SAN DIEGO -- Kevin Correia confirmed it on Tuesday night.

With Jake Peavy out and Chris Young likely missing his next start, Correia is, at least for the moment, the Padres' staff ace.

By turning in his third straight great outing, Correia again established himself as the top starting pitcher in the Padres' rotation. In doing so, he also picked up a starting staff that had been knocked around for 20 earned runs during a three-day visit to Anaheim.

Unfortunately for Correia, however, he ran into an even better pitcher in Seattle's Felix Hernandez. The Mariners' ace fired a two-hit shutout at Petco Park to send the Padres to their fourth straight loss, 5-0, in front of 17,040. The team's 12th straight loss in interleague play was also notable because it marked the first time that opposing pitchers have thrown complete-game shutouts against the Padres in consecutive games since Philadelphia's Curt Schilling and the New York Mets' Sid Fernandez did so on July 22 and 24, 1992.

"It sucks because Kevin went out and pitched a great game," said outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr., who had one of the team's two hits. "Especially as tough as a road trip as we just had, we kind of needed somebody to go out there like he did. He stepped up once again just like the (previous start) on three days' rest. … We just couldn't muster up any offense today."

Seattle didn't produce much offense until the ninth inning.

But what the Mariners did against Correia -- who allowed two hits as he tied a career-high with eight innings pitched -- they made count. Franklin Gutierrez hit a solo home run in the third inning and Adrian Beltre added another in the seventh. With the aid of a David Eckstein error in the ninth, the Mariners scored three times off reliever Mike Adams.

That was more than enough for Hernandez, who used his four pitches to perfection and powered his way past the Padres. He only got into trouble three times during his performance and got out of all three with relative ease, extending the Padres' scoreless streak to 21 innings. The Padres finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and are now hitless in their last 24 at-bats in those situations.

"Kevin pitched great but Hernandez pitched a little better," manager Bud Black said. "Two hits over eight innings is a heck of a pitching performance. You saw two great pitching performances."

The Padres were pretty sure they were going to keep Correia (3-5) one way or another when they signed him to a minor-league deal this offseason. Whether it was as a starting pitcher or a reliever, general manager Kevin Towers and Black were confident Correia would break team with the camp. During spring training, Correia emerged as the team's most consistent pitcher, making all of his starts and side sessions.

Pitching coach Darren Balsley was excited about Correia's prospects and said the former fourth-round pick only needed to begin believing in himself.

Early in the season, Correia said he felt good and was throwing his fastball, slider and changeup as good, or better, than he had at any time in his career.

But he was hurt by walks -- issuing 14 in his first four starts -- and falling behind hitters early in the count during the first month of the season.

That prompted Black to suggest Correia might be headed to the bullpen. But late in his start in Houston on May 9, Correia made several adjustments, including becoming more efficient with his delivery. Essentially, he stopped overthrowing pitches and began trusting his stuff.

With the addition of a curveball, which Balsley believes is as good as the pitcher's other secondary pitches, Correia has improved even more.

"Kevin is making strides in a number of areas," Black said. "I'm seeing poise and composure, I'm seeing a true game plan being executed."

Including Tuesday, Correia has allowed five runs over his last 20 innings with only one walk allowed. He's also become far more efficient with his pitch count, allowing him to go deeper into games -- a huge benefit for the Padres, who need a horse with Peavy and Young slowed by injury.

"You know in the back of your mind that we don't have one guy that's going to replace a guy like Peavy," Correia said. "So we all kinda gotta do our part to pick up some slack. If I can be one of the guys that's going to give us some innings, and keep us in some ballgames, that's what I want to do."