Peoria, AZ (Sports Network) – Josh Bard singled in Mike Wilson in the bottom of the 10th, lifting the Seattle Mariners to a 13-12 victory over the San Diego Padres in Cactus League play.

Bard’s game-winning hit came after the Mariners tied the game on Carlos Peguero’s two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Seattle scored the final four runs of the contest.

Bard finished with three of the Mariners’ 18 hits, while Jack Wilson went 2- for-3 with three runs batted in. Erik Bedard, who missed all of last season because of shoulder injuries, started for Seattle and threw a perfect inning.

The Mariners’ Denny Bautista gave up five runs in two-thirds of an inning, which included Nick Hundley’s grand slam. Hundley finished 2-for-3 with five RBI, while Logan Forsythe and James Darnell also homered for San Diego.

Padres starter Tim Stauffer allowed five runs on six hits and a walk in 1 2/3 frames.

GAME NOTES:

The Sports Network

PEORIA, Ariz. – The temperature was a cool 51 degrees at first pitch, but the bats for both the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres were sizzling.

The two teams — each playing their spring training opener — combined for 33 hits in Seattle’s 10-inning, 13-12 win.

The last of those hits was backup catcher Josh Bard’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 10th, the biggest of his three hits on the afternoon.

Bard’s heroics offset a five-RBI performance from Padres catcher Nick Hundley, who belted a grand slam in the fifth inning as part of a six-run rally. The Mariners lost a four-run lead but came back from two three-run deficits in the late innings.

Outfield prospect Carlos Peguero tied the score at 12 with a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, then preserved the tie by throwing out the Padres’ Mike Baxter at home plate trying to score from second base on a single in the top of the 10th.

Bard, a 32-year-old non-roster invitee and former Padre, hit .214 in 39 games for the Mariners last season. His game-winning single came off Padres reliever Samuel Deduno, who was claimed off waivers from Colorado on Feb. 1.

“That’s the best thing about playing games,” Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “You can watch the guys on both sides of the baseball and watch and see how they react and respond to different opportunities or different situations.”

The Mariners batted around in the second inning, scoring five runs. Jack Wilson and Chone Figgins each drove in a pair of runs in the inning with two-out singles off Padres starter Tim Stauffer, who allowed five runs on six hits in 1 2-3 innings, and Mariners starter Erik Bedard threw a nine-pitch scoreless first inning.

“The ball was moving pretty good. I was just a little off location-wise,” Stauffer said.

Bedard, a left-hander who is coming back from left shoulder surgery that cost him all of 2010, struck out two.

“It’s not going to be like that every time, but it was fun that it went that way,” Bedard said. “It’s just good to be out there and put my feet on the mound and just throw.”

Hundley said he was trying to drive the ball into the middle of the field, and his work with hitting coach Randy Ready paid off on the grand slam.

“I don’t think I’ve ever driven in that many runs in a spring training game before, so it’s nice,” Hundley said. “It’s a nice start but there’s a long way to go.”

Notes: Veteran OF Jody Gerut, who spent all or parts of six seasons with five different major-league clubs before being invited to Mariners camp as a non-roster player this year, announced his retirement from playing Sunday. He cited a diminished will to compete and wanting more time with his family. Gerut, 33, peared in 574 games in his major-league career that included stints with Cleveland (where he debuted in 2003), the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh, San Diego and Milwaukee. He finished with a career batting average of .262. … The Mariners announced the signings of pitchers Dan Cortes, Luke French, Shawn Kelley and Garrett Olson; C Adam Moore; IF Mike Carp and OFs Greg Halman and Michael Saunders to 2011 contracts.

PEORIA, Ariz. ()—David Aardsma(notes) spent much of the first two weeks of spring training hobbling around the Seattle Mariners’ clubhouse on crutches, only ditching them in the last few days.

Aardsma needed surgery on his left hip in early January. The crutches only took him so far; golf carts do the rest when he wants to watch his teammates.

Now comes trying to walk without pain, then toss a baseball, then pitch his way back into form. That’s not hpening in time for the start of the regular season, so the Mariners have an open competition for closer.

At least Aardsma, who has 69 saves over the past two seasons for the Mariners—fifth-most in the AL over 2009 and 2010—can observe the competition from the outside and not get outwardly upset about other pitchers up for his job.

“We’ve got a lot of great arms. We’ve got a lot of guys that have closing experience, have late-inning experience,” Aardsma said. “Very impressed by the guys that have come in here, a lot of them on minor-league deals.”

Among those are right-hander Chris Ray(notes), who saved 49 games for the Baltimore Orioles in 2006 and 2007, and Aardsma’s former Boston Red Sox teammate, Manny DelCarmen(notes), who was a setup man and has a World Series ring from the Red Sox.

There are also younger pitchers who will get a longer look as spring training progresses, likely to include righties Dan Cortes(notes) and Josh Lueke.

But the front-runner for closer—in Aardsma’s and manager Eric Wedge’s opinion—is right-hander Brandon League(notes).

A setup man over his career with Toronto and Seattle, League stepped in for Aardsma as the closer late last season when Aardsma suffered a strained oblique. He had six saves in 2010, but also blew six save opportunities.

“I’d like to close,” League said. “Just fill in the role until Aardsma gets back and help the team win is basically what it comes down to.”

League also pointed out that closer isn’t the only open position in the Mariners’ bullpen, with only a few relievers back from last season.

“I want to work on throwing my slider more. I threw it maybe three times last year,” League said. “Maybe I’ll throw it four times this year.”

Ray, 29, recorded a save for both the AL champion Texas Rangers and World Series champion San Francisco Giants last season, but has battled injuries over the past three seasons. He’s getting championship rings from both teams, but signed with Seattle on a minor-league contract.

“I’m jut trying to make the team first,” Ray said. “Do I want to close? Of course I do. I’d love to be that guy.”

Ray said he knew about Aardsma’s injury and figured Seattle might be his best chance to make a major league roster coming out of spring training.

“For every reliever, closing is kind of what you want to do,” Ray said. “It’s fun. I love doing it. It’s one of those roles where you have to do it on a consistent basis. It’s hard to unseat people that are closers.”

Whoever wins the job, it will only be until Aardsma is ready to resume his role.

“We’re looking forward to Dave returning,” pitching coach Carl Willis said. “We’ve got some big arms that can compete for the back of the bullpen. I don’t want to handic it … League has some experience, Chris Ray has some experience in closing games, Delcarmen has been toward the back end with Boston. Those are the veteran guys that we’ll kind of take the most serious look at the beginning.”