Saunders moves up a spot in the batting order

Published 3:35 pm Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Sorry to interrupt the 24-7 drama involving Cliff Lee, but we have a blip of news at Safeco Field today.

Left fielder Michael Saunders will bat seventh for the Mariners tonight against the Royals, the highest he’s been in the order this season. He has batted eighth eight times and ninth 27 times.

Also, Josh Bard will start at catcher. He finished last night’s game after Rob Johnson was pulled for a pinch-hitter. Johnson took some shots behind the plate in the game, including a warmup pitch by Felix Hernandez that hit him below his mask before the eighth inning. We’ll find out later if Johnson is hurt or if Wakamatsu is simply going with Bard. Neither has faced tonight’s KC starter, Jack Greinke.

No Milton Bradley again tonight; he didn’t start last night because of what Wakamatsu described as soreness in his legs. Bradley pinch-hit in the eighth inning last night and struck out, so there wasn’t a lot of stress on those legs beyond what he tried to accomplish in the batter’s box.

Here’s the Mariners’ lineup:

Ichiro Suzuki, right field

Chone Figgins, second base

Russell Branyan, DH

Jose Lopez, third base

Franklin Gutierrez, center field

Casey Kotchman, first base

Michael Saunders, left field

Josh Bard, catcher

Jack Wilson, shortstop.

OK, now go back to pondering every question about Cliff Lee, including whether he’ll pitch in Seattle again before Erik Bedard does. Or if he is traded to a National League team the next few days, whether he’ll pitch for the NL or the AL in the All-Star Game. I say let him pitch the top of the first inning, and the bottom of the first.