Mariners can't stop red-hot Nats

WASHINGTON -- The Mariners were swept in a three-game series for the second time this season, lost their third baseman for most of Sunday's game and probably a few more, and witnessed something not seen in more than a year -- right fielder Ichiro Suzuki having a batting average below .300.
Talk about rubbing salt into a wound, this part of the country was not kind to the Mariners this season.

A little more than three weeks after being swept in a three-game series against the Orioles in Baltimore, the Mariners absorbed another three-game dusting about 40 miles away as the upstart Nationals handed Seattle a 3-2 loss before 37,170 at RFK Stadium.

Third baseman Adrian Beltre felt something in his left hamstring running out a double in the third inning, remained in the game until the fourth, and then departed for who knows how long.

"It's similar to what he had in Kansas City, maybe a little more severe," manager Mike Hargrove said. "But we won't know for sure until [Monday or Tuesday]. I would be surprised if it's not going to be at least 2-3-4 days."

Beltre acknowledged that his hamstring hurt worse Sunday than it did on May 18 when he tweaked the hammy in a game against the Yankees. He missed only one game and has been in the lineup ever since.

Mariners head trainer Rick Griffin said Beltre would have treatment at Safeco Field on Monday and be examined by team doctors on Tuesday.

Something continues to ail Ichiro -- and it isn't his legs.

The Mariners had 10 hits on Sunday, but none of them were by Ichiro, who went 0-for-5 and fell below .300 (.295) for the first time since May 12, 2004. He also remained one hit shy of the 1,000 mark in his Major League career and has four games -- at the most -- remaining to become the third player in MLB history to have 1,000 hits in fewer than 700 games.

He went 5-for-28 on the road trip and is 7-for-37 (.189) in June.

"I thought he had better swings today than he's had in awhile, except for the ball he hit to left field," said Hargrove, referring to a first-pitch popup Ichiro hit with runners on first and second base and one out in the fourth inning. "He hit the ball hard a couple of times, including the rope to right field his last time up. Maybe he's starting to come around."

Ichiro met with the media after the game and said it was frustrating not performing the way the fans expect. Dropping below .300 for the first time in a long time, didn't seem to faze him as much.

But the fact is, he hasn't been below the Ichiro Line in ages.

"If I was satisfied with the way I have been hitting, I would have to quit baseball," he said.

Ichiro stranded six runners, three in scoring position, but he had plenty of company.

The Mariners were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and had one runner (Greg Dobbs) picked off second base in the sixth inning after driving in Seattle's first run with a pinch-hit double to right-center.

"We had a lot of chances to score, but burned a lot of runners on third base with less than two outs," Hargrove said. "You can't do that against any Major League club, much less against one as hot as these guys are right now."

The Mariners came to town Friday night ready to fight fire with fire.

The Nationals had won seven straight, but Seattle was on a roll of its own, winning eight of their previous 11 games.

"We were in all three games but couldn't take advantage of the breaks we got and they did," Hargrove said. "I looked up and [Nationals starter Tony Armas] had thrown 108 pitches and we didn't have a run on the board."

The first of Beltre's doubles put runners on second and third in the first inning, but Richie Sexson struck out and Raul Ibanez grounded out. Seattle had runners on first and third with two outs in the second and Ichiro grounded out. One-out doubles by Beltre in the third and Rene Rivera in the fourth were wasted.

Meanwhile, right-hander Ryan Franklin (2-8), pitching with a full beard for the first time, surrendered a two-run home run to Junior Spivey in the second inning and a two-out run on a bloop single in the fourth inning which produced enough runs to frustrate him again.

"The scouting report said pitch [Spivey] down and in, and I did," he said. "It was a good pitch, but he hit it out. That seems to happen to me quite a bit. I didn't throw the ball badly, I didn't think."

The Mariners didn't score a run until Franklin had departed and their last offensive hurrah came in the seventh when Jeremy Reed singled and scored on Ibanez's two-out double to left field. Ibanez took third on the throw to the plate, but stayed there as shortstop Mike Morse struck out.

"Ryan has thrown the ball much better than 2-8," Hargrove said. "We haven't scored any runs for him, obviously, but he's a tough guy and gives us a chance to win when he pitches. That's all we can ask."

Outfielder Randy Winn, who got the day off so Jeremy Reed could start his first game in a week, extended his hitting streak to eight games with a pinch-hit single with two outs in the eighth inning. But he was stranded as Ichiro lined out to right field.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Where's Christianson?

I was wondering if a Mariners pitcher has ever hit a home run. I couldn't remember any, and I couldn't find any info about it happening. -- Travis J., Corvallis, Ore.
When the Mariners joined the American League as an expansion team prior to the 1977 season, the designated hitter rule had already been established. Therefore, pitchers rarely got a chance to hit, and none hit a home run. According to the Mariners' public relations department, Mike Moore (fielder's choice on April 24, 1987), Brian Holman (error on April 20, 1990) and Mike Schooler (grounded out on Aug. 11, 1990) are the only pitchers to hit prior to Interleague Play, which started in 1997. The DH rule doesn't apply in games played in National League parks and, so far, none of the hurlers has hit a home run.

With all of the injuries to catchers this year, why hasn't Ryan Christianson been given a chance on the Major League club. He is hitting .299 for Triple-A Tacoma. Is it his defense that isn't good enough? -- Bill H.

The former No. 1 draft choice (1999) is not on the 40-man roster. Therefore, to make room for Christianson on the 40-man, the Mariners would have to remove someone. As of now, management feels it wouldn't be worth losing a top prospect to promote Christianson.

Call me a homer, call me ignorant, but I still think the Mariners can contend, especially in a weakened AL West. I wasn't following the Mariners in '95, but didn't that season start much the same as this one, as far as wins and losses go? With that in mind, I'd like to suggest a regular feature for your mailbag. Since I can't seem to look this up on MLB.com, each week, note what the current standings are and what the standings were on that date during the '95 season. -- Chris K., Duvall, Wash.

Beginning in August, 10 years after the '95 team started its remarkable stretch drive toward the franchise's first AL West championship, the Web site will provide occasional references to where that team stood on a particular date.

I was looking at Eddie Guardado's stats on the active roster page on seattlemariners.com and noticed that he has one career shutout, but no complete games. How is that possible? -- Shea M., Seattle

That is an error on the Web site and will be corrected. Guardado, who advanced through the Twins' Minor League system as a starting pitcher, became a full-time reliever in 1996. His last complete game was for Salt Lake in 1994 and his last shutout was with Nashville in '93.

How do you become a batboy or a ball girl for the Mariners? -- Melissa G., Rainier, Ore.

Batboys are hired prior to the season by the clubhouse manager, while ball girls are selected from a group of high school or college students called "Fielders," who also are hired prior to the season. They do various jobs during the season and the ones chosen to sit along the foul lines during games must be able to catch the ball reasonably well. For more information, contact the Mariners at (206) 346-4000.

How many uniforms do the Mariners take for each player when they go on the road? Do the players buy their uniforms or does the club provide them? -- Rod Day, Bigfork, Mont.

Every player packs two uniforms for each road trip, regardless of how long the trip is.

Ichiro primarily played center field during his career in Japan, and I heard the team approached him about moving to that position after Mike Cameron left, but he is still in right. Can you tell me exactly what happened? -- Frank L.

According to the Mariners' media guide, when Ichiro played for the Orix Blue Wave, he "won seven consecutive Gold Gloves for his solid defense and strong arm in right field." The subject of Ichiro playing center field for the Mariners never has seriously been considered, primarily because he is the best defensive right fielder in the American League.

I'm happy to hear that the recent request has been heard and that bios of managers/coaches are on the Mariners Web site. I want to go one step further. When will the info on the players be updated? It must have been years since the last update because the Web site still shows Jamie Moyer as having four children! -- Mary K., Eugene, Ore.

The players' biographies are usually updated at the beginning of each season. I will check into it and see if two more children can be added to Moyer's bio.

I understand that Ichiro is a natural righty. Why isn't he a switch hitter? -- Mike G., Seattle

Ichiro does everything right-handed except hit a baseball. When he was very young, his father sensed that Ichiro would become a fast runner and therefore taught his son to hit left-handed because it's a shorter distance to first base batting from the left side than on the right side.

