San Diego Night Clubs

Erik Bedard brilliant in 4-1 Mariners win

SAN DIEGO — Even a great outing by a pitcher needs a little help at opportune moments.

And as dazzling as Erik Bedard looked for eight shutout innings in a 4-1 win by the Mariners on Friday night, the game might have taken a different twist had Carlos Peguero not applied some of his minor-league training. Those lessons drilled into him, about being prepared in advance to potentially have a ball hit his way on every pitch, gave Peguero the jump-start needed for a home-run-robbing catch even he admits he'd never dreamed of making.

The play saved the Mariners two runs and allowed Bedard to cruise the rest of the way toward a 92-pitch, nine-strikeout performance against the San Diego Padres in which he allowed only three singles.

"What a catch," Bedard, who had been visibly fired up on the mound, said in the clubhouse afterward. "If he doesn't do that, it's 4-2. We got lucky. He made a good catch and we won the game."

A game that could have gone far differently had Peguero not stolen a two-run homer to left by Jorge Cantu in the seventh, then fired the ball back in to double the runner off first base. That's because things grew jittery in the ninth when Chris Ray took over for Bedard and Brendan Ryan muffed a double-play grounder ahead of an eventual unearned run by San Diego.

The run scored on a Ryan Ludwick single off the glove of a diving Peguero in left-center. But Ludwick rounded first base and inadvertently crossed paths with lead runner Jason Bartlett — who had initially scrambled back toward first thinking the ball had been caught — leading to an automatic, key second out.

Things might have grown dicey without that baserunning miscue and the four-run cushion to start the frame. But Ray got the final out and the Mariners had their third win in a row, this one in front of 26,501 at Petco Park.

In the process, Seattle moved within 2 ½ games of the American League West lead and finally found a way to score more than three runs. It was only the 17th time in 44 games the Mariners have scored four or more, improving their record in such contests to 12-5.

Miguel Olivo hit a solo home run off Padres starter Mat Latos in the sixth inning and also doubled and later scored on a Ryan sacrifice fly in the fourth. Ryan helped the Mariners build a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a single to right field that scored Peguero, who, moments earlier, had opened the scoring with his first career triple to the right-center gap.

Your Best Life Now | Osteens' 'Night Of Hope' Coming To San Diego

SAN DIEGO —- Inviting San Diego’s Christian faithful to sharein an evening of “music, worship and encouragement,” Texasmega-church pastor and author Joel Osteen said this week that hewill host “A Night of Hope” on Friday at the Valley ViewCenter.

“Many in the San Diego area have asked us to visit. We want thepeople of San Diego to know that together we are reaching peopleall over the world with a message of hope,” Osteen said in ane-mail interview. “We are very excited to be in this greatcity.”

The event is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the center, formerly theSan Diego Sports Arena, 3500 Sports Arena Blvd. Earlier this week,tickets were available at www.joelosteen.com for $15.

Osteen and his wife, Victoria, are widely known for leading thelargest church in America, the 40,000-strong Lakewood Church ofHouston. The couple’s “Night of Hope” events are an outreach ofJoel Osteen Ministries, and have been held all over the UnitedStates.

Osteen said those who are accustomed to seeing him on TV canexpect “much more” of the same thing: music, prayer and severalmessages, including his own.

“We believe you will leave better than when you came,” Osteensaid. “Victoria will share a great message, something from herperspective as a wife and mother. My mother Dodie will also speak.She was healed of cancer over 25 years ago and has a greattestimony.”

He added that those who attend on Friday “should expect to beinspired and to learn that God loves them, He is on their side, andthat He has a great plan for their life.”

Osteen’s first book, “Your Best Life Now,” was released in 2004and has since sold more than 4 million copies. According to hiswebsite, the pastor’s weekly television broadcast reaches 7 millionAmericans and is aired in more than 100 foreign countries.

Osteen said he has a new book due out in September, and thatbefore Friday’s event, he and his wife plan to sign books at theNavy Exchange on the Naval Base San Diego.

He said his ministry stays in touch with believers in San Diego”primarily through our television broadcast, but also through ourdaily or weekly emails, our podcasts, and increasingly our socialnetworks.”

After their stop in San Diego, the Lakewood Church team willnext appear in Boston on June 3, and then in Raleigh, N.C., on July15.

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