Notebook | Mariners test waters — and Morrow floats

PEORIA, Ariz. — A dozen pitches from Brandon Morrow answered at least some of the questions piling up in the Mariners bullpen.

The team now knows Morrow can still pitch without pain, which he did in a Class AA contest against a Milwaukee Brewers affiliate on Sunday. After yielding a leadoff, blooped single, Morrow rallied for a fly out, ground out and pop out before riding off to his team clubhouse in a golf cart.

"I didn't want to stay out there and labor too long," Morrow said after his first game action since a sore shoulder sidelined him March 10. "I felt strong."

But the team is uncertain about whether Morrow will be strong enough to go all-out once the season starts. With that in mind, there is a plan to have rehabbing right-handers Chris Reitsma and Mark Lowe throw in back-to-back games later this week.

Whichever pitcher looks stronger will likely be added to the bullpen as insurance under the assumption Morrow won't be able to go more than an inning at a time every couple of days — at least to start the year.

"I think they're both pretty close," pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre said. "If one had the edge over the other, Lowe might perhaps be just a slight bit ahead ... primarily because it's been longer since his last surgery and he had some time last fall with the club. He's pretty much answered most of the questions.

"The back-to-back will be very interesting for him."

Lowe gave up a hit over an inning of work on Sunday as the Mariners lost 8-2 to the Los Angeles Angels in Tempe, Ariz. The decision on which reliever will be added to the club could delay the team naming its opening day roster until after it leaves Peoria on Thursday for this week's exhibition games in San Francisco and Las Vegas.

In the minor-league game, Morrow threw all fastballs and sliders during his scheduled one-inning stint. He said it would be ideal for him to get into back-to-back games as well, but Stottlemyre nixed that.

"I think it would be really pushing him and I don't want to push him," Stottlemyre said.

Morrow admitted to some control issues but added that his fastball had the hitters swinging late. He said he's dealt with soreness of this type in his shoulder before, mainly because his body type makes it difficult for him to gain enough weight and muscle mass in that area.

"The funniest was when I was in high school and I was eating super weight-gainer," he said with a chuckle. "I had this stuff that had 80 grams of sugar — and that was about two months before I found out I was diabetic. I was hurting myself trying to put on weight, just losing more weight."

Notes

• Mariners starter Carlos