Why did Seattle promote Mike Morse instead of Jose Lopez? Lopez was good enough to play last season, but why not this season? Was he injured? And why does Seattle have so many shortstops in its organization? Are some of them going to be moved to different positions or traded? -- Kien-Thiet Nguyen

Morse had been playing shortstop for Triple-A Tacoma, while Lopez has been playing second base and is regarded as a potential starter there next season if Bret Boone doesn't return. Lopez also has been bothered by a sore wrist. The Mariners have several good shortstops in the organization, mostly because a lot of good, young players are shortstops on their high school teams. Some of the current shortstops probably will be moved to other positions during their careers.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Boone rests for homestand

WASHINGTON -- For the first time this season, the Mariners started a game without Bret Boone playing second base.
"He's struggling, mentally as much as anything," manager Mike Hargrove said, "and with Monday being an off-day, it gives him two days to get back to even."

Until Sunday's series finale against the Nationals, Boone and right fielder Ichiro Suzuki were the only Seattle players that started all 60 games. Now Ichiro stands alone in that department.

Hargrove started super-sub Willie Bloomquist at second base in the road trip finale. And with Monday being a scheduled day off, Boone gets two days to clear his mind and get ready for Tuesday night's series opener against the Phillies at Safeco Field.

"I know from the past that it can be a good thing," Boone said. "I'm not going to sit here and argue. It gives you a chance to clear your mind and relax, but you can't completely relax because there might be a double-switch or you might pinch-hit."

Boone, the most consistent run producer for the Mariners since rejoining the team prior to the 2001 season, has struggled most of this season, batting .234 with five home runs and 29 RBIs.

The lineup mainstay averaged 30 home runs and 112 RBIs between 2001 and '04.

But this season, there have been days when he feels good at the plate, and other days when he has no clue, describing the feeling as being "in and out."

"I felt fine in Florida, I felt good two nights ago, and just the opposite [Saturday night]," he said. "It comes and goes and I just have to keep grinding."

Boone, who had a season-high eight-game hitting streak (May 10-20) currently is on an 0-for-11 skid and was 3-for-17 on the road trip going into Sunday's game.

Home sweet home: There might not be anyone happier than Jeremy Reed to see an American League ballpark.

It means the Mariners' rookie center fielder gets to play regularly again.

Reed was in the Mariners starting lineup for the first time in a week on Sunday as outfielder Randy Winn took a well-earned day off.

While Winn played center field and extended his hitting streak to seven games on the road trip, going 10-for-23 in the first five games, Reed mostly sat around, watching games from the dugout.

"That was the longest stretch of games I hadn't [started] since I don't know when," Reed said. "It has been a learning experience, which I guess I need to go through."

Reed has been the victim of a rule that prohibits the use of the designated hitter in games played in National League ballparks. The pitcher must be in the lineup and it creates a dilemma for AL teams.

"I spent all day [Saturday] trying to figure out a way to get Reed in the lineup but couldn't do it," Hargrove said. "Winn and [Raul] Ibanez are two of our hottest hitters and we need to get Ichiro at-bats to get him going."

That left Reed as the odd-man out.

"I tried to stay ready and stay positive," Reed said. "It's tough to play every day and then sit for a few days, but you are not guaranteed being in the lineup every day and you have to be prepared, regardless."

Reed said that going through something like this makes him appreciate being a regular even more and understands what it's like to primarily be a pinch-hitter.

"I have to give guys like [Dave] Hansen, Bloomie [Bloomquist] and [Greg] Dobbs a tremendous amount of credit for what they do. It's not easy. I am getting a little taste of it, and it's tough."

Reed was used as a pinch-hitter twice in the three-game series against the Marlins, going 1-for-2. He didn't play Friday or Saturday night against the Nationals.

"It has been a good road trip -- I'm batting .500," he said, smiling.

The road has been where most of Reed's best hitting has occurred this season. He's batting .303 (27-for-89) with both of his home runs on the road and just .220 (22-for-100) at Safeco Field this season.

"I can't put my finger on a reason," he said. "It's just like the team struggling against left-handed starters earlier in the year and now we've won something like four-in-a-row against them. I will get going again."

Reed would have preferred using the six-game road trip to Miami and Washington, D.C., as a slump-buster.

He ended the Mariners' last homestand in a 0-for-15 funk, dropping his batting average from .279 to .257.

The skid came unexpectedly because he had been on his hottest streak of the season -- 15-for-32 during a nine-game stretch.

"Anytime you are struggling, you want to have a chance to get out of it," he said. "After going 0-for-4, you really want to get some hits the next game."

For Reed, the next game came Sunday, seven days after that 0-for-4.

Thanks, but no thanks: Catcher Pat Borders volunteered to catch Sunday's game, but Hargrove went with backup Rene Rivera.

"I wanted Pat to catch Frankie, but a day game after a night game in this heat would not be fair to ask of a catcher, especially a 42-year-old catcher," Hargrove said. "[Borders] has been doing such a good job for us, I don't want to jeopardize that by being greedy.

"And Rene also has done a good job for us."

Up next: The Mariners are off on Monday and begin a three-game Interleague series against the Phillies on Tuesday night at Safeco Field. The Phils are one six teams that never have played a game in Seattle. Right-hander Gil Meche opposes Philly right-hander Jon Lieber in the series opener.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Ichiro reaches milestone

SEATTLE -- Ichiro Suzuki notched yet another landmark, in what is quickly becoming a legendary career, on Tuesday night.
He led off the bottom of the first inning with a single -- his 1,000th hit in the Major Leagues -- in the 3-1 over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Ichiro stung the third pitch of the game from Phillies right-hander Jon Lieber so hard that it hit the wall in right field and came back to Bobby Abreu quickly, limiting Ichiro to a single.

"One thousand is just a number," Ichiro said through an interpreter. "It's a breaking point. It's good to get to this point."

Ichiro notched 1,278 hits in nine years in Japan before joining the Mariners in 2001. He became the third Major Leaguer since 1900 (Chuck Klein and Lloyd Waner are the others) to amass 1,000 hits in less than 700 games, accomplishing the feat in his 696th game. Ichiro set the Major League record for hits in a season last year when he racked up 262.

"I got to 1,000 hits in Japan in 1999," Ichiro said. "Six years later, I can say that baseball is not getting easier."

He also became the third Major Leaguer in history to reach the 1,000-hit mark in his first five big-league seasons, joining Paul Waner, who had 1,057 in 747 games during his first five Major League seasons (1926-1930), and Kirby Puckett, who had 1,028 hits in 765 games during his first five years (1984-1988).

"Those sorts of milestones are big," Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said. "Certainly I'd like to be around for his next ... 2,000."

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Beltre considered day-to-day

SEATTLE -- Adrian Beltre wasn't in the Mariners lineup for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, but the fact that he could be in the lineup shortly had everyone breathing a little bit easier.
Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said Beltre was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain of his left hamstring, which tightened up on the third baseman in Sunday's game against the Nationals in Washington. Hargrove said it's the least serious type of strain, so the team is considering Beltre to be day-to-day, and will see how he progresses.

Hargrove did say that it's likely Beltre will be out the next three, four, or possibly five games, but probably not the dreaded 15 days on the disabled list.

"We don't anticipate it being a DL," Hargrove said. "It may turn out to be that way ... you never know with hamstrings. But I don't know that we're really even talking about the DL."

Hargrove said it was particularly frustrating timing for the injury because he felt Beltre was coming around at the plate.

Before he left Sunday's game, Beltre, who signed a five-year, $64 million contract with the Mariners over the winter, had hit two doubles to raise his season batting average to .244. He has five home runs and 30 RBIs.

"He was starting to swing the bat well," Hargrove said. "Every day was a little bit better. That's why I don't think this will set him back."

It was the second time this season Beltre had to leave a game prematurely because of the tender hamstring, which he hurt several years ago while playing for the Dodgers.

Hargrove said it was difficult to get Beltre to agree to sit out for one game, let alone a few.

"He's reluctant to come out of the lineup," Hargrove said.

Dave Hansen started at third base in Beltre's place Tuesday night, and Hargrove said it would be between Hansen and Greg Dobbs for the remainder of the starts while Beltre is out.

Madritsch cleared to run: Lefty starter Bobby Madritsch, who pitched in one game this year before tearing shoulder ligaments, got the results from his recent MRI, and was told that his shoulder is "90 percent healed."

