NEXT SERIES
Opponent: Oakland A’s
When: 7:05 p.m. today, Thursday.
Where: Safeco Field
TV: Fox Sports Net today, KSTW (channel 11) Thursday.
Radio: KOMO (1000 AM) both games.
Probable starters: Today – Seattle left-hander Travis Blackley (1-2, 11.37 earned run average) vs. left-hander Barry Zito (5-7, 4.42).
Thursday – Right-hander Ryan Franklin (3-8, 5.32) vs. left-hander Mark Redman (6-7, 4.95).
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The Mariners have released an instructional DVD featuring Mariners pitching coach Bryan Price and hitting coach Paul Molitor.
Astute viewers will notice a big difference in Price: He demonstrates pitching techniques right-handed in the DVD.
In real life, Price is a lefty.
Video producers decided that instruction from a left-hander would be too awkward for an audience that’s primarily right-handed, so Price grabbed a right-hander’s glove and made the switch.
“Thankfully I didn’t have to go through a full pitching motion,” he said. “All I did was go through a series of small movements.”
Price said it was an awkward adjustment.
“Believe me, that wasn’t done in one session. It was a menagerie of cut-and-do-it-again,” he said. “I kept trying to get up to a balance point (on one leg) and couldn’t stay there. Left-handed I can sit there all day, but right-handed I kept falling forward.”
The DVD, “Train Like the Seattle Mariners,” is targeted at youth baseball players ages 9-14. It’s available at all Mariners team stores (including Alderwood Mall) or by phone at 206-346-4001. The cost is $25 until Aug. 15, when it will sell for $30.
Mechanics 101: Emotion got the best of rookie left-hander Travis Blackley in his previous two outings, although he and Price have worked extensively on mechanics.
The Mariners hope to see the results of that work today, when Blackley starts against the A’s.
“There were mechanical issues that probably stemmed from trying to do too much,” Price said.
Blackley beat the Texas Rangers in his major league debut July 1 but has been hammered in his last two outings, including Friday when the Indians hit three straight home runs and scored seven runs off him.
“He looked very good that first game against Texas, but he got away from that in his last two starts,” Price said. “He’s got to get back to basics.”
Short hops: The Mariners have scored at least five runs in five consecutive games for the first time this season. They have scored 33 runs in the last five games. … Left-hander Ron Villone, who made his second start of the season Monday and pitched well against the Red Sox, will get the ball again Saturday against the Angels. … Owing a little to Bucky-mania and a lot to the presence of the Red Sox on a warm summer afternoon, the Mariners drew 46,024 Tuesday, their fifth sellout of the season.
Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer
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