M's Notes: Well-rested Woods wins

After 13 days without pitching in a game, Jake Woods was a lot sharper than might have been expected when he entered Tuesday in the eighth inning against Arizona. He allowed two hits and walked only one before leaving with a lead that gave him a second win this season.

Woods said fellow reliever J.J. Putz knew how he found home plate. "J.J. said I must have had airport grounds crew people with those orange lights, guiding my pitches in," the left-hander said, with a laugh.

He could laugh. After all that time off, Woods largely accomplished his goal for the game, which he entered with the score 7-7.

"I hate walks, I try everything in my power not to give up walks," he said. "It seemed I was 1-0 on everyone, but I hadn't been far off, miss by maybe an inch or two, so I'd essentially come back with the same pitch and it worked to get even at 1-1."

By now Woods has become expert at dealing with down time. He has appeared in 16 games, only twice in consecutive games, and has gone from seven appearances in April to six in May to only three in June.

Since working three innings against Oakland on May 16, he has gone 7, 15, 6 and 13 days between games.

"I try never to go more than two days without throwing a solid bullpen [session], just to maintain some kind of touch and feel for the ball and my mechanics and the strike zone," he said. "Tuesday, it just so happened I threw a bullpen during batting practice before the game. So [it] may have helped in that case."

Woods walked only one, which put two on with two gone in the ninth inning. At that point, even with left-handed hitter Luis Gonzalez coming to bat, manager Mike Hargrove went with his closer, Putz, who got Gonzalez on a fly ball.

Study time for Meche

Whenever possible, Mariners starter Gil Meche studies opposing hitters by watching their at-bats in the game preceding his start. He does it even more intently in interleague play, when the hitters may be strangers to him.

And now that Felix Hernandez is ahead of him in the Mariners' rotation, Meche gets more than ever from his studies.

"I'd watch when Wash [Jarrod Washburn] was ahead of me and try to pick things up, but because he's a lefty I was never sure how much I could apply," the right-hander said. "But with Felix going before me, I really focus."

The idea is that with Hernandez, also being right-handed and also a power pitcher, Meche can see a lot of similarities from the hitters.

"I can see who's late on fastballs, and how they react to the breaking ball that goes the same direction as mine. It's a great lesson for me when we face the same team in back-to-back games."

Petagine ready for role

Like Woods on the mound, Roberto Petagine had his own need to shake off rust Tuesday, with his first pinch-hitting appearance in 10 days. He responded with a double that started the Mariners to a two-run rally in the seventh inning.

"I know what the role can be like," said the left-handed hitter. "It's a matter of staying ready, no matter how long it is between at-bats for me. I ride a [stationary] bike, and take extra swings in the batting cage during every game."

He said he learned last year when he was with the Red Sox how it is to sit and wait to be called to go up and hit, usually against tough relievers. "There's no sense worrying about it, it's the nature of the job," he said. "You just go up there and try to do the job the best you can."