Mariners update

Opponent: Kansas City Royals

When: 5:10 p.m.

Where: Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

TV: KSTW (ch. 11)

Radio: KOMO (1000 AM)

Pitchers: M’s Left-hander Ron Villone (4-3, 4.24) vs. right-hander Mike Wood (2-4, 4.50).

Guardado won’t need surgery on shoulder

Seattle Mariners closer Eddie Guardado will not need surgery on his pitching shoulder after all.

“The doctor felt confident that the injury could heal up,” manager Bob Melvin said in Kansas City, where the Mariners opened a series Tuesday night. “Apparently it wasn’t bad enough to need surgery.”

Guardado, 33, was examined Tuesday by Dr. Lewis Yocum, the Anaheim Angels’ team physician.

Dr. Larry Pedegana, the Mariners’ medical director, diagnosed Guardado’s ailing left shoulder as a torn rotator cuff last week and recommended surgery.

Guardado is expected to return to his closing role by the start of the 2005 season. Surgery would have sidelined him for six to 10 months, which meant Guardado wouldn’t have been able to return until midseason next year at the earliest.

Guardado, who has 18 saves in 25 opportunities this season, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Aug. 1. He will rest for four to six weeks, then begin rehabilitation.

Guardado wasn’t able to avoid arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, however, which has bothered him since spring training.

“The knee we knew he’d have to have cleaned out,” Melvin said. “The shoulder was a shock, but this is better.”

Guardado signed a three-year, $13 million contract with the Mariners in December after pitching 11 seasons with the Minnesota Twins.

He had 45 saves in 2002 and 41 saves in 2003.

Soriano undergoes Tommy John surgery: Pitcher Rafael Soriano had Tommy John surgery Tuesday because of a torn ligament in his pitching elbow. Soriano, 24, is expected to miss at least a year. The hard-throwing right-hander had a 3-0 record with a 1.53 ERA in 40 relief appearances last season for Seattle, but was 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA in six games in 2004. He was placed on the disabled list May 10.

Leone on DL, Santiago recalled: The Mariners placed regular third baseman Justin Leone on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, a day after he suffered a broken left hand when he was hit by a pitch by Matt Kinney in Kansas City.

The Mariners recalled infielder Ramon Santiago from Class AAA Tacoma to take Leone’s spot on their 25-man roster.

Leone is expected to miss four to six weeks while his injury mends. Since there are only six weeks left this season, Leone’s first season in the majors could be over.

In 31 games with Seattle this season, Leone was hitting .216 (22-for-102) with five home runs and 21 RBI. He was recalled July 1 from Tacoma and handed the starting third baseman’s job by the last-place Mariners.

The light-hitting Santiago was acquired Jan. 8 in a trade with Detroit that sent shortstop Carlos Guillen to the Tigers. He hit .174 in 56 games in Tacoma. He hit .136 in 11 games in Seattle previously this season.

Mariners to keep Class AAA team in Tacoma: The Seattle Mariners will keep their Class AAA farm club in Tacoma through the 2006 season.

On Tuesday night, the Tacoma City Council unanimously approved a lease extension to keep the Rainiers playing at Cheney Stadium through 2006. The lease was up after the 2005 season.

That will give city and Pierce County officials more time to search for funding to renovate 9,600-seat Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960.

As part of the deal, the city plans to make some minor improvements in the near future, including replacing the remaining wooden seats and putting in field turf, said Mike Combs, director of public assembly facilities.

The City Council also agreed to remove a clause in the agreement with Rainiers owner George Foster, who is trying to sell the team, that required him to look for a local buyer. City officials said the clause was not enforcable.

Foster, who lives in the Modesto, Calif. area, has owned the Rainiers since the 1991 season. He put the team up for sale in 2000.

Associated Press