M's Notebook | Righty reliever gets vote of confidence for setup role

TORONTO — A revolving eighth-inning door in the Mariners' bullpen may have just been slammed shut.

The Mariners have been waiting somewhat anxiously to see whether Chris Reitsma could be effective in the right-handed setup role they signed him to fill. Through a slow start, an elbow injury and a subsequent setback, Reitsma raised more questions than he answered.

But after leaning toward Sean Green in recent outings, manager John McLaren reverted to Reitsma to protect a 4-2, eighth-inning lead Friday night. Reitsma responded by getting a huge double-play grounder off the bat of Blue Jays slugger Vernon Wells, then got a vote of confidence afterward.

"We're kind of looking at Reitsma in the eighth right now," McLaren said after the game. "And [left-hander George] Sherrill in the eighth. In the sixth, seventh, we can mix and match with those other guys — [Eric] O'Flaherty, [Brandon] Morrow, Green.

"It's been working pretty good, so we've been trying to stay consistent."

Reitsma said he's merely thrilled to finally be contributing and doesn't care what inning he works.

He allowed a leadoff single to Alex Rios, then got Wells to hit a ball to shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, who stepped on second and threw on to first for the double play.

"Vernon was up. I know he's a good fastball hitter," Reitsma said. "I thought I threw him a pretty good slider. He kind of check-swinged and it went right to Yuni.

"It's been a long road with this elbow," he added. "I'm just trying to stay positive with that."

Lowe nears return

Reliever Mark Lowe could be "a few days" away from returning to the Mariners, as his surgically repaired elbow has responded well to minor-league rehabilitation assignments.

That's what general manager Bill Bavasi was saying on Friday after Lowe allowed one hit in tossing a scoreless sixth inning Thursday for Class AA West Tennessee against Mobile. Lowe will have another outing today, then the team will discuss whether he needs any more work in the minors before rejoining the Mariners in Texas next week.

Lowe's velocity is still not back in the high 90s as it was before a season-ending elbow problem cropped up last August. Bavasi also doesn't think Lowe's command will be quite as sharp just yet, but isn't worried.

"Usually, that stuff doesn't come around until a guy starts pitching up here," he said.

Vidro doubling up

Using his hands instead of his body more when swinging could be one reason why designated hitter Jose Vidro is collecting more doubles.

He has worked on that in the batting cage during soft-toss sessions, hoping to find the power that was missing during the first half. Vidro also figures he's seen some better pitches of late, courtesy of hot-hitting Jose Guillen batting behind him and Ichiro constantly being on base whenever Vidro comes up.

Whatever the reason, he has hit four doubles in his past 11 games, compared to nine in the first three months of the season.

"All those things together," Vidro said. "For some reason, I'm feeling really good at the plate right now."

Big hit for Sexson

First baseman Richie Sexson may have produced the biggest hit of Friday's game — a second-inning screamer off the right foot of Blue Jays starter Jesse Litsch. The rookie dominated Seattle hitters early on, but seemed to wear down because of his sore foot and was forced out in the fifth inning.

Sexson collected an infield hit on the second-inning play, then later singled to left field. He had gone 2 for 18 in a recent homestand that saw him bumped to No. 6 in the order.

McLaren said before the game he doesn't plan to tinker with his lineup much. But, in a veiled reference to Sexson, he added: "If certain people get hot, we might make some [lineup] adjustments. So I'll let you figure that one out."

Notes

• Raul Ibanez was caught stealing on a botched hit-and-run play in the eighth inning. That ended a streak of 27 consecutive successful stolen bases against Toronto, the longest stretch in the majors this season.

• Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was ejected by first-base umpire Tim Timmons in the sixth for arguing a strike call on a checked swing by Aaron Hill. It was Gibbons' fourth ejection of the season.

For the record

Streak: W2

Home: 31-18

Road: 23-21

vs. AL West: 15-11

vs. L.A.: 2-7

vs. Oakland: 7-2

vs. Texas: 6-2

vs. AL East: 18-8

vs. AL Cent.: 12-11

vs. NL: 9-9

vs. LHP: 18-7

vs. RHP: 36-32

Day: 15-12

Night: 39-27

One-run: 16-11

Extra innings: 3-1