Lineups: Mariners match up with old friend in Vedder Cup opener

The second annual Vedder Cup is set to begin Tuesday night in San Diego, and this time, the Seattle Mariners find themselves matched up against an old friend in the “rivalry” series.

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First baseman Ty France is in the lineup for the San Diego Padres in the 6:40 p.m. contest against the Mariners at Petco Park. This is the first time France, a former Mariners stalwart, gets to take part in the Vedder Cup, which was officially introduced in 2025. The Vedder Cup is named in honor of Eddie Vedder, who famously moved from San Diego to Seattle in the early 1990s to become the frontman of Pearl Jam.

France, who spent last year with the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays, is a Southern California native and San Diego State product who returned to the Padres in free agency over the offseason. He was originally drafted by the Padres and made his MLB debut with the team, then was sent to the Mariners in a memorable 2020 trade. He went on to be a one-time All-Star in his time with Seattle.

France is hitting .286 with a home run and a .946 OPS in six games and 16 plate appearances this season.

Here’s the full Padres lineup for Tuesday’s series opener:

New series on deck. pic.twitter.com/V9lZZloRfu

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 14, 2026

The Mariners, meanwhile, will counter with their usual lineup against a right-handed starter, which is the case Tuesday in Padres pitcher Michael King.

Here’s the full Seattle lineup:

The Vedder Cup begins tonight 🏆 pic.twitter.com/lOnXC47Ulk

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 14, 2026

Bryan Woo, a 2025 All-Star, gets the ball Tuesday night and will look to continue his strong start on the mound for the M’s. He has allowed just three earned runs over three starts and 18 innings, and owns a 1.50 ERA and 0.778 WHIP with 17 strikeouts to four walks thus far.

The Vedder Cup trophy, which is a Fender Telecaster customized by Vedder himself, is awarded each season to the team that has the better record out of six games between the M’s and Padres – or, in the case of a tie, the team with the highest “EV” (exit velocity) recorded on a single hit.

The series has a charitable aspect, with the Mariners and Padres partnering to support EB Research Partnership, a charity co-founded by Eddie and Jill Vedder that raises funding for research to discover treatments and cures for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).

The Mariners took the initial Vedder Cup in 2025 by winning five of six games against San Diego.

Amped up 🎸

Ready to defend the #VedderCup 🤘 pic.twitter.com/9hh4rrSkWJ

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 14, 2026

Seattle has an 8-9 record this season entering Tuesday’s opening contest, whereas the Padres are 10-6.

Mariners Radio Network coverage of Tuesday’s game on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports app begins at 5:30 p.m. with the pregame show.

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