PEORIA, Ariz. — An unhittable Brandon Morrow, fast becoming the top story this spring, had a brief chat earlier this spring with another young reliever who'd already made a quantum leap from the minors to the majors.
Morrow spoke briefly with injured reliever Mark Lowe about his experiences in vaulting to the big leagues from Class A ball last season.
"I just told him not to change anything," said Lowe, who should hear today whether he can begin throwing in another week or two as he recovers from surgery. "From every level that he goes to, don't change a thing until it doesn't work anymore."
Things keep on working for Morrow, who remains in the running for a bullpen job less than a year after being drafted by Seattle in the first round. He needed just eight pitches to retire the side in Friday's seventh inning, getting Mike Napoli on a flyout to center, Macier Izturis on a pop fly to left and Erick Aybar on a fly to center.
"Nice and quickly, that's what you want," said Morrow, who has allowed just two hits and four baserunners over 7-1/3 scoreless innings this spring.
Morrow threw seven fastballs and one slider to the hitters he faced.
Mariners manager Mike Hargrove is debating the once remote possibility of adding Morrow to the team's opening-day bullpen. It would be a highly unusual move for a pitcher with limited Class A experience, who is still being groomed as a future starter.
"He keeps making a case, doesn't he?" Hargrove said.
Aiming for April 2
Mariners closer J.J. Putz threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Friday and felt fine afterward. Putz is to throw another bullpen session Sunday and then a minor-league game after that if all goes well.
He'll then be used in the team's Cactus League game next Friday in Las Vegas before a decision is made on whether he heads north for opening day.
"I watched it and you could hear the ball come off his fingers," Hargrove said of the bullpen session. "And usually ... with an unhealthy arm you don't hear that."
Hargrove earlier in the day had mentioned the possibility of leaving Putz behind in Arizona and taking an 11-man pitching staff north. But after the bullpen session, he sounded more optimistic about the April 2 opener.
"We expect him to be ready by then," he said.
Notes
• Hargrove isn't ready to name the rest of his starting rotation, saying he's still mulling over the Nos. 4 and 5 spots. He has to decide whether to put left-hander Horacio Ramirez as the fifth starter, or move him up to No. 4 to split up right-handers Miguel Batista and Jeff Weaver.
• Jose Guillen continues to terrorize his former team this spring, hitting a two-run homer, a double and a single Friday — the latter two hits coming in a seven-run fourth inning by Seattle off Angels starter John Lackey. Guillen also homered against the Angels two weeks ago.
Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com.
Read his daily blog at www.seattletimes.com/Mariners
Friday's box score
|
| Los Angeles (A) |
|
Seattle |
|
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
|
|
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
| Matthews cf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Ichiro dh |
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Quinlan 3b |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Nelson ph-dh |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Cabrera ss |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Reed cf-rf |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
| Willits cf |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Beltre 3b |
4 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Guerrero rf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Dawkins pr-3b |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Johnson c |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Guillen rf |
4 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
| Anderson lf |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Jones cf |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Gorneault rf |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Broussard 1b |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Hillenbrand dh |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Betancourt ss |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
| Morales ph-dh |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Ordonez ss |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Kotchman 1b |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Morse lf |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| Leblanc ph |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Lopez 2b |
4 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Napoli c |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Rivera c |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Pride lf |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Johnson c |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Izturis 3b |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rodriguez ss |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Aybar 2b |
3 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Leahy 2b |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Totals |
34 |
6 |
10 |
6 |
|
Totals |
36 |
10 |
13 |
9 |
|
|
| Los Angeles (A) |
002 200 002 |
-- |
6 |
| Seattle |
200 700 10x |
-- |
10 |
|
E — Guerrero 2. DP — Los Angeles 1, Seattle 1. LOB — Los Angeles 2, Seattle 5. 2B — Izturis, Hillenbrand, Reed, Guillen, Lopez. HR — Gorneault, Guillen, Beltre. SB — Aybar 3. CS — Kotchman. SF — Pride.
|
|
| Angels |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
|
Lackey, L |
|
4 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
2 |
2 |
|
| Mariners |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
|
Hernandez, W |
|
6 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
HBP — by Gwyn (Ordonez). T — 2:23. A.
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