Opponent: Minnesota Twins

When: 7:05 p.m.

Where: Safeco Field

TV: Channel 11

Radio: KOMO (1000 AM)

Pitchers: Seattle right-hander Gil Meche (7-7, 5.01 earned run average in 2004) vs. left-hander Johan Santana (20-6, 2.61).

Beautiful moment

Two days after he learned he had made the team, the thrill still hadn’t left Mariners utility player Greg Dobbs.

“I’m really excited to be a part of this clubhouse and be in a big-league environment,” he said. “I’m going to keep my eyes wide open, my ears wide open and I’ll try to learn as much as I can in this clubhouse.”

Dobbs batted .308 at spring training and impressed the Mariners with his power potential as a left-handed hitter, plus his ability to play the infield and outfield,

Manager Mike Hargrove told Dobbs on Saturday night after the Mariners arrived in Seattle from Las Vegas.

“Those last few days were tense, tumultuous and up-tight, not knowing what was going to happen,” Dobbs said. “I kept looking up (at the roster) and I was still there, and I hadn’t been called into his office yet.

“Then, after we got back to Seattle, Grover called me into his office and told me it was official, that I’d made the club. I immediately called my wife (Heidi, in California) and got her on a flight up here that night. It’s been a rollercoaster ride.”

Welcome back, Edgar: Until Richie Sexson took his first swing of the day, retired Mariner Edgar Martinez drew by far the biggest cheer from the crowd.

Martinez threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game and got a long standing ovation. He also took some ribbing from second baseman Bret Boone in the dugout.

“I was teasing him, ‘How many Edgar Martinez Days can we have?’” Boone said.

M’s release Anderson: Left-handed pitcher Ryan Anderson, considered a future star when the Mariners drafted him in the first round in 1997, is out of the organization.

The Mariners announced Monday that they have released Anderson, who never was able to come back from arm problems. He hasn’t pitched in a game since the 2000 season.

When the Mariners drafted the 6-foot-10 Anderson, they envisioned him as a future ace along the lines of Randy Johnson. He seemed headed in that direction.

Anderson had a 3.98 earned run average in 20 starts at Class AAA Tacoma in 2000 and finished second in the Pacific Coast League with 146 strikeouts, averaging 12.6 per game.

He also began suffering shoulder problems that season, landing on the disabled list at mid-season. He came back and worked two scoreless innings in the Rainiers’ final game in September, but he never pitched in another game,

Anderson spent all of the 2001 season recovering from rotator cuff surgery, and all of 2002 after labrum surgery. He needed more surgery in 2003 to repair the labrum and missed two more years.

He had been pitching in the bullpen at the Mariners’ training facility in Peoria, Ariz., but never appeared in any minor league exhibition games.

The Mariners also released right-handed pitcher Rett Johnson, who also climbed through the M’s system and had his best season in 2000 when he went 5-2, 3.11 with Tacoma. Johnson left the Mariners because of person reasons during spring training last year and, after returning, struggled at Class A Inland Empire.

Shortstop Lopez needs surgery: Shortstop Jose Lopez, who broke the hamate bone in his left hand last week, will need surgery and miss the next four to six weeks.

He suffered the injury at the team’s training camp in Peoria, Ariz., while swinging a bat. Lopez played 57 games at shortstop for the Mariners last year, although the club sees his future more at second base.

Here today, Peoria tomorrow: Joel Pineiro relaxed in his leather chair Monday morning in the Mariner’ clubhouse, then prepared for a long day of baseball and travel.

He watched the Mariners’ opener against the Twins, then hopped on plane and flew to Arizona, where he will continue his comeback from a sore shoulder by pitching in a minor league game today at the Mariners’ training complex in Peoria.

Pineiro will fly back to Seattle tonight and be at Safeco Field on Wednesday to see the game against the Twins.

He is scheduled to pitch again Saturday for the Tacoma Rainiers at Fresno, then join the Mariners in Chicago and pitch either April 15 or 16 against the White Sox.

Of note: The Mariners didn’t leave a runner on base, only the fifth time in team history they had done it. … Bret Boone and Ichrio Suzuki were presented their 2004 Gold Glove trophies and Adrian Beltre received his Silver Slugger award, which he won last season while with the Dodgers. Suzuki also was given the Players Choice award as the outstanding player in the American League last year.

Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer