M's Notebook | Sexson waits for the breaks

DETROIT — A three-run homer to left field is exactly the tonic Richie Sexson hopes will cure another prolonged drought at the plate.

Sexson's first-inning blast off Jeremy Bonderman on Tuesday night helped double his runs-batted-in output for the month of May. The Mariners inserted Sexson in the clean-up role for the game despite a .147 batting average.

In a lengthy pregame chat, Sexson insisted he is hitting the ball hard despite his lowly numbers. He entered the night mired in a 3-for-26 slump in the first seven games of this month, but said things will change once balls start dropping in for him.

"I'm hitting the ball good," he said. "That's just the weird part of this game. Once you hit it, you can't control where it goes."

As if to prove his point, Sexson hit what looked to be a sure double to right field with a runner aboard in Tuesday's ninth inning. But Tigers right fielder Magglio Ordonez made a sliding, circus catch in the pocket of his glove to end the game.

"You see guys bleeding the infield for hits, blooping them over the second baseman for hits. I haven't gotten those," Sexson said. "I've been hitting the ball good, hard on the ground. I had a couple of balls [Monday] that could have been home runs but the wind took them down."

Sexson swatted two deep flies that were blown back down at Yankee Stadium. A look at his hitting in the seven May games, heading into Tuesday, showed him with six fly ball outs, seven ground outs to the shortstop and another to the third baseman.

Of his three hits, two — a single and a double — were to straightaway center, the sign of a solid approach. Sexson said he's staying positive "as long as I feel good, which I do. I feel good and I'm hitting the ball good, which is all I can do."

Mariners manager Mike Hargrove agrees that Sexson has the right approach and swing. He figures the hits will come if he leaves the slugger right where he is and doesn't disrupt things by pushing him further back in the order.

"He's hit the ball hard," Hargrove said. "He's just not getting anything for it."

Hitting coach Jeff Pentland has suggested some minor adjustments so Sexson doesn't foul off as many hittable pitches. A look at this month's numbers shows that on the six occasions Sexson had a 2-1 "hitter's count" he fouled off the next pitch four times and grounded out twice.

On six other occasions, he swung at the second pitch of an at-bat and fouled balls off — another sign he is missing some hittable offerings.

"His basic swing is fine," Pentland said. "There are some pitches he's not getting to that he normally does. And that kind of irritates him. Especially, the balls away. We've tried to move him up a little closer [to the plate] just to make him a little more comfortable."

Hernandez ready

Injured Mariners starter Felix Hernandez threw a 50-pitch simulated game at Comerica Park and insists he'll be ready to go Tuesday. Hernandez didn't feel anything unusual in his right elbow this time, a sensation he did experience — and shared with the team — while playing catch last week.

"I was a little nervous in the first inning that I threw," Hernandez said. "Then in the second inning and the third inning, I felt better and my pitches were working better."

Hernandez will see how his elbow feels today. If all goes well, he'll get one more bullpen session and then pitch against the Los Angeles Angels in Seattle next week.

More lineup changes

Hargrove tweaked his lineup for a second straight game, giving Jose Guillen a day off and inserting Ben Broussard in right field in his place. Broussard hit fifth, while Sexson took the clean-up spot. Adrian Beltre hit sixth, Raul Ibanez moved up into the No. 3 spot, pushing Kenji Johjima into his usual No. 7 role after a night of hitting third in New York.

The lineup should change more in coming days as other regulars get rest with few off days remaining on the schedule. Sexson is likely to get a day off Thursday.

Note

• Yuniesky Betancourt is turning into a hitting machine, collecting three more on his final three at-bats and driving in three runs. Betancourt is 16 for 47 (.340) with nine RBI and seven runs scored over his last 13 games.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@settletimes.com

For the record

Streak: L1

Home: 8-6

Road: 6-8

vs. AL West: 7-5

vs. L.A.: 0-3

vs. Oakland: 4-1

vs. Texas: 3-1

vs. AL East: 3-4

vs. AL Central: 4-5

vs. NL: 0-0

vs. LHP: 4-2

vs. RHP: 10-12

Day: 6-5

Night: 8-9

One-run: 3-4

Extra innings: 0-0