:Utilityman extraordinaire Willie Bloomquist made his 13th start of a season now 24 games old for the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, but he didn’t stay long.
Starting with a tight back he loosened with stretching before the game, Bloomquist made a sprawling stop on an infield single in the second inning, then felt his back spasm as he tried to get out of the batter’s box during a third-inning at-bat.
“My back is always a little tight, so I stretch it every day,” Bloomquist said. “It’s not excruciating now, I just can’t play with it.”
Play? After the game Saturday, Bloomquist could barely walk or dress himself.
And in the back of his mind, something nagged at him.
“I’m hoping it’s just muscle back there, nothing more,” Bloomquist said. “A few years ago in Tacoma, I had a disc problem and missed a couple of weeks.
“Right now, I couldn’t tell you what it is. I don’t think they know yet.”
Bloomquist has started 10 games at third base, one at first, two at shortstop. Overall, he’s batting .257.
If he’s unavailable beyond today, the Mariners almost certainly will have to disable him to get a fresh body on their bench.
Unhappy totals: Over the past 10 games, Seattle starting pitchers are 0-6 with a 5.69 earned run average and only four times in that span has a starter lasted as long as six innings.
And over the last 14 games, Seattle hitters are batting .155 with runners in scoring position.
On the nine-game trip that ends today, the Mariners have scored 32 runs – an average of four a game – and allowed 49 runs.
Around the horn: Of Raul Ibanez’s five April home runs, one tied the score and four put Seattle ahead. … Ichiro Suzuki’s 10 career leadoff home runs is the franchise record, double the second highest total, by Joey Cora. … Last season Suzuki grounded into three double plays. When he grounded into one Saturday, it was his fourth of this season. … The error charged to shortstop Carlos Guillen in the eighth inning was his first of the season in 23 games. Guillen is batting .301 with two home runs and 14 RBI. … By the end of the game, only one Seattle player in the lineup – Scott Spiezio – had a batting average over .300, and Spiezio was hitting .309. … Promotions alert: When the Mariners begin a homestand at Safeco Field on Tuesday, it will be Ichiro “Choo-Choo” night with the first 20,000 fans getting a collectible train car. On Thursday, Vanna White will throw out the first pitch on “Wheel of Fortune Night.” Good seats remain.
By Larry LaRue, The News Tribune
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
