PEORIA, Ariz. – Don't count Darrell May out of San Diego's starting rotation just yet.

May pitched five-hit ball over six scoreless innings, facing three batters over the minimum and striking out five in the Padres' 4-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.

Coming in, May had a 9.42 ERA after being rocked for eight runs and nine hits in only two-thirds of an inning. He seemed destined for long relief, especially after the Padres traded for Houston's Tim Redding on Monday.

"Maybe I just need a little fire under my belt to get going," May said. "I am a notoriously slow starter. Today, I trusted my stuff. I felt confident in my fastball and my location."

Last November, the Padres traded for May, who was 9-19 in 31 starts for Kansas City last season.

"No doubt about it, this was an outstanding outing," Padres pitching coach Darrel Kernels said. "I saw a very determined you man out there. He had great command, got the ball in on left-handed hitters and got the ball in on right-handers, too."

Acting manager Tony Muser said there's been no decision about whether May or Redding will be the No. 5 starter.

"We'll have to sit down and look at a lot of things before making the final decision," Muser said.

The Padres led 1-0 in the sixth after Adam Hyzdu's RBI single, but Seattle rallied for four runs in the eighth. Willie Bloomquist tripled to drive in two runs.

"The thing I really liked today was our pitching and the way the young guys showed they can play the game," Seattle manager Mike Hargrove said.

Mariners starter Gil Meche threw a four-hitter over six innings, allowing one run with seven strikeouts. Julio Mateo struck out the side in the ninth to earn a save.