Madritsch was therefore cleared to lift weights and do exercises that don't extend his range of motion to over his shoulder. But more important to Madritsch was the fact that he was cleared Tuesday to begin running again.

"It feels good to know I can do something where I'm not just sitting around," said Madritsch, who was so bored recently that he got into building model trains and cars.

"I'm going to be running around my apartment. I'm going to be running everywhere."

Madritsch also said he ordered the Bowflex home exercise machine, and was surprised when it arrived.

"I thought it would be one box," he said. "It was nine boxes."

Madritsch said he feels a lot better about his recovery and that he'll find out more information when he goes in for another MRI in three weeks.

He said he still plans to be ready to pitch sometime this year.

"That's my only focus," he said. "This waiting stuff is getting real old."

Simulated Soriano soon: Reliever Rafael Soriano, who is recovering from Tommy John elbow-ligament replacement surgery, said he will throw a bullpen session Wednesday, and will progress to a simulated game against hitters Friday or Saturday.

According to Hargrove, if that goes well the team will consider sending the right-hander out for a rehab assignment. There is no timetable for a possible return to the Mariners, but Soriano said he's shooting to return after the All-Star break.

"I feel good," said Soriano, who claims his velocity is up to 90 to 94 mph, and that he's also throwing sliders and changeups. "I just want to come back and help the team as soon as I can."

Soriano was a starter in the Dominican winter league after the 2003 season, and blew out his elbow shortly after he came back to the United States in the spring of 2004. He said he didn't think his injury was related to overuse and that the Mariners didn't tell him to cool it with winter ball either.

He said he wasn't sure if he planned to play winter ball again at the end of this season.

"I don't know if I can," Soriano said. "I have to see what will be better for me."

Also on the shelf: Hargrove said utility man Scott Spiezio had a bone scan and an MRI on the sore back, an injury sustained while rehabing an oblique strain, and that everything checked out OK. He said the injury is considered "relatively minor" and that the team was looking to "get it quieted down" so Spiezio can resume his rehab with Triple-A Tacoma soon.

Catcher Wiki Gonzalez (hamstring) was set to catch bullpen sessions Tuesday and Wednesday, and will likely be sent out on a rehab assignment Thursday, Hargrove said.

On deck: The Mariners and Phillies will tangle in the second game of this three-game Interleague set Wednesday night at Safeco Field, with Seattle's hottest starter, Aaron Sele (5-5, 3.99 ERA), taking on Phillies right-hander Vicente Padilla (3-5, 6.43) in the 7:05 p.m. PT start.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Spiezio can't shake injury bug

SEATTLE -- If it isn't one ailment keeping veteran switch-hitter Scott Spiezio sidelined, it's something else.
A sore back, which might be related to a slightly pulled groin he suffered two days ago in Tacoma during a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Rainiers, had Spiezio shaking his head inside the Mariners clubhouse prior to Wednesday night's game against the Phillies.

"The amazing thing is it happened just when [third baseman Adrian] Beltre went down and I was ready," he said. "I was ready."

Spiezio, who has been on the 15-day disabled list since April 19 with a strained oblique muscle, was performing well for the Rainiers, batting .326 while playing some games at third base, other games at first base and also handling the designated hitter duties.

"I was taking [pregame] infield at Tacoma and slipped on the wet grass," Spiezio said. "I tweaked my groin a little, but played the game that night and got two hits."

He sat out a couple of days to allow the groin time to heal, but when he came back, his back was acting up and it got progressively worse over a three- to four-day period.

He's not sure, but believes he might have hurt his back while compensating for the groin injury.

"All I know is a week ago, I was ready, and now I can't bend over to put on my socks," Spiezio said. "I actually feel better today, but all I can do is get treatment on my back."

Beltre is sidelined with a sore left hamstring, missing his second consecutive start Wednesday night.

If Spiezio had remained healthy last week, he probably would have returned to the Mariners on Tuesday, started at third base against the Phillies that night and filled in until Beltre returned.

Instead, he reports to Safeco Field every day and spends most of his time getting treatment, hoping that the discomfort will disappear as quickly as it came and he can resume the season.

Spiezio said the injury isn't related to the lower back injuries that he sustained before the 2004 season.

"This is in a different area," he said. "It's not like last year. I've had some tests done on it, and they can't find anything [wrong]. Hopefully it will go away in a couple of days. It can't be old age, I'm only 32. [Braves infielder Julio] Franco is almost 50."

Hargrove supports Robby: Manager Mike Hargrove watched highlights of the heated exchange between Frank Robinson and Mike Scioscia stemming from a pine tar incident in Tuesday night's game between the Nationals and Angels in Anaheim.

Robinson, the Nationals manager, asked the umpires to check Angels reliever Brandon Donnelly's glove. When pine tar was discovered, Donnelly was ejected from the game, prompting the Angels manager to tell Robinson that he would reciprocate.

Later in Tuesday's game, Scioscia complained that the strings were too long on the glove being worn by a Nationals pitcher, and they had to be shortened.

"Pitchers using pine tar is not an accepted practice," Hargrove said. "Are there people that do it? Obviously there are. But it is not an accepted practice. It's against the rules, and I thought Frank was well within his rights to do what he did. Beyond that, I don't know what happened.

"[Pine tar] doesn't make the ball do anything, but it gives you a better grip on the ball. I used to put it on my fingers when I would pitch batting practice in the Minor Leagues. The balls are slippery, and it was difficult gripping on them."

Asked if more managers might start inspecting more gloves, Hargrove said, "I don't think it's a big problem, I really don't. If Scioscia hadn't reacted the way he did, we probably wouldn't be talking about this in depth the way we are today.

"The big story to me was the fact Frank did what he had to do as a manager fighting for his ballclub. Was it gamesmanship? Sure. But there's nothing wrong with that."

Say it isn't so: Plans were unveiled in New York for a $800 million stadium to be built close to the House Ruth Built.

Reliever Jeff Nelson spent nearly six seasons playing at Yankee Stadium and he said: "I hate to see them tear it down. It is such a historical place.

"It's probably outdated a little bit," he added, "but it's not that bad. "The only thing lacking are luxury suites."

Nelson said the home-field advantage built over the years is something special and could be difficult to duplicate.

"I know some teams are intimidated playing there, especially in the playoffs," he said. "They are intimidated by the fans and the successful history of the team."

The new Yankee Stadium is supposed to open in 2009.

"I'll still be alive, but I'm not even sure if I'll be pitching in 2006, let alone in 2009," he said.

Mariners scout passes away: Carroll Sembera, a Mariners scout since 1993 and the Midwest scouting coordinator, passed away in Shiner, Texas, on Tuesday night.

"Carroll was a terrific scout, but more importantly, he was a wonderful man," said Benny Looper, the Mariners' vice president of scouting and player development. "He was a true friend and great asset to the Mariners and will be sorely missed on a personal and professional level."

Sembera, 63, played in the Major Leagues for the Astros (1967-67) and Expos (1969-70), where he saved the first victory in franchise history.

Medical update: Beltre took pregame batting practice, but it was monitored closely, and he still could miss another three or four games with a sore left hamstring. The Mariners would rather be cautious and lose the third baseman for a few days rather than risk further damage that would put him on the 15-day disabled list.

"It's more days-to-days than day-to-day," Hargrove said.

Backup catcher Wiki Gonzalez (hamstring) has been cleared to start a rehab assignment, which could start as early as Friday.

Reliever Rafael Soriano had another strong bullpen session and will pitch a simulated game Saturday at Safeco Field.

"We'll see where we go from there," Hargrove said.

Sign the dotted line: Three more Draft picks, including ninth-round selection Bryan Sabatella, a third baseman, and right-handed pitchers Brett Bannister (19th round) and Ari Kafka (26th round) signed on Wednesday.

Seattle has now signed 13 of its 48 selections from the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, including eight of its top 25 picks. The Mariners took 14 high school players and 34 college players.

Bannister is the son of former Mariners left-handed pitcher Floyd Bannister, who played with Seattle from 1979-1982. His brother, Brian, played at the University of Southern California from 2000-2003 and now is a member of the New York Mets organization.

After going 8-3 with a 3.56 ERA as a freshman, Bannister missed the 2003 and 2004 seasons after suffering a strained ulnar collateral ligament, eventually undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He was 4-3 with a 4.98 ERA this season in 47 innings.

