Opponent: Minnesota Twins
When: 7:05 p.m.
Where: Safeco Field
TV: Fox Sports Net (cable)
Radio: KOMO (1000 AM)
Pitchers: Seattle right-hander Joel Pineiro (1-3, 8.26 earned run average) vs. right-hander Carlos Silva (4-0, 4.02).
Willie Bloomquist said his bad back has improved tremendously since the weekend, when it took him 10 minutes just to get out of bed.
Still, that didn’t mean the Mariners’ young reserve infielder-outfielder could roll out of bed and play baseball on Tuesday.
The Mariners placed Bloomquist on the 15-day disabled list on the same day they needed to clear a roster spot with the return of relief pitcher Rafael Soriano from the minor leagues.
“It’s frustrating to go on the DL, but they’ve got to do what they’ve got to do,” Bloomquist said. “From their standpoint, they don’t know how long I’m going to be out and they don’t want to go into these two series short-handed. I understand what they did, but I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t like being hurt.”
Bloomquist said there wasn’t any play that injured his back, but he felt it getting tight during Saturday’s game in Detroit.
“I felt it while I was running to first base, and it locked up pretty good,” he said. “It got to the point where I could hardly walk.”
Thin bench: The Mariners decided against bringing up a position player in Bloomquist’s absence and kept pitcher J.J. Putz on the roster despite the return of Soriano.
It gives the Mariners 12 pitchers and just 13 position players.
“We’ll be a little short on position players right now, but we feel good about where we are,” manager Bob Melvin said.
Jolbert Cabrera, who hasn’t played shortstop this year, will be the backup at that position while Bloomquist is out. Cabrera did play shortstop, plus six other positions, last year with the Dodgers.
“He’s played there enough to where we feel comfortable with him,” Melvin said.
Soriano, sent to the minors on April 14 to build his arm strength, pitched two shutout innings of relief for Class AA San Antonio on Saturday. Melvin said most of the fastballs he threw were between 91 and 93 mph, with some at 94.
“To see him between 92 and 94 is what we wanted to see,” Melvin said. “He was throwing his slider and his command was good. Velocity was not the only thing we were looking at.”
Of note: The Mariners held a moment of silence before Tuesday’s game for Darrell Johnson, who was the organization’s first manager from 1977-80. … Ballpark balloting began Tuesday for the All-Star Game, which will be played at Houston. Fans also can vote online at www.mlb.com. … The Mariners’ 8-15 record gave them their first losing record in April since they went 11-12 in 1999. The club’s worst April record was 5-14 in 1981.
Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer
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