SEATTLE (Interstat) — Walker Buehler pitched five solid innings and Nick Castellanos drove in three runs with a home run, leading the San Diego Padres to a 7-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday at T-Mobile Park.

Buehler allowed two earned runs on five hits and struck out six, improving to 3-2 on the season. The right-hander, who earned wins in his previous two starts against St. Louis and San Francisco, retired eight of the first nine batters he faced and worked out of a jam in the fourth inning. Jeremiah Estrada recorded his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and striking out none.

San Diego, which improved to 27-18, grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Gavin Sheets hit his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center field off Seattle starter Logan Gilbert. The Padres then broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning.

Manny Machado walked and Sheets walked to put runners on first and second with one out. Xander Bogaerts singled to load the bases before Miguel Andujar hit into a force out that brought Machado home. Nick Castellanos then launched a three-run homer to center field, his third of the season, scoring Bogaerts and Andujar and giving San Diego a 5-0 lead.

Seattle answered in the bottom of the fourth. Josh Naylor singled, Randy Arozarena walked and Luke Raley grounded into a force out that put runners at the corners. Cole Young singled to score Naylor, cutting the deficit to 5-1. The Mariners added another run in the fifth when J.P. Crawford hit a solo home run, his sixth, to make it 5-2.

San Diego extended its lead in the seventh. Ramon Laureano doubled to right field and Rodolfo Duran followed with a two-run homer to left-center, his first of the season, pushing the score to 7-2.

The Mariners mounted a rally in the eighth. Julio Rodriguez singled, Josh Naylor walked and Randy Arozarena singled to score Rodriguez. Cole Young grounded into a force out that drove in Naylor, making it 7-4. But the threat ended when Rob Refsnyder grounded into another force out.

Estrada worked around a one-out walk in the ninth. Connor Joe walked and Crawford singled, but Rodriguez grounded into a force out and Naylor grounded out to end the game.

Logan Gilbert took the loss, falling to 2-4. He lasted 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts. He walked three and threw 51 balls among his 79 pitches. The right-hander was charged with all seven San Diego runs after the Padres collected five hits off him, including both home runs.

San Diego’s bullpen delivered key scoreless innings. Jason Adam struck out one in a perfect eighth. Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta and Adam combined for three shutout frames, allowing one hit and striking out three. Seattle’s relievers kept the game close in the late innings. Domingo Gonzalez struck out two and allowed two hits in 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Nick Davila fanned one in a perfect ninth.

The Padres outhit the Mariners 7-8 but made the most of their opportunities, going 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Seattle went 3-for-12 and stranded 10 baserunners. The game lasted 2 hours, 52 minutes before a crowd of 44,207.

San Diego won the opener of the three-game series 2-0 on Friday and has now won four of five games overall. The Padres lost the previous series finale at Milwaukee but took two of three from the Brewers earlier in the week. Seattle dropped to 22-25 and has lost two straight after winning four of five on a road trip to Houston and Chicago.

The key sequence came in the fourth inning when the Padres broke the game open with Castellanos’ three-run homer. That blast turned a 1-0 lead into a 5-0 advantage and forced the Mariners to play from behind the rest of the way. San Diego’s bullpen then held Seattle to two runs over the final four innings, with Estrada closing the door in the ninth.

Buehler’s performance was the second straight quality start for the veteran, who allowed two earned runs in six innings against St. Louis on May 10 and four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings at San Francisco on May 5. He threw 57 pitches, 16 strikes, and induced 16 balls in play.

Seattle’s offense was led by Crawford, who homered and singled, and Naylor, who had two hits and scored twice. Julio Rodriguez added a single and a run scored. The Mariners had opportunities but could not cash in with the tying run on base in the eighth or the ninth.

The two teams will conclude the series Sunday afternoon. San Diego then returns home to face the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, while Seattle hosts the Chicago White Sox.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of San Diego Padres 6, Seattle Mariners 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave Seattle a 52.60 percent probability to win. Seattle entered as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total of 11 runs went under the over-under line of 7.