Opponent: Kansas City Royals
When: 7:10 p.m.
Where: Safeco Field
TV: Fox Sports Northwest (Cable)
Radio: KOMO (1000 AM)
Probable starters: Seattle left-hander Jarrod Washburn (1-1, 3.00 earned run average) vs. right-hander Zack Greinke (2-0, 0.60)
Bedard, Beltre, scratched: Sunday turned out to be a day of rest for two Seattle Mariners players who have been nursing sore body parts.
Scheduled starter Erik Bedard and third baseman Adrian Beltre were scratched from Sunday’s lineup a few hours before the game against the Los Angeles Angels. Both players will be re-evaluated today.
Bedard was held out of a start for the second time this season due to inflammation in his left hip. His last scheduled start was delayed due to the injury eight days ago. Reliever Cha Seung Baek started Sunday’s game in place of Bedard and gave up seven hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings of work during the 10-5 loss to the Angels.
Miguel Cairo replaced Beltre, who has been struggling with soreness in his right hamstring.
The Mariners seemed to miss both players, with a slow-starting offense and a short-handed bullpen playing big roles in the loss to the Angels.
Manager John McLaren said more would be known about the status of both players today. He added that Bedard is expected to meet with a team doctor sometime today.
Jarrod Washburn (today) and Miguel Batista (on Tuesday) remain the scheduled starters for the first two games of the Kansas City series.
Morse injured: A third Mariners player went down during Sunday’s game, as outfielder Mike Morse left in the sixth inning because of a shoulder injury. Morse suffered the injury when he made a diving attempt to catch a fly ball hit by Jeff Mathis. He initially waved off trainer Rick Griffin and temporarily stayed in the game but was unable to bat in the bottom of the inning.
Afterward, Morse was wearing a sling to protect the shoulder.
“It popped out and popped in,” he said of the shoulder about 30 minutes after the end of Sunday’s game. “But it feels better now.”
Morse added that he was scheduled to undergo an MRI late Sunday night.
He was starting in place of Brad Wilkerson. Greg Norton pinch-hit for Morse in the bottom of the sixth, then stayed in the game as a right fielder.
Putz throws: Closer J.J. Putz took a step toward his eventual return by throwing off a mound Sunday morning. It marked the first time that Putz threw off a mound since going on the disabled list April 2 due to inflammation in his rib muscles.
Putz threw for six minutes before Sunday’s game, and McLaren said he’ll throw again sometime today.
Putz is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list Thursday, although his return could depend on how he looks in bullpen sessions over the next few days.
New-look lineup: Morse and catcher Jamie Burke were added to the lineup Sunday. They replaced two struggling hitters — Wilkerson and catcher Kenji Johjima, respectively — but the moves had little to do with anyone’s offensive woes.
Burke typically catches Sunday afternoon games to give Johjima a rest, while the right-handed Morse played because the Angels started a left-handed pitcher in Joe Saunders.
Morse singled and struck out in two plate appearances. Burke went 0-for-4, including a double-play groundout with the bases loaded in the second inning.
Norton’s back: Norton, who was called up from Class AAA Tacoma on Friday, made the most of his first opportunity with the Mariners on Sunday.
He came off the bench and lined the first pitch he saw to right field in the sixth inning. Norton’s bases-loaded single resulted in the Mariners’ first run and chased Saunders from the game.
Kendrick injured: Angels hitting machine Howie Kendrick was at it again Sunday, at least until he strained his left hamstring in the seventh inning.
Kendrick had three hits in four at-bats before leaving the game in the top of the seventh. He appeared to pull his muscle after rounding first base on a double and was quickly replaced by pinch runner Maicer Izturis.
Kendrick has a .500 batting average for the season, having hit safely on 16 of his 32 at-bats. He went 6-for-8 in two games against the Mariners over the weekend.
More offense from Ibanez: The Angels’ Kendrick wasn’t the only player swinging a hot bat at Safeco Field during the three-game series.
Seattle’s Raul Ibanez added his sixth extra-base hit of the series with a seventh-inning double Sunday. Ibanez drove in a pair of runs with the hit and went 7-of-13 with eight RBI during the three-game stretch.
Scott M. Johnson, Herald Writer
Angels 10, Mariners 5
Los AngelesABRHBIBBSOAvg.
Figgins 3b512102.404
Matthews Jr. cf501201.259
Guerrero rf411211.288
GAnderson lf510000.222
Kendrick 2b403100.500
Izturis pr-2b110000.121
Kotchman 1b403110.370
JRivera dh511100.125
Mathis c433200.353
Aybar ss422000.310
Totals4110161024
SeattleABRHBIBBSOAvg.
Suzuki cf310020.255
JoLopez 2b522001.333
Ibanez lf502300.327
Sexson 1b411010.244
Vidro dh402000.191
Morse rf201001.222
Norton ph-rf2021001.000
Cairo 3b300110.000
Burke c400000.250
Betancourt ss410000.304
Totals36510542
Los Angeles002023300—10162
Seattle000002201—5100
E—Aybar 2 (3). LOB—Los Angeles 6, Seattle 8. 2B—Guerrero (3), Kendrick 2 (5), Kotchman (3), Mathis (1), Ibanez (4). HR—Mathis (2), off O’Flaherty. RBIs—Figgins (2), Matthews Jr. 2 (7), Guerrero 2 (11), Kendrick (4), Kotchman (6), JRivera (1), Mathis 2 (3), Ibanez 3 (13), Norton (1), Cairo (1). SB—Figgins 2 (6), Aybar (3), Suzuki (1). CS—Kendrick 2 (2). GIDP—JRivera, Vidro, Cairo, Burke. Runners left in scoring position—Los Angeles 3 (GAnderson, JRivera, Aybar); Seattle 4 (Ibanez, Vidro, Burke 2). Runners moved up—Figgins, Kotchman, JoLopez, Cairo. DP—Los Angeles 3 (Saunders, Mathis and Kotchman), (Aybar, Kendrick and Kotchman), (Izturis, Aybar and Kotchman); Seattle 1 (JoLopez and Sexson).
Los AngelesIPHRERBBSONPERA
Saunders W, 2-051/362231911.27
Speier102111237.20
Oliver2/310000145.68
Shields11000092.45
FRodriguez121100228.31
SeattleIPHRERBBSONPERA
Baek L, 0-141/3744228511.81
O’Flaherty22/3866026120.25
Corcoran210000130.00
Inherited runners-scored—Speier 3-1, Oliver 2-2, O’Flaherty 2-1. IBB—off Baek (Guerrero) 1. WP—Speier, Oliver. T—3:10. A—30,664 (47,447).
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