Up next: The three-game Interleague series ends Thursday with Mariners right-hander Joel Pineiro taking on Phillies right-hander Brett Myers at 7:05 p.m. PT.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Ichiro's milestone sparks Seattle

SEATTLE -- Before hosting the Phillies on Tuesday night, Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said his team's just-completed six-game road trip through the humid climes of the Eastern seaboard had him convinced that the Mariners were playing better baseball.
They proved him correct on their return to crisp, spring-like Seattle, getting a cool, collected performance from starter Gil Meche, and generating just enough offense to score a quick and efficient 3-1 win before 26,818 fans in Safeco Field.

While taking two out of three against the Florida Marlins in muggy Miami, and getting swept by the torrid Washington Nationals in our nation's cooker of a capital last week, Hargrove noticed that a timely hit here, and a break or two there could have swung a few games in Seattle's favor.

He also noticed how unbelievably uncomfortable his players and coaches were in the stifling conditions.

But the haze of heat lifted when the team touched down in the Pacific Northwest and Meche's arm came alive.

The right-hander didn't give up a hit until there were two out in the fourth inning, and gave up three hits in his eight innings of work. After giving up the Phillies' only run, on a Jim Thome single in the fourth, Meche retired 13 of the next 15 batters.

Meche permitted just two Phillies to reach second base all night.

Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless ninth for his 18th save, and the result was one of the Mariners' quickest dispatches of an opponent all year: two hours, four minutes.

"That, probably, is as good as I've seen him," Hargrove said of Meche. "He seemed to get into a rhythm, and settled in."

Hargrove said Meche appeared to be laboring deliberately in the early going while Phillies starter Jon Lieber, a notoriously fast worker, cruised along.

But as soon as third-base coach Jeff Newman suggested he quicken the pace, Meche got on a roll of his own. The right-hander routinely hit 94 mph on the radar gun, spotted his big curveball effectively, and induced plenty of ground balls, allowing his defense to work behind him.

"In my better games, I've been able to keep a pretty quick tempo," said Meche, who improved to 6-4 and lowered his ERA to 4.38, while throwing 119 pitches, 74 of them for strikes.

"Today was one of those days where every pitch [catcher] Pat [Borders] called was a good pitch."

Borders was asked about his effect on Meche's performance, and he cracked a smile before answering.

"I'm not the one throwing 94 mph," he said.

1,000 hits for Suzuki
Phillies at Mariners, June 14
Ichiro Suzuki, batting .295, is the third player in Major League history (since 1900) to rack up 1,000 hits in fewer than 700 games. Seattle's top 10 hitters of all time:
Player G AB R H AVG
1. E Martinez 2055 7213 1219 2247 .312
2. K Griffey 1535 5832 1063 1742 .299
3. J Buhner 1440 4922 790 1255 .255
4. A Davis 1166 4136 563 1163 .281
5. D Wilson* 1250 4085 433 1071 .262
6. H Reynolds 1155 4090 543 1063 .260
7. I Suzuki* 696 2980 491 1000 .336
8. A Rodriguez 790 3126 627 966 .309
9. B Boone* 790 3072 460 853 .278
10. J Presley 799 2946 351 736 .250
* Indicates active Mariners players. Dan Wilson is currently on the disabled list. Hall of Famers Lloyd Waner and Chuck Klein are the only other players to reach the 1,000-hit plateau before playing in 700 Major League games.

Meanwhile, the Mariners did just enough at the plate to notch one in the "W" column, and they made a little history in the process.

Ichiro Suzuki led off the bottom of the first inning with a loud single off the right-field wall, the Mariners' right fielder's 1,000th career big-league hit.

"One thousand is just a number," Ichiro said through an interpreter. "It's a breaking point. It's good to get to this point."

The Mariners got on the board in the second, making the most of a Jeremy Reed leadoff single, and a bloop double by Bret Boone. Dave Hansen followed with a swinging bunt that Lieber threw wide of first for a run-scoring error. Mike Morse then added a sacrifice fly to give Seattle a 2-0 lead.

Meche took care of the rest, and Hansen added some insurance with a laser of a line-drive home run in the seventh to make it 3-1.

"With a lineup like theirs," Hargrove said, "there's a huge difference between a one-run and a two-run game. That was a big hit."

Hansen, a bench player who got the start at third base because of Adrian Beltre's hamstring strain, said he's just happy to make a difference.

"It's great to contribute, but tonight belonged to Gil," Hansen said. "He was definitely in a groove, and that helped us out."

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Morse caps win with first long ball

SEATTLE -- The way rookie shortstop Mike Morse ran around the bases in the eighth inning Wednesday night made it seem like he was trying for an inside-the-park home run.
But he wasn't going to get thrown out by anyone.

The baseball he hit to left field landed in the seats. But if Morse has a home run trot, he didn't show it off on this night. He circled the bases as quickly as he could, wishing later that he could have taken a little more time to enjoy the moment.

"I've never hit a home run in the big leagues before, so I didn't know what that was like," he said. "I wish I could go back and thought more about it. When I hit it, I wasn't sure it would go out. So I was running like it was a double or triple, and hoping it would go out."

He sprinted around the bases with the final run in the Mariners' 5-1 Interleague victory over the Phillies before 26,019 at Safeco Field. Right-hander Aaron Sele had one clean inning, but made it through the sixth and won his sixth game of the season -- three of them against National League teams.

The Mariners' scoring started and ended with home runs.

Ichiro Suzuki led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run off Phils starter Vicente Padilla, a towering blast to right-center field and Randy Winn slugged a 407-foot home run to right field in the third inning, his second of the season.

The lead remained at two runs until Morse stepped to the plate against Philly reliever Ryan Madson.

"He threw me a fastball on the first pitch and came back with a changeup and I put a good swing on it," he said. "When I knew it was [a home run] it was an awesome feeling, pretty much what you think it would be like. What makes it even better is we won."

The first career home run for Morse also was the first by a Mariners shortstop this season.

Wilson Alvarez played 42 games at shortstop and went 25-for-126 (.198) with one triple, eight RBIs and no home runs. Willie Bloomquist has played 16 games at shortstop and gone 6-for-36 (.167) with two doubles, one RBI and no home runs.

And Morse, promoted from Triple-A Tacoma on May 31, is now 15-for-37 (.405) with a triple, home run and three RBIs.

"He has come up here, kept his mouth shut for the most part, worked hard and paid attention to what people are talking to him about," manager Mike Hargrove said. "He's like a sponge. He listens to everything you say, so you have to be careful not to give him too much, too quickly."

Hitting coach Don Baylor has spent time on Morse's offense, while infield coach Carlos Garcia takes the 23-year-old onto the field before games to work on defense.

"It seems to have paid off," Hargrove said.

With the remnants of a shaving cream pie in the face during a postgame television appearance on uniform, Morse explained that he's just trying to do the little things that will keep him in the Major Leagues and in Seattle's lineup.


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"He threw me a fastball on the first pitch and came back with a changeup and I put a good swing on it. When I knew it was [a home run] it was an awesome feeling, pretty much what you think it would be like. What makes it even better is we won."
-- Mike Morse on his first Major League homer

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"I'm just trying to get on base, come out here and do my job," he said. "I want Mike Hargrove to be confident to put me in the lineup."

His name has been in the lineup 13 games now, with no signs of that changing. He had two singles and has four multiple-hit games so far.

As it turned out the Mariners didn't need much offense.

The Phillies greeted Sele with a run in the first inning on two singles sandwiched around a stolen base. But the Mariners retaliated in the bottom of the first.

Ichiro, who reached the 1,000-hit plateau in Tuesday night's opener with a drive off the bottom of the fence in right field, hit a towering fly ball over the fence in right-center field for his 14th career game-opening home run, the second this season.

The Mariners added another run after a walk, forceout, double by Richie Sexson and Jeremy Reed's sacrifice fly. Winn tacked on a run in the third and the Mariners' pitchers, starting with Sele and ending with Jeff Nelson, made it stand up.

Sele went the first six innings, pitching into and out of trouble in the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings as the Phillies had a runner in scoring position in each of those innings.

"He didn't have his command, like he's had the last several times out, and threw a lot of pitches early," Hargrove said. "But he made pitches when he had to. He got some key ground ball outs and stayed away from giving up the long ball against a club where that is paramount."

