San Diego manager Bud Black went to the mound after James Shields walked the first two batters of the sixth inning with no intention of pulling his starter. He believed Shields was going to escape the jam and he wanted his pitcher to know, too. ''In my mind I was going to leave him in because he was still throwing the ball well.'' Shields got out the sixth unscathed and allowed just one run in becoming the first San Diego pitcher since 2007 to start the season 5-0 in the Padres' 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night. Will Middlebrooks homered for the first time in nearly a month, while Cory Spangenberg added a sacrifice fly in the third and later scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning. More...