Opponent: Cleveland Indians
Format: Best-of-five American League Division Series. Winner plays the winner of the Oakland-New York Division Series.
When: 1:05 p.m. Tuesday and 1:05 p.m. Thursday at Safeco Field, 1:05 p.m. Saturday and 10:05 a.m. Sunday (if necessary) at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, 1:05 or 5:05 p.m. Monday (if necessary) at Safeco Field in Seattle.
TV: Ch. 13
Radio: All games on KIRO (710 AM)
Probable pitchers: Game 1 – Seattle right-hander Freddy Garcia (18-6, 3.05 earned run average) vs. right-hander Bartolo Colon (14-12, 4.09). Game 2 – Left-hander Jamie Moyer (20-5, 3.43) vs. left-hander Chuck Finley (8-7, 5.54). Game 3 – Right-hander Aaron Sele (15-5, ) vs. left-hander C.C. Sabathia (17-5, 4.39). Game 4 – Garcia or right-hander Paul Abbott (17-4, 4.25) vs. Colon. Game 5 – Moyer or Garcia vs. Finley.
Roster rumblings: The Mariners won’t set their first-round roster until today, but at least four players learned Sunday that they won’t make it.
Pitchers Denny Stark and Brett Tomko were told they wouldn’t be needed in the postseason. Catcher Pat Borders and outfielder Eugene Kingsale will be sent to the Mariners’ instructional league team in Peoria, Ariz., where they will get playing time to stay sharp in case they’re needed in later rounds of the playoffs.
Manager Lou Piniella said the starting lineup Tuesday night would have Mark McLemore at shortstop, David Bell at third and Stan Javier in left field.
Both the Mariners and Indians will work out today at Safeco Field. Those sessions will not be open to the public.
Playoff ready: Paul Abbott’s final tuneup for the playoffs went well Saturday night – one hit and a walk in two scoreless innings – and now he waits to see if he will be a starter or a reliever against the Indians.
Piniella hasn’t decided whether he will use a fourth starter in the first round, but even if Abbott gets a start he will be available out of the bullpen for Game 1.
“I will do my pre-start routine (today) and stay sharp in case I get in the next day,” Abbott said. He said he routinely throws 30-35 pitches from in front of the mound the day before each start.
Shifting from starter to reliever can play mental tricks on a pitcher, but Abbott tried to keep the adjustment simple.
“I think guys can make it difficult,” he said. “The way I approach it, pitching is pitching. You still throw 60 feet, six inches and the strike zone doesn’t change. You’ve got to be ready at any time, and the adrenaline rush allows that to happen.”
Roof problems: The system that allows the Safeco Field roof to move malfunctioned before Sunday’s game as it was being opened. The roof was about a quarter of the way open when it stopped.
The game started as engineers attempted to fix the problem, and the roof slowly began to close during the first inning.
“There was a malfunction in one of the wheel assemblies, and they had to manually close it by using the computer to move each panel individually,” said Rebecca Hale, the Mariners’ director of public information.
Hale said officials opted to close the roof rather than move it to the open position and risk another malfunction if the weather turned bad. She said the problem wasn’t major and that the roof should function normally by Tuesday, when the playoffs begin.
Extra security: The attacks in Afghanistan prompted added security measures at Safeco Field on Sunday, although Mariners officials refused to be specific.
“We’re already been on a very high level of alert, and we’ve taken appropriate measures,” Hale said.
The Mariners stressed that Major League Baseball’s security directive will be strictly enforced during the postseason games.
Coolers, backpacks and large bags will not be allowed in the ballpark. Bags larger than eight inches by 12 inches by two inches thick, including purses, will not be allowed. Diaper bags that accompany fans with babies and small children will be allowed, but they will be subject to a complete search. Small purses also will be searched at the gates.
In addition, only police and emergency vehicles will be allowed to park within 100 feet of the stadium.
Another full house: The Mariners’ final regular-season game Sunday drew their 58th sellout of the year. The crowd of 45,578 gave the Mariners a final regular-season attendance of 3,507,507.
Kirby Arnold
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