The Phillies were 1-for-8 against Sele with runners in scoring position and had the bases loaded with slugger Jim Thome batting in the fifth inning. Sele won the battle, retiring Thome on a routine fly ball to right-center.

"I wasn't as comfortable as I had been in some of my past starts, but I thought I was in trouble only one time -- when they loaded the bases," Sele said. "I got behind early in the counts and really had to pitch back into even counts.

"For the most part, I only gave up singles and that's the kind of pitcher I am -- pitch to contact. If you give up hits and aren't walking guys, that makes it easier."

Sele walked one and struck out three as he improved to 6-5.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Sele thriving in Interleague Play

SEATTLE -- Right-hander Aaron Sele has spent his entire Major League career in the American League, compiling a 137-97 record for the Mariners, Red Sox, Rangers and Angels.
Imagine how much better that record would be if he had pitched full-time in the National League.

When Sele beat the Phillies on Wednesday night at Safeco Field, he improved his Interleague record to 18-7 and tied future Hall of Fame right-hander Greg Maddux for the most Interleague wins.

He is 3-0 against the NL this season, beating the Padres at Safeco Field on May 22 and Marlins on June 9, and has one more start remaining, probably next Saturday at PETCO Park in San Diego.

Sele has logged 22 innings against NL teams this season -- and surrendered one run.

"National League guys are aggressive and they hit off the fastball," Sele explained. "When you make mistakes, you pay for it. But if you move the ball around a little bit and sink the ball a little bit, a lot of times you get ground balls."

But allowing one run to score in 22 innings?

"There's no explanation for it," he said. "It's just the way things have worked out. I've made some good pitches at times and pitched some good games, and haven't pitched some good games, but guys have scored some runs for me."

Actually, Sele has pitched superbly since May 10 against basically every team he's faced, regardless of league. His second tour of duty with the Mariners -- he pitched for Seattle in 2001-02 and had a 32-15 record -- hit a low point that May day when the Yankees touched him for eight hits and seven runs (six earned) in 2 2/3 innings, dropping his record to 2-4 and raising his ERA to 6.31.

But things turned around five days later when he started against the Yankees again and held the Bronx Bombers to one run over six innings. Five of his last six starts have been as good, if not better, than that the second one against the Yanks and Sele now has the lowest ERA among Seattle starters at 3.79.

Mariners pitching coach Bryan Price believes Sele's success against NL teams is something built up over the years.

"When you have success against a certain team or certain situation, it helps your confidence tremendously," Price said. "But the only way to be successful is to throw good pitches and Aaron has done that in his last six starts."

It just happens that three of those starts came in Interleague games.

Beltre showing improvement: Third baseman Adrian Beltre, sidelined since last Sunday with a strained left hamstring, could return to the lineup as soon at Saturday night against the Mets.

"The plan is to work him out [Friday] with some running drills and see how he is," manager Mike Hargrove said. "Hopefully, by Saturday or Sunday, he will be ready to go."

Adrian Beltre / 3B
Born: 04/07/79
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 220 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R

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Beltre participated in pregame batting practice for the second time Thursday night and hit several balls over the fence in left and left-center.

Hargrove said it might be an option to use Beltre as a pinch-hitter.

"I haven't talked to our trainers about that," Hargrove said. "I think he could pinch-hit, but couldn't run very hard or fast."

Meanwhile, journeyman backup Dave Hansen has played well subbing at third base, going 1-for-3 with two RBIs in the Mariners' 3-1 victory Tuesday night, and walking twice and scoring a run in Wednesday night's 5-1 win.

"He has made all the plays so far, and there's nothing not to like," Hargrove said. "The plays he has had so far have been pretty routine."

Except for one in the ninth inning Wednesday night, when he went far to his left to snare a grounder hit by David Bell and made a strong throw to first base for the first out of the inning.

The Keystone state: Going into Thursday night's series finale against the Phillies, the Mariners were perfect against teams from Pennsylvania. Seattle swept the Pirates in a three-game series at PNC Park last season, swept the Phillies at The Vet in 2003 and won the first two games against the Phillies in this series.

Up next: The Mariners welcome the Mets to Safeco Field for the first time Friday night, and it will be a special return for Mets right fielder Mike Cameron. He replaced Ken Griffey Jr. as the team's center fielder before the 2000 season and became one of the most popular players on a team that reached the playoffs two consecutive seasons. Left-hander Jamie Moyer gets the starting nod for Seattle.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Mariners unable to complete sweep

SEATTLE -- Rookie catcher Rene Rivera met some of the best fastballs he's ever seen Thursday night, and put up a terrific battle trying to hit one of them where no one on the field could catch it.
He didn't quite pull it off, striking out on a 98-mph heater thrown by Billy Wagner, ending a series finale that took 13 innings and nearly four hours to play. But the final at-bat effort was something positive that Rivera could take from a game the Mariners lost, 3-2, before 27,162 at Safeco Field.

"I knew he was going to be throwing me fastballs, and I just kept fouling them back," Rivera said. "I battled, but he got me."

With rookie shortstop Mike Morse standing on first base following his third hit of the game, Rivera battled Wagner to a full count before watching the final pitch of the game -- a fastball -- buzz past him.

"I thought it was a ball, up-and-in a little bit, and that's why I didn't swing," Rivera said. "But the umpire called it a strike. It was a good challenge, facing Billy Wagner. He's a big name in this game."

The strikeout ended a mostly well-played game that included two hits by Mariners leadoff hitter Ichiro Suzuki -- his first multiple-hit game this month -- and five hits by Phillies leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins.

The fifth one was a one-out triple in the 13th inning off Julio Mateo, leading to the tiebreaking run.

"The guy can fly and our outfield was in a 'no-double' depth, but he hit where no one could get to," manager Mike Hargrove said. "There aren't many in the ballpark that would have a triple on that, other than Jimmy Rollins."

It forced Hargrove to issue intentional walks to Kenny Lofton and Bobby Abreu and cross fingers that Tomas Perez, a late-game replacement, would hit the ball on the ground for either a double play or forceout at the plate. He did neither, lifting a long fly ball to right field that scored Rollins.

That run made the one Philly scored in the eighth inning even more important.

The Mariners had played superb defense the entire game. But, with the game tied at 1 and Lofton on first with two outs, Abreu hit a single up the middle, sending Lofton to third. Center fielder Jeremy Reed, who had made a dazzling catch to rob Jason Michaels of a hit in the second inning, made a casual throw back into the infield, and missed the cutoff man.

That allowed Lofton to score the go-ahead run.

"We got a little careless, and although that didn't beat us, it made things more difficult," Hargrove said.

"I know Jeremy didn't mean to do it, and I'm sure the next time he will be better. But it was a routine throw and he got reckless. If we learn from it, it's a good thing. If we don't learn from it, it's a bad thing. When something like that happens, it's like someone running their fingers down a blackboard."


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"I thought it was a ball, up-and-in a little bit, and that's why I didn't swing. But the umpire called it a strike. It was a good challenge, facing Billy Wagner. He's a big name in this game."
-- Rene Rivera, on the called third strike to end the game

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The agony of the play subsided a little in the bottom of the inning, when Raul Ibanez slugged a solo home run off Rheal Cormier to pull the Mariners even.

Seattle had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the ninth when they loaded the bases with two outs. But Richie Sexson struck out on three pitches, leaving Morse on third, Ichiro on second and Ibanez on first.

Morse had greeted right-handed relihever Ryan Madson with a single to center field and went to second on Rivera's sacrifice bunt. After the Phillies walked Ichiro intentionally, Randy Winn grounded out, moving both runners into scoring position. The Phils decided to put Ibanez on with another intentional pass, and the strategy worked.

Instead of driving in his 50th run of the season, Sexson struck out for 73rd time.

"It's frustrating," said Sexson, who hasn't driven in a run in five consecutive games and remains stuck on 49 RBIs this season.

Morse, who hit his first Major League home run Wednesday night, gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the second inning Thursday with a two-out double to right-center.

The ball eluded Lofton in center, allowing Dave Hansen, who hade singled with two outs, to score from first base.

The Mariners had a chance to increase their lead in the fifth when Rivera reached on a leadoff walk and attempted to reach third base on Ichiro's second hit, a single to right field. Rivera reached the base ahead of the throw, but couldn't maintain possession of it and was tagged out by David Bell.

Philadelphia tied the game in the sixth and was within a few inches of taking the lead.

