Mariners manager Eric Wedge said this afternoon that there’s still time for center fielder Franklin Gutierrez to be ready for the season opener next Friday if he finds a quick solution to his continuing stomach problems.
But the way Wedge said it, you could almost see the alternative plans pl
aying out in his mind.
“I’m not ready to give in to it just yet, but we’re getting there pretty quick,” Wedge said.
Gutierrez has played only nine spring training games and is batting .240 in 25 at-bats, and he hasn’t played since Saturday. Michael Saunders has started two of the past three games in center.
“It’s been a tough spring for him,” Wedge said. “We’re just still trying to figure out something. Obviously, he’s behind. Once we do figure it out we’ll re-assess and go from there. But it’s getting late.”
Wedge said only that Saunders or Ryan Langerhans, who has started five times in center, would likely replace Gutierrez if he’s not ready by the opener.
“I’m comfortable with both of those guys out there,” Wedge said. “Both of them are good athletes and both of them have played out there.”
Saunders played his best game today, going 2-for-4 with a third-inning double and a ninth-inning two-run home run. He’s batting .282 and, more important, feeling comfortable after making changes early in camp to his setup at the plate. Saunders is keeping his hands closer to his body as he settles into his stance, and he says it has allowed him to drive the ball better to the opposite field.
“My approach is (to hit the ball) up the middle, other way and it has helped me stay back instead of wandering toward the ball,” he said. “I’m letting (the ball) travel to me. I feel like I’ve had some early success with it. I’ve been tinkering with it the last few years and it’s something that I’m really excited about.”
His third-inning double to the base of the outfield wall at the 385-foot mark in left-center field came off Royals left-hander Bruce Chen. It was a perfect example of what he is trying to accomplish with his opposite-field approach. His home run to right field in the ninth, when right-hander Jeremy Jeffress hung a full-count curveball, shows what can happen when Saunders proves to pitchers he can handle the pitch over the outer part of the strike zone.
“In order to get those balls to drive that are middle-in, you’ve got to show you can go the other way,” Saunders said. “That’s what we’ve been concentrating on this spring.”
A few other notes after today’s game, a 9-8 Royals victory that wasn’t secure until the final out of the ninth inning:
• In his next-to-last exhibition start, right-hander Doug Fister pitched better through four innings than he has all spring. Then he struggled in the fifth and sixth innings and was hit hard.
Fister allowed only a hit and a walk through 4 2/3 innings before he started leaving pitches up in the strike zone. He gave up six hits and two walks in the next 1 1/3 inning, including two-run homers by the Royals’ Lance Zawadzki and Alex Gordon in the fifth. Wedge said Fister, who threw 97 pitches, didn’t get tired in his last two innings but got too quick with his delivery.
“He had a nice tempo, nice rhythm with his delivery, and then he started to speed up a little bit and his arm had trouble catching up,” Wedge said.
• Brandon League, who’ll likely be the interim closer until David Aardsma is healthy, pitched an inning today, working on back-to-back days for the first time at spring training. How did he feel?
“Tell you tomorrow,” he said. “When I was out there, my arm felt fine.”
League pitched a perfect inning Wednesday night against the Rockies, striking out three, but struggled today against the Royals. He allowed three hits and a run on a sacrifice fly.
• Wedge said he has settled in his own mind all but a couple of the bullpen spots, and the upcoming exhibition games will help make up his mind. He said roster considerations won’t play into his evaluation yet, although that could become an issue when the organization makes its final decisions.
There’s a strong chance the Mariners will carry at least four non-roster players and creating room for them could be a challenge, especially considering there are players like pitcher Cesar Jimenez and infielder Josh Wilson who are out of minor-league options.
• Non-roster right-hander Jamey Wright continued his strong bid to win a bullpen spot, pitching a perfect eighth inning. He hasn’t allowed a run in 10 exhibition innings. “He throws the ball where he wants to, he knows what he wants to do with the baseball, he uses all of his pitches and he pitches with a great deal of confidence,” Wedge said.
• Left-hander Royce Ring, also trying to crack the bullpen as a non-roster player, gave up his first runs of camp when he allowed a walk and a two-run homer by Melky Cabrera in the seventh inning.
• Miguel Olivo went 1-for-4 and Jack Cust 1-for-5 in games against the Rangers’ minor league teams in Surprise. Olivo, coming back from a strained left groin, is expected to catch five innings of a minor league game today.
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