SEATTLE — Look for right-hander Joel Peralta and lefty Vidal Nuno to serve as the eighth-inning bridge to closer Steve Cishek until veteran Joaquin Benoit is ready to resume his job as the Seattle Mariners bullpen’s primary set-up reliever.
“It would probably be more mix-and-match, based on where we are in the lineup, with Nuno and Peralta,” manager Scott Servais confirmed. “Peralta has a history of getting lefties out.”
Peralta let a one-run lead slip away Sunday in the eighth inning against Oakland when he gave up a leadoff homer to Marcus Semien. The Athletics subsequently won the game in the 10th inning.
Benoit hasn’t pitched since April 8 because of lingering soreness in his back and shoulder, which surfaced in spring training. Club officials are hopeful he can return to duty this weekend’s series in New York.
K-count
When reliever Tony Zych struck out the side in the ninth inning of Monday’s game, it boosted his career count to 33 strikeouts in 231/3 innings over his 16 appearances.
That averages out to 12.73 strikeouts per nine innings and is the highest career average in franchise history for any pitcher who has worked at least 10 innings. Right-hander Carson Smith ranks second at 11.72 in 781/3 innings.
Zych also has at least three strikeouts in each of his last four games, dating to last season. The only longer streak in franchise history by a reliever was an eight-game run of bullpen outings by Randy Johnson from Aug. 16, 1993 to Sept. 27, 1997.
Twitter poll
An informal twitter poll Tuesday overwhelmingly identified an inability to score runs as the biggest concern among fans through the club’s 2-5 start.
With more than 600 participants, a whopping 75 percent cited the lack of run production as their biggest concern. The Mariners scored just seven runs while losing their first four home games.
The bullpen finished second in the early polling at 15 percent. while the rotation had 6 percent, and the defense had 4 percent.
Looking back
It was 26 years ago Wednesday — April 13, 1990 — that the Mariners recorded their first sellout in franchise history as a crowd of 54,874 packed the Kingdome for the home opener against Oakland.
It didn’t go well.
The Athletics scored five runs in the first inning and had a 12-1 lead after four innings en route to a 15-7 victory.
Short hops
Lefty reliever Charlie Furbush reported no day-after problems from his Monday workout, which marked his first throwing session since undergoing a series of blood injections in hopes of accelerating the healing process in his ailing left shoulder. … Nelson Cruz’s homer Monday in the eighth inning was the 30th that he’s hit in the seventh inning or later since the start of the 2014 season. That leads the majors. … Right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma turned 35 on Tuesday.
On tap
The Mariners close out their first homestand at 12:40 p.m. Wednesday when they conclude a three-game series against Texas at Safeco Field. Right-hander Taijuan Walker (0-0, 3.00) will face Rangers right-hander A.J. Griffin (1-0, 4.50).
The game can be seen on Root Sports Northwest and heard on 710 ESPN.
The Mariners have an open date Thursday before opening a three-city, nine-game trip Friday with the first of three weekend games against the Yankees in New York. The trip continues with three-game series at Cleveland and Anaheim.
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