Rollins led off with a single and moved to second on Lofton's bunt hit. A flyout to left field advanced Rollins to third and he scored on a wild pitch. After Jim Thome grounded out, Jason Michaels drilled a line drive to left field.

Winn sprinted to towards the fence, finally reached up and snagged the ball just as he reached the warning track to end the inning and keep the game tied.

The Mariners went into the series finale determined to complete their second three-game sweep of the season and first since mid-April against the Royals in Kansas City.

Instead, they had to settle for two out of three.

As if losing wasn't bad enough, the organization learned during the game that prize prospect Felix Hernandez, a right-handed pitcher, would miss his next start for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers because of mild bursitis in his right shoulder.

The 19-year-old right-hander has an 8-4 record and 2.54 ERA for the Rainiers.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Borders aging well

MIAMI -- John Boles, the Mariners' assistant general manager, came by veteran catcher Pat Borders' locker after the amateur draft on Tuesday to offer an apology for the Mariners taking a catcher -- Southern California's Jeff Clement -- in the first round.
Borders, 42, accepted the light-hearted apology with a laugh. And he shot back, "In three or four years, when he's ready [for the Major Leagues], I'll be ready to go. Or maybe cut it down to one or two games a week."

In a game where only the most skilled survive, Borders is nearly as amazed as others not only that he's still in the Major Leagues but is the Mariners' No. 1 catcher. From his mid-30s on, he started wondering when someone would tap him on the shoulder and tell him it's over.

"With all the new players coming up, I figured something would happen one of those years," he said. "When you get to be a certain age, every year they look at you like you're going to get an injury. They think you could break down at any time. But so far, I've been pretty injury-free."

Borders credits part of his longevity to the fact he works out in moderation now, no longer punishing himself trying to be faster, stronger than the next guy.

"I worked as hard as anybody until I was 34," he said. "Then I began to realize that I required more rest than anything else. I try to keep that in mind now, and I think it's helped keep me healthy."

He once played at 220 pounds. Now he's content to compete at between 195 and 200 pounds.

He also is wiser. He recalls a horrendous home plate collision in the early 1990s with the Dodgers' Kirk Gibson, a former football player at Michigan State. Replays showed that Borders, feeling the machismo of youth, actually moved toward Gibson, initiating the contact.

"You always lose in those situations," he said. "You could run that play over 100 times and you're still going to come out a loser."

Manager Mike Hargrove treasures Borders' value in working with the Mariners' pitchers, saying it's "hardly an accident" that the staff has fared well, particularly in recent weeks.

A case in point was Wednesday night against the Florida Marlins. When Gil Meche began to struggle, Borders came out to the mound and calmed him down, Hargrove said.

"That's how invaluable he is," the manager said. "And that's why your catchers hang on who are really good at handling staffs."

Along the way, Borders and fellow 42-year-old Jamie Moyers are paving the way for more in the 40-and-over set. On May 25, Moyer and Borders formed the first starting battery in Major League history to each be at least 42.

Ichiro fights slump: With just four hits in his last 24 at-bats, Ichiro Suzuki is trying to figure how to return to the form that helped him set the Major League one-season hit record last season at 262.

"There's things that you know you're doing wrong and there's things you don't know you're doing wrong," Ichiro said through interpreter Allen Turner. "Hitting is such a thing where even if you look the same two different times, you can be going through completely different things. So it's really a hard thing to pinpoint."

What's not hard to identify is that hitting a round ball with a round bat remains one of sports' biggest challenges.

Said Ichiro, "It's been five years since I came here and it's been 12 years since I started playing professional baseball and I think to myself, 'It doesn't get any easier.' "

Nearby, solving Ichiro's hitting travails seem to be no mystery to second baseman Bret Boone.

"When he starts hitting fly balls, he makes more outs than usual," Boone said. "When he hits the ball on the ground, he has a 50-50 chance of getting on base."

Ichiro said his confidence is not shaken, and it's not necessarily because he produced 262 hits last season.

"I've been in situations where I struggled," he said. "The fact I have confidence in my game -- I have confidence in my abilities -- that's why I know I can get out of it. It's not the fact that I can look back on the numbers I've put up. It's the fact I have confidence in myself right now."

Ichiro said he doesn't feel any more pressure to produce now because of the standard he set last season. And he said he doesn't sense the public has higher expectations for him.

"I don't really know what magazines I'm on or what people are writing about. I just don't get that information. I don't hear about it. So it's hard to say what they're expecting, because I really don't know."

Either way, he didn't seem too tense about his present hitting woes. He joked that something seemingly absurd like eating too much jello or putting too much wassabi in his food might explain the problem.

Quick hits: Wilson Valdez, who was the Mariners' Opening Day shortstop but who was designated for assignment on May 31 after hitting .198 in 42 games, was dealt to the Padres on Thursday for two Triple-A pitchers -- Mike Bumstead and R.D. Spiehs. ... Utility infielder Pokey Reese is slowly taking steps toward returning to the Mariners after arthroscopic surgery on his right (throwing) shoulder in early May. Thursday marked the five-week mark after surgery for Reese. He's with the club in Miami mainly working on his arm strength. He expects to take batting practice for the first time since surgery before the Mariners' game Friday at the Washington Nationals. That's the day he turns 32.

On deck: Joel Pineiro (2-3, 6.55 ERA) will open the Mariners' three-game series with the Nationals on Friday against fellow right-hander Tomo Ohka (2-1, 2.70). Ohka has been in Nationals manager Frank Robinson's doghouse since refusing to give Robinson the ball when Robinson came out to replace him in his last start.

Mariners fall short vs. Nationals

WASHINGTON -- The heat and humidity at RFK Stadium on Friday night played a big role in right-hander Joel Pineiro departing after six innings. But the elements played no part at all in what happened to the Mariners in the seventh and eighth innings.
Walks, walks and more walks decided the outcome in the opener of a three-game Interleague series.

Seattle has had one of the most dependable bullpens in the Major Leagues this season, but three relievers couldn't protect a one-run lead Pineiro gave them as the sizzling Nationals took advantage of five walks to score six runs in the eighth inning and hand the Mariners a 9-3 loss before 28,704.

It was the first time a team from the state of Washington faced a MLB team from Washington, D.C., since Aug. 10, 1969, when the Seattle Pilots beat the Washington Senators, 7-5, at RFK Stadium. The Pilots moved to Milwaukee the following season and the Senators moved to Arlington, Texas, prior to the 1972 season.

"Through seven innings, we played and pitched a good game," manager Mike Hargrove said. "In the eighth, we couldn't throw strikes, plain and simple. We couldn't throw strikes."

That wasn't a major problem for Pineiro, who entered the game with the lowest career ERA (1.97) in Interleague Play history among pitchers with at least 10 starts.

But finding the strike zone was a major dilemma for right-hander Shigetoshi Hasegawa (1-2). He faced seven batters, walked three of them (one intentionally), and surrendered a tie-breaking single to Brian Schneider. Left-hander Matt Thornton walked the first two batters he faced, forcing in runs each time.

"Matt has thrown strikes for the most part all year for us," Hargrove said, "but he had trouble finding the strike zone tonight. Once he did, he was effective. But it wasn't pretty before he got there."

The beauty of this game, at least in the Mariners' eyes, was the way Pineiro handled the National League East-leading Nationals in his attempt to end the team's seven-game winning streak, and the hitting of first baseman Richie Sexson. Sexson singled home the first of two runs in the fourth inning and hit a monster home run into the upper deck in left field for another, his 14th of the season.

Sexson's offense was the primary reason Pineiro turned a 3-2 game over the bullpen.

"That was different weather than Seattle," understated Pineiro. "Sure, I'm from Florida and Puerto Rico, but I haven't pitched there in a long time, and I'm not used to [the heat and humidity]."

Pineiro said there still was some gas left in his tank after throwing 80 pitches. But the elements -- along with three left-handed batters due to bat in the seventh inning -- were reasons for the Mariners to turn the remainder of the game over to the relievers.

"I talked to B.P. [pitching coach Bryan Price] after the [sixth] inning and he asked me how I felt. I told him I could go back out there, but do what is best for the team."

Before Pineiro could catch his breath, the Nationals tied the game off Ron Villone on a two-out infield "single" by pinch-hitter Marlon Byrd. Mariners shortstop Mike Morse fielded the ball, couldn't get a grip on it, and then threw late to first base. Pinch-runner Junior Spivey, acquired early in the day in a trade with the Brewers, scored from third base and Byrd was credited with a hit.

