Opponent: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
When: 7:05 p.m. today and Saturday, 1:05 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Angel Stadium.
TV: Fox Sports Net today and Sunday, Channel 11 on Saturday.
Radio: KOMO (1000 AM) all three games.
Pitchers: Today – Seattle left-hander Jamie Moyer (11-5, 4.22 earned run average) vs. right-hander Paul Byrd (9-9, 4.11). Saturday – Right-hander Ryan Franklin (6-14, 5.34) vs. left-hander Jarrod Washburn (7-8, 3.26). Sunday – Right-hander Jeff Harris (2-1, 2.28) vs. right-hander Bartolo Colon (17-6, 3.23).
Advice from a master
Randy Johnson was an unrefined young pitcher for the Mariners in the early 1990s, known for his powerful left arm and hardly a clue how to use it. Then a future Hall of Famer – Nolan Ryan – talked to him about mechanics, work ethic and competitiveness.
Now Johnson is on his way to the Hall of Fame himself, having won five Cy Young awards, and he is sharing his knowledge with others the way Ryan did with him.
Thursday morning, Mariners left-hander Matt Thornton received words of encouragement, advice and inspiration in a 30-minute meeting with Johnson, who had pitched for the Yankees the night before.
The meeting was set up by Mariners trainer Rick Griffin, who remains friends with Johnson.
“We’re both tall guys and we both throw hard, and I wanted to get a little idea how he does it,” said Thornton, a 6-foot-6 lefty who has pitched erratically this season – 39 walks in 50 innings – despite a 96 mph fastball.
“We talked a lot about mechanics,” Thornton said. “Being tall, when something mechanical can go wrong, it goes wrong in a hurry. We talked about what he watches out for and the things he does in his bullpen sessions. It was good stuff.”
Thornton called it the most important baseball conversation of his career.
“I respect what he’s done in this game,” Thornton said. “He’s a great guy. You see him as being so fierce and intense, but when you talk to him one-on-one, you see what a great guy he is. He said this is his way to give back to the game, his way to give back to other players. It was something that superstars in his day, who he watched and admired, did for him.”
The Mariners can only hope Johnson’s conversation will have the same effect on Thornton that Ryan’s talk had on the Big Unit.
“I think were asking a little too much to think about it having that kind of impact,” pitching coach Bryan Price said. “But it’s not going to do any damage whatsoever. It would be nice to see some effect from it. It’s going to be a pretty important final month for Matt.”
Ash Wednesday: The Mariners didn’t officially confirm the contents of a powdery substance a fan poured onto the field during Wednesday’s game, although it’s believed to be the ashes of a family member.
A man ran across left field during the fourth inning, carrying a sign and pouring the powder from a cup. Mariners relief pitcher Jeff Nelson got a good look at the sign, saying it made reference to the substance “being the ashes of either his mother or grandmother.”
Although nobody has dared do it during a game, the Mariners get numerous requests to spread ashes privately at Safeco Field.
“We turn down all of them,” said Tim Hevly, the Mariners’ director of baseball information.
In 2002, someone in a low-flying airplane tried to drop a package of cremated remains onto Safeco Field. It hit the stadium roof and, with security at high alert just months after the 9-11 attacks, created a scare before the substance was identified as ashes.
Day of pain: Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson fouled a ball off his left leg in the first inning and he limped around the rest of the day. After the game, he had a baseball-sized red welt on his shin above his left ankle.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anybody play the field with a shinguard on,” manager Mike Hargrove said. “He kept saying it was fine and that he was feeling better. If he’d have said it was the same or getting worse, I’d have taken him out of the game.”
Of note: The Mariners hadn’t decided Thursday whether Gil Meche would come off the disabled list and pitch Saturday’s game at Anaheim. Meche, out because of right knee tendinitis, is eligible to come of the DL Saturday, but a less-than-impressive bullpen session Thursday morning may cause the Mariners to keep him working in the bullpen to solve issues with his throwing mechanics. Ryan Franklin is scheduled to start Saturday. … With teams allowed to expand rosters on Thursday, Hargrove said the Mariners might call up a few players in the coming days. One of those is expected to be relief pitcher Rafael Soriano, who is coming back from “Tommy John” elbow surgery last August. … When Dave Hansen hit an RBI single in the sixth inning, it broke an 0-for-17 Mariners streak with runners in scoring position. … Sexson’s strikeout in the eighth inning was the Mariners’ only whiff of the game, the first time this season they’d fanned just once. … Twelve-year-old Willie Harris, a patient at Providence Everett Medical Center, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Thursday’s game.
Kirby Arnold, Herald writer
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