Today
Opponent: Oakland A’s
When: 7:10 p.m.
Where: Safeco Field
TV: FSN
Radio: ESPN 710 AM
Pitchers: Seattle right-hander Doug Fister (2-4, 4.50 earned run average) vs. left-hander Brett Anderson (11-10, 4.12)
Who fits, who doesn’t?
Four games remain in the Mariners’ season, meaning manager Don Wakamatsu and his coaches have four opportunities to evaluate their young players before deciding who fits and who doesn’t in their planning for next season.
Michael Saunders, relegated to early work with hitting coach Alan Cockrell most of this month as he tries to generate more power, started Wednesday night in left field. Matt Tuiasosopo, impressive in five starts at second base, probably will play one more time and catcher Adam Moore will get at least one game between now and Sunday. Doug Fister will start tonight’s game and Ian Snell will start Friday’s.
“I want to get as good a look at as many guys as we can before the year’s out,” Wakamatsu said.
The Mariners have taken a long look at Saunders to determine whether he can be their left fielder, at least until Endy Chavez is fully recovered from his knee injury. Saunders entered Wednesday batting .227 and had found his playing time slashed to nearly nothing because of his hitting problems.
Wakamatsu believes this is a good time to get him back into games and test the work he has done with Cockrell. He went 3-for-3 with a triple in a start last week at Tampa.
“Rather than just finish out the year up here on the bench, we’ve been able to get him a couple of starts and he’s done well,” Wakamatsu said. “His last start in Tampa, he played a heck of a game. We were more concerned about him getting some time with Alan and progressing into the winter ball season. I think we’ve accomplished that. He’s made some adjustments and there’s more to go, but he feels a lot more comfortable about himself.”
Overall, Wakamatsu says the organization is pleased at the opportunity the young players have gotten this season.
“Just the fact that we have a much better idea of what we have from down below is critical,” he said. “Doug Fister came out of nowhere, really. He wasn’t on the chart and he pitched two huge games for us. The limited look I got at Adam Moore, coming up to do what he’s done — his comfort level and his receiving skills and just his presence up here — I’m awfully pleased with that. Tui has gotten an opportunity to play against some good competition and Saunders has over 100 at-bats up here.”
One last chance for Felix
There will be no limits — to a degree — on Felix Hernandez in his final start Sunday as he makes a last push to win the American League Cy Young Award.
Wakamatsu wants to give Hernandez every opportunity to win his 19th game, but also must be careful with his right-hander, who threw 120 pitches in Tuesday night’s victory over the A’s.
“We’d like to get him another win and we’d like to get another team win,” Wakamatsu said. “The game will always dictate that, and even yesterday it was hard to expose him. I do feel good about the way we’ve used him this year. To be able to keep him healthy throughout the year has been a big deal.”
To help Hernandez’s Cy Young push, the Mariners distributed a one-page, full-color fact sheet to the media covering Wednesday night’s game. The same information — minus a photo of Hernandez in his delivery — was e-mailed to media around the nation a few days ago.
It lists numerous statistical highlights on Hernandez, who’s in what appears to be a three-player race for the Cy Young with the Royals’ Zack Greinke and the Yankees’ C.C. Sabathia. It also includes a quote from Sabathia, who said:
“I told Andy (Pettitte) the other day, if I had a vote, I would vote for Hernandez. I saw Felix up close the other day and I was like, ‘All right, this guy is unbelievable.’ So right now, to me, he has my vote.”
Of note
First baseman Russell Branyan, activated from the disabled list Tuesday, probably won’t see any at-bats until this weekend’s series against the Rangers. “And even then, that’s doubtful,” Wakamatsu said. … There’s no doubt about shortstop Jack Wilson, who is done for the season because of a bruised right heel. … Wakamatsu said Carlos Silva, on the DL most of the season with a bad right shoulder, would pitch only “if the game dictates it.” He said Silva will pitch winter ball in Venezuela, although the amount of his workload hasn’t been determined.
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