MLB Team Report – Seattle Mariners – INSIDE PITCH
When manager Eric Wedge moved Ichiro Suzuki from the No. 3 spot in the batting order to the leadoff spot, the idea was that it would increase Ichiro’s productivity.
He was only batting .271 as the No. 3 hitter with one homer, and for a career .323 hitter, returning to his comfort zone should get him hitting.
It has not worked out that way.
The right fielder, hitting just .206 since becoming a leadoff hitter, got the night off Monday in Phoenix when Arizona second baseman Aaron Hill hit for the cycle in the Diamondbacks’ 7-1 win over the Mariners.
Ichiro, hitting .255 with a .286 on-base percentage for the season, will be back atop of the lineup again Tuesday.
“It’s a good time to do it (give him a day off), with the left-hander going against us today,” Wedge said. “There was a travel day (Sunday from Seattle), and this is the first day of the road trip. And we are losing the DH (in Phoenix, a National League city).
“I think it does help him to have a day off. He’s been playing a long time. He keeps in good shape, and he plays hard. A day off serves him well.”
The Mariners were looking for Ichiro’s numbers to go up, and while that hasn’t happened, Wedge isn’t about to abandon the experiment.
“We started him out in the three hole, and we left him there for a couple of months,” Wedge said. “Now we’ve moved him back to leadoff where he’s more comfortable. We’re trying to get him going there.
“It’s been hit or miss. He’s showed some (good) signs, but there hasn’t been the consistency like we’re looking for.”
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MLB Team Report – Seattle Mariners – NOTES, QUOTES
–RHP Tom Wilhelmsen hasn’t allowed a run in his last nine games, a stretch of 11 2/3 innings, during which time opponents are hitting .108 (4-for-37). In the ninth inning and later, Wilhelmsen is limiting hitters to a .111 average (6-for-54).
–LHP Charlie Furbush is on a strikeout roll. He has at least one strikeout in each of his last 13 games, a total of 19 in 14 2/3 innings. During that streak, he’s allowed just one earned run for a 0.61 ERA.
–2B Dustin Ackley had his second multiple-hit game in his last three starts Monday. In the process, he’s raised his average from .244 to .251. He has only three multiple hit games this month.
–RF Ichiro Suzuki got just his second start off for the 2012 season. He’s been slumping, and he’s hitting .255 with a .286 on-base percentage. When he gets his next hit, Ichiro will be the third active player with at least 2,500 hits and 400 steals, joining Omar Vizquel and Johnny Damon. Twenty-three players have gotten to those levels before Ichiro.
–OF Casper Wells has 17 career homers after going deep against San Francisco RHP Tim Lincecum, a four-time All-Star, on Saturday. Of those 17, Wells has homered 10 times against All-Star pitchers: Lincecum, Ted Lilly, Andy Pettitte, Zach Duke, Tim Wakefield, C.J. Wilson, Trevor Cahill, James Shields, Josh Beckett and Mark Buehrle.
–LF Michael Saunders led off for the second time this season with RF Ichiro Suzuki getting a night off. Saunders has made at least two starts at every spot in the batting order except third and fourth.
BY THE NUMBERS: 5 — Consecutive games with errors for Seattle.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I’m fully confident that he has the stuff to be a starter, but he needs to be aggressive and consistent.” — Manager Eric Wedge, on RHP Hector Noesi, Monday’s losing pitcher. Noesi allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits in five innings at Arizona.
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MLB Team Report – Seattle Mariners – ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
–RHP Stephen Pryor (strained left groin) went on the 15-day disabled list June 13.
–LF Mike Carp (right shoulder inflammation) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 11.
–LHP George Sherrill (strained left elbow) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 10, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 1. He underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in early May.
ROTATION:
RHP Felix Hernandez
LHP Jason Vargas
RHP Kevin Millwood
RHP Hector Noesi
RHP Erasmo Ramirez
BULLPEN:
RHP Tom Wilhelmsen (closer)
RHP Brandon League
LHP Charlie Furbush
RHP Hisashi Iwakuma
LHP Lucas Luetge
RHP Shawn Kelley
LHP Oliver Perez
CATCHERS:
Miguel Olivo
Jesus Montero
John Jaso
INFIELDERS:
1B Justin Smoak
2B Dustin Ackley
SS Brendan Ryan
3B Kyle Seager
INF Munenori Kawasaki
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Michael Saunders
CF Franklin Gutierrez
RF Ichiro Suzuki
OF Casper Wells
OF/INF Chone Figgins
