The Padres beat the Ney York Mets, 2-1, in the Wild Card round, then took three of four games from the Dodgers in the NL Division Series round to reach the NL Championship Series.

Seattle also made the playoffs as a Wild Card team, finishing second in the American League West at 90-72, 16 games behind the Houston Astros. The Mariners knocked out the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card round 2-0, then got swept by Houston, 3-0, in the ALDS.

The Padres and Mariners played each other four times last season with Seattle winning three times. Robbie Ray, who is scheduled to start for Seattle on Friday, did not pitch against San Diego last season. Nick Martinez, who is set to get the start for the Padres, did not face the Mariners either. Ray was 12-12 in 2022 with a 3.71 ERA. Martinez made 10 starts in his 49 appearances for San Diego last season and was 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA.

San Diego signed free agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts this offseason, adding to an already potent lineup that included Juan Soto, Manny Machado and, when healthy and not suspended, Fernando Tatis. Seattle’s offense will still be lead by Julio Rodriguez but also has a few new faces with Teoscar Hernandez, Kolten Wong and AJ Pollock joining the club.