PHOENIX, Ariz. — Miguel Batista’s back felt fine.
His control was a pain in the you-know-what, but at this time of the year that’s OK, too.
Batista gave up four hits, three walks and two runs in three innings of the Seattle Mariners’ 2-0 loss Sunday to the Milwaukee Brewers. It was his first outing since last Tuesday, when he pitched despite pain in his lower back and spent the next several days getting it better.
“I was a little wild,” he said. “But health-wise, I was fine and that’s my main concern.”
He wouldn’t, however, say the back issue is a non-issue yet.
“It was fine today. We’ll see tomorrow,” Batista said. “Sometimes you pitch it’s fine and then the next day it’s sore as hell. It doesn’t seem that way. Last year I had the same problem and I can tell you it feels so much better than it did last year.”
His biggest problem Sunday was a fastball that ran off the plate, something that Batista often deals with when he’s in midseason form. He walked two in the third inning, when J.J. Hardy’s double drove in both runs in the game.
“I can honestly say I made one mistake,” Batista said, without revealing what it was.
All he’d say was that it’s a pitch he would never throw in a similar situation during the regular season, but was compelled to throw it Sunday because he’s working on it.
“If you’re dominating a guy with one pitch, don’t change,” he said. “But spring training is to get your location with all your pitches to both sides of the plate. That’s why we run the risk here. Even if it’s the wrong guy, you have to do it now. If you don’t do it now, when do you do it? That’s why we have spring training.”
Missing bats: The familiar spring training song, that results don’t matter as long as everyone gets their work done, wasn’t setting well after the Mariners’ hitters were humiliated Sunday.
They got only two hits — singles by Jose Vidro and Adrian Beltre — and sent just 28 hitters to the plate, one over the minimum. Both Vidro and Beltre were eliminated on double plays, and the only other baserunner was Willie Bloomquist after he walked in the third inning.
Yeah, the M’s got their work in, but they were ticked off.
“The guys are irritated that they didn’t get any hits, and that’s a good thing. They’ve got pride and they don’t feel good about the way the results were,” said bench coach Jim Riggleman, who managed the split-squad game against the Brewers with a lineup comprised of the top five hitters _ Ichiro Suzuki, Vidro, Raul Ibanez, Richie Sexson and Beltre. Manager John McLaren was in Tucson running the game against the Diamondbacks.
Suzuki went 0-for-3 to leave him 0-for-17 this spring. Saturday, Suzuki asked for a fourth at-bat in an attempt to get a better feel at the plate, but that didn’t happen Sunday.
“Mac and I talked about it and we decided he’d get three and shut it down,” Riggleman said. “He’s played a lot in the last several days.”
That may or may not explain a rare occurrence in the third inning when Suzuki didn’t beat out what looked like a sure infield single. He slapped a grounder deep in the hole between shortstop and third base, but Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy threw him out at first base by a half-step.
Of note: Chris Reitsma and Mark Lowe were feeling fine Sunday, one day after they pitched in their first exhibition games of the year. Both are coming back from elbow surgeries. … Arthur Rhodes, a little behind Reitsma and Lowe in his comeback from Tommy John elbow surgery, will throw in the bullpen today. After that, he’ll be evaluated and, possibly, scheduled for a game appearance. … With the split-squad games Sunday and games at Tucson today and Tuesday, it’s the first time the Mariners have played four straight exhibitions without at least one game at Peoria Stadium since they moved into the complex in 1994.
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