"That was a tough play, a do-or-die play," second baseman Bret Boone said. "He would have had to come up and made a good throw. If he does that and gets him out, then it's a terrific play."

Villone was charged with his fourth blown save of the season.

"The relievers have been good for us, they really have, especially Ronnie," Hargrove said. "It was not typical of him to walk a leadoff hitter [Baerga] like that, a guy hitting .125 right-handed."

But it was the next inning that settled this game.

Hasegawa left a slider up and Jose Guillen drove it into center field for a single. Hasegawa then walked Nick Johnson before a sacrifice bunt advanced both runners into scoring position. An intentional walk to Spivey loaded the bases before Schneider singled past Sexson, who had to play in to keep the go-ahead run from scoring.

"We got into a situation where you have to do things with your infield to keep the team from scoring and it really opens up holes in your defense," Hargrove said. "We were forced into that and he [Schneider] just snuck it by [Sexson]."

Then came a two-strike suicide squeeze bunt that worked so well it became a base hit and three consecutive walks.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Baylor remains a hit

WASHINGTON -- A record Mariners hitting coach Don Baylor took most of his career to secure hangs by a thread.
The reigning Major League hit-by-pitch king has a five-plunk lead over Astros veteran Craig Biggio, who is bearing down on Baylor's record of 267.

Baylor began his march to the record in the only game he played for the Orioles in 1970. He had three at-bats in that game and was hit by a pitch once. He kept getting hit with pitches, right through the 1988 season, his last as a player, when he was nailed 12 times.

His single-season high was 35 in 1986, when he played with the Red Sox. That mark is still the American League record.

Baylor broke Ron Hunt's record. Hunt, a journeyman infielder who played for six teams, was hit by pitches 243 times in his career, including a Major League-record 50 times in 1971.

"He wore a rubber diver's suit underneath his uniform," Baylor scoffed. "I wore long johns, and that was about it."

Baylor said he never felt comfortable wearing any kind of padding, and wasn't about to back off the plate, regardless how many times pitches hit him.

"I always believed that If I wasn't playing football, I didn't need pads," he said.

Of course, that mind-set was certainly painful at times.

Baylor said the most memorable HBP came in a game against the Mariners at the Kingdome in the mid-1980s.

"Matt Young threw a hard slider that got me on my [right] shin," he said. "It felt like a fastball, and to this day, I still have a lump there."

Another pitch that hit him hard was thrown by Hall of Fame right-hander Nolan Ryan, one of the hardest throwers in history.

"Got me on my [left] wrist," Baylor said.

That one hurt so bad Baylor summoned legendary Orioles trainer Ralph Salvon to the plate for assistance. Some spray that "froze" the area that absorbed the brunt of the pitch deadened the pain and Baylor went to first base.

"That was the one and only time the trainer came out of the dugout," Baylor said. "I never missed a game or an at-bat because I was hit with a pitch."

And when he moved on to other organizations, Baylor always had a little chat with the team's trainer.

"I told the trainer that if he ever came out after I got hit by a pitch, 'I'll kill ya.' I was not going to show anyone that it bothered me," Baylor said.

Baylor isn't sure which pitcher hit him the most times, but he does recall getting hit by right-hander Bruce Kison in back-to-back at-bats, and said he charged the mound three times -- against John Denny, Dennis Leonard and Dick Pole.

"Kison thought he could get me out of the game by hitting me on the forearm, but I told him he didn't throw hard enough to hurt me and get me out of the game," Baylor said, smiling.

As for Biggio closing in on his record, Baylor said, "I have always admired him as a player. He could take a HBP and turn it into a double by stealing a base."

All in the family: Andy Hargrove, the Mariners' 47th round draft choice out of Kent State and son of manager Mike Hargrove, signed a contract Friday and will report to Peoria, Ariz., on Sunday. The 6-foot-1, 243-pound first baseman, will work out until being assigned to a Minor League club.

"I told him to work hard and listen," the senior Hargrove said. "It will be a good experience for him. There are a lot of good instructors down there."

As such a low draft choice, the young Hargrove didn't get much of a contract.

Asked how many zeros were in the deal, the Mariners manager said, "All zeros."

Ichiro Suzuki / RF
Born: 10/22/73
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 170 lbs
Bats: L / Throws: R

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Not ready for a breather: Ichiro Suzuki, battling a rare hitting slump, could have gotten a well-deserved night off Friday. But he wanted to play.

"I talked to Ichiro today about [resting], but he said he felt fine and wanted to play," Hargrove said. "Anytime a player of his stature says he's ready to play, he plays. Sometimes, a guy just needs a mental day off more than anything, but he said he wanted to play."

Ichiro went into Friday night's series opener against the Nationals with a .304 batting average -- the lowest it has been in more than a year.

"He's been struggling for most of May and all of June," said Hargrove, alluding to Ichiro's .288 (32-for-111) average in May and 5-for-28 start in June.

Update from the infirmary: Right-handed reliever Rafael Soriano probably will throw two more bullpen sessions before being sent to the Minor Leagues on a rehab assignment. There is no set timetable for when he would return to the Mariners.

Shortstop Pokey Reese (shoulder surgery) was limited to taking grounders during pregame drills. He took batting practice Thursday in Miami and felt a little stiff on Friday. "He is coming along fine, but we decided to back him off a little," Hargrove said.

And catcher Wiki Gonzalez (hamstring) could be sent out on a rehab assignment when the Mariners return from the road trip.

Not a Texas kind of heat: The hot, muggy weather Friday had Hargrove repeatedly toweling himself off during his pregame meeting with the media.

"In Texas, you get hot under your eyes," Hargrove said. "Here, you get hot all over."

Did you know? The shutout win over the Marlins on Thursday night was the 17th by the Mariners since Interleague Play started in 1997. It is the most blankings in the Majors. The Braves have 15 and Mets have 14. The Marlins (12) and Astros (11) are the only other teams with at least 10 shutouts.

Up next: The three-game series continues Saturday night with left-hander Jamie Moyer making his second start since winning his 131st game with the Mariners -- the most in franchise history. He also is three wins shy of his 200 for his career.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Guardado shoots for (All-) Stars

WASHINGTON -- Eddie Guardado hasn't made any plans for the second week of next month.
The Mariners' closer realizes that if he keeps saving games the way he has the first 60 games of the regular season, a trip to Detroit could be in his near future.

A two-time All-Star when he was with the Twins, the left-handed Guardado seemingly deserves a bullpen spot on American League manager Terry Francona's pitching staff for the Midsummer Classic on July 12 at Comerica Park.

"It would be a great honor to be selected, but if it doesn't happen, I'll get spend more time with my family," he said. "But it would be good representing Seattle for the first time."

The Mariners are in Anaheim, Guardado's offseason home, the weekend prior to the All-Star break. It would be a perfect time for him to kick back with the family, which recently increased by one with the birth of a baby girl, and enjoy three days off.

But going into Saturday night's game against the Nationals, Guardado had converted 16 consecutive save opportunities, shares the league lead (17) with Joe Nathan of the Twins and climbed to the top of the Rolaids Relief Standings in the American League, looking every bit like an All-Star.

He protected one-run leads in five of his last six save chances, and has seven one-run saves this season. His only blown save occurred on April 9, when the Rangers scored four runs in the ninth inning for a 7-6 victory at Safeco Field.

Guardado has surrendered just three runs since and his 1.57 ERA makes him one of five AL closers with an ERA under 2.00, putting him right in the middle of the list of potential All-Stars.

Just talking about being selected to the All-Star team makes Guardado shake his head.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" the 34-year-old said.

You can say that again.

After blowing two save chances against the Angels during a three-day period at the end of last July, Guardado was diagnosed as having "shoulder fatigue," and went on the 15-day disabled list. But a later exam disclosed a small tear in his left rotator cuff and Mariners medical director Dr. Larry Pedegana recommended surgery.

Guardado requested a second opinion, which is normal, and Dr. Lewis Yocum recommended rehabilitation rather than surgery. The result, so far, has been better than anyone could have imagined.

Guardado did have surgery, but on his left knee, missing the remainder of the 2004 season. He reported to Spring Training with some uncertainty. He knew he felt healthy, but wouldn't be certain until he climbed back into the ring and gave his left shoulder a stern test.

To make matters worse, various ailments in camp prevented him from pitching any innings in Cactus League games.

Apparently, he didn't need many Spring Training innings to get ready.

"The way it's going right now -- knock on wood -- I don't know if I've ever done this well," he said. "I don't know how many times it has been 1-2-3, but that has been pretty good for me."

Though he saved more than 40 games in his 2002 and '03 All-Star seasons with the Twins, he was noted for having more precarious saves than clean saves.

Not this season.

The lefty retired 21 consecutive batters during one seven-appearance stretch, and has allowed only two baserunners since May 4, which was 11 appearances ago. Any doubts that he could pitch on back-to-back days has been removed, he actually went back-to-back-to-back on May 28-30, recording his 12th, 13th and 14th saves, and retiring all nine batters he faced.

"I give a lot of credit to our training staff here, Rick (Griffin) and Newby (Tom Newburg), my physical therapist in Anaheim, and BP (pitching coach Bryan Price)," he said.

If the glove fits: Rookie shortstop Mike Morse takes three gloves onto the field with him before each game. One is the glove he uses in the game, the second is a backup in case something happens to his "gamer" glove and the third is a practice glove so small that it barely covers his hand.

"I started using this 'baby glove' when I was with the White Sox organization," he said. "It helps me keep my butt down when I'm taking grounders in BP (batting practice). I'm pretty tall (6-foot-4) and it can be difficult to get down, and stay down, on a ball hit on the ground.

"If I don't get completely down, the ball will go through my legs."

He hasn't had a grounder go through his legs yet during his two-week stay with the Mariners, but could have used a smaller glove in Friday night's loss to the Nationals. The ball he fielded got stuck in his glove, by the time he could extract the ball and throw it to first base, the tying run had scored in the seventh inning.

Sexson all decked out: The home run Richie Sexson hit Friday night landed in the second row of seats in the left field upper deck -- the first time this season a ball has gone that far to left field.

Brad Wilkerson, the Nationals center fielder and leadoff hitter, reached the upper deck in right field earlier in the season.

Nationals' park holds heat well: Manager Mike Hargrove applauds the move to bring Major League Baseball back to the nation's capital, but RFK Stadium? Well, that's another thing.

The 43-year-old facility, which opened a few days before Dodger Stadium in 1962, is from the old school of ballparks. There isn't much room in the clubhouses and the air conditioning is more or less inadequate.

"I think the fans are excited about baseball being back," he said. "When they open the gates they come in and you can feel the excitement. But the ballpark itself? I'm glad they are building a new one and wish they already had it built.

"It's not much cooler in my office than it is sitting on this bench."

Little setback for Spiezio: Backup infielder Scott Spiezio, who is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma, suffered a mild groin injury and didn't play in Friday night's game.

"He was held out more as a precaution and he should be okay," Hargrove said.

Spiezio is hitting .346 (9-for-26) in the seven games he has played.

Up next: The three-game Interleague series concludes Sunday afternoon with right-hander Ryan Franklin opposing Nationals right-hander Tony Armas. Franklin's last win came on May 8 against the Red Sox in the second game of a double-header. He has made five starts since and is due (overdue, actually) some offensive support.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/

Mariners drop second straight

WASHINGTON -- A terrific at-bat by veteran catcher Pat Borders in the seventh inning Saturday night put the Mariners in position to regain the one-run lead that was lost two innings earlier, and possibly end the longest winning streak in the Major Leagues.
All they needed was a productive pinch-hit at-bat from rookie Greg Dobbs.

But they didn't get it, and the misfire had much to do with the Mariners' 2-1 loss to the red-hot Nationals before 39,108 at RFK Stadium.

"The difference in the game was they scored a run when they had the bases loaded with one out, and we didn't when we had a runner on third with one out," manager Mike Hargrove said.

A well-pitched game between starters Jamie Moyer and John Patterson came down to offensive execution in the seventh inning.

Mariners rookie shortstop Mike Morse had led off the top of the seventh with a single to left field, and then stole second. Borders, who knows how the game is supposed to be played, somehow fought off an inside pitch that was bearing in on his knees and hit the ball to first base, advancing Morse to third base.

Hargrove and bench coach Ron Hassey decided that Dobbs was their best weapon for the occasion.

"(Dave) Hansen is our No. 1 pinch-hitter, but it was the seventh inning," Hargrove said. "Dobbs has been in that situation before and done a nice job for us. I talked it over with Ronnie Hassey and we agreed that Dobber (was the best option)."

Dobbs, batting .156 overall, was 4-for-18 as a pinch-hitter, driving in four runs. He almost always puts the ball in play, usually in fair territory.

But this time he hit a popup behind the plate, and Nationals catcher Gary Bennett caught it for the second out of the inning. The scoring threat ended a few seconds later when Ichiro Suzuki flied out to left field.

After a long shower after the game, Dobbs was still seething as he went to his locker.

"I'm at wits end," he said. "I'm angry. There's no way (Patterson) gets me out. No way. I don't care if I'm hitting .040, I have to put the ball in play in that situation and drive in the run."

The self-flagellation continued.

"The chances I get are precious and fouling out is not an option," he said. "People tell me that (pinch-hitting) is the toughest job in baseball, but that's no excuse for doing what I did. I'm not going to hide behind that. I'm better than that."

Dobbs has had numerous conversations with Hansen, one of the premier pinch-hitters in the game, about the job. It always comes down to one at-bat. Do, or don't do.

And this time he didn't.

That was just the beginning of another sour ending for the Mariners, who lost their first series this month.

Another walk on the wild side by a Mariners reliever led to a run in the bottom of the seventh.

Right-hander J.J. Putz replaced Moyer, retired the first batter he faced, surrendered a single, and then walked two consecutive batters to load the bases. Jose Guillen delivered a run-scoring single to center field, giving the Nationals the run they needed to extend their winning streak to nine in a row.

"That's two nights in a row guys coming out of the bullpen had trouble throwing strikes," Hargrove said. "He couldn't find the strike zone after (Carlos) Baerga's hit and wasn't even close. He finally gathered himself, but it was a day late and a dollar short. And it was the ballgame."

On a night the Nationals' winning streak grew to nine, Ichiro Suzuki climbed to within one hit of 1,000 in his MLB career. On the edge of 1,000
Mariners at Nationals, June 11
With 694 Major League games under his belt, Ichiro Suzuki, batting .301, needs just one more hit to reach 1,000. According to research by Elias Sports Bureau, Chuck Klein is the only player (at least since 1933) to reach the 1,000-hit plateau before playing in his 700th Major League game. Klein, a Hall of Famer, recorded his 1,000th hit in his 683rd game.


One night after Seattle's bullpen walked five batters in the eighth inning, contributing to a six-run rally, Ichiro went 1-for-4 as the Mariners lost their first series since being swept by the Orioles on May 24-25-26.

Moyer pitched into, and out of trouble in three of the first four innings, before yielding a run in the bottom of the fifth. Christian Guzman led off with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by pitcher John Patterson, stayed put when Moyer struck out Brad Wilkerson, and scored when Marlon Byrd's fly ball to right field fell a few inches short of Ichiro's extended glove.

On offense, Ichiro was one routine hop away from having his batting average fall below .300 for the first time in more than a year, and from the Mariners leaving another runner in scoring position.

There were two outs and Morse was on second base in the fifth inning when Ichiro hit a grounder to first baseman Nick Johnson. Ichiro, batting .2995 (rounded off to .300), would have been batting .298 if the ball had been caught, as Johnson would have stepped on the base for the inning-ending out.

But the ball hit something and caromed wildly over Johnson's right shoulder, and into right field for an RBI single. The hit extended Ichiro's hitting streak to six games -- one hit in each game -- and gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead.

It also bumped Ichiro's average to .302, and he still hasn't been below the .300 mark since May 12, 2004, when he was hitting .295. He went 2-for-4 the next game to reach .300 for the first time in '04 and batted .393 the remainder of the season, breaking George Sisler's 84-year-old Major League single-season hit record with 262.

The four-time All-Star, and two-time AL batting champion, started this season with five consecutive two-hit games and batted a career best .356 in April. May was hit-and-miss as he batted .288, and June has been a swoon.

The bad-hop single was something Ichiro and the Mariners needed, but it wasn't enough to cool off the Major League's hottest team.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/