SEATTLE —— The Padres' bullpen is so deep that they have a potential closer pitching in middle relief.

That's the opinion of left-handed reliever Chris Hammond, no slouch himself, who thinks 'pen pal Rudy Seanez is miscast in his current role. In a conversation this weekend with Darrell May, a teammate of Seanez last season in Kansas City, Hammond was trying to understand how the woebegone Royals didn't consider the hard-throwing righty worth keeping.

"I couldn't figure it out," Hammond said. "He has a 95 mph fastball, a great slider and a great change-up. He's got everything you would want in a pitcher. I was like, 'This guy should be a closer for somebody.' "

Seanez doesn't have the title, but he has been blowing away hitters as if he were Eric Gagne —— or Trevor Hoffman circa 1998. In the Padres' 5-3 loss to Seattle on Saturday, Seanez was handed the ball in the eighth inning and asked to keep the Padres within striking distance. Mission accomplished: He proceeded to strike out the heart of Mariners' order —— Adrian Beltre, Richie Sexson and Raul Ibanez.

The performance improved a season pitching line that looks more and more like something out of a video game. Seanez is 2-0 with a 1.31 ERA. In 20 2/3 innings he has walked four and struck out 28. Opponents are batting .176 off him, and none of the nine runners he has inherited have scored.

Not bad for a 36-year-old who is playing for his sixth organization since 2001 and is on his third tour with the Padres.

"He has been a big acquisition for us," manager Bruce Bochy said of Seanez, whom the Padres signed for the bargain salary of $550,000 in November. "All of the relievers have done a terrific job, but Rudy certainly has made our bullpen that much better."

Seanez used to be all brute power, often hitting 100 mph on the radar gun more than a decade ago. He didn't truly become a pitcher, he says, until he joined the Atlanta Braves in 1998.

"I started using my off-speed pitches a lot more because I was watching pitchers like (Tom) Glavine, (John) Smoltz and (Greg) Maddux," Seanez said.

"Those guys changed speeds and worked hitters so well."

Seanez believes that his mechanics have never been so locked in, but that the biggest reason for his success this year is his conditioning. He has supplemented his normal regimen of running and weightlifting with mixed martial arts, which involve boxing, so-called ultimate fighting and Brazilian jujitsu.

"It's not hard, but I think most people are intimidated by it for one reason or another," Seanez said of martial arts. "It's an underappreciated way to get in shape. It helps so much with strength and flexibility."

May's day moved

Bochy decided to shuffle his pitching rotation for the rest of the Padres' nine-game road trip. The left-handed May, who had been scheduled to start on Saturday in San Francisco, was moved up to Wednesday at Arizona for the second game of the Diamondbacks series. Jake Peavy and Brian Lawrence both got bumped back a day —— to Thursday and Friday, respectively —— giving them five days off between starts.

"I wanted to get May more in a routine because he threw well last start," Bochy said of the No. 5 starter, who allowed one run in five innings on Tuesday against Atlanta. "Plus, we're going to have a long stretch where we won't have the opportunity to give these guys a break. I think now is a good time to do it."

After getting today off, the Padres will play on each of the next 13 days.

Short hops

Manager Bruce Bochy sat two regulars on Sunday, with backup C Miguel Ojeda giving Ramon Hernandez his first game off since May 11 and Damian Jackson starting for SS Khalil Greene. Bochy pointed to Jackson's 6-for-12 career mark against Seattle RHP Aaron Sele and Greene's five strikeouts in his previous six at-bats. "I think Khalil is kind of in-between at the plate," Bochy said. "It will be good for him to take a day and relax a little bit." … LHP Chris Hammond gave up only his fifth run of the season, raising his ERA to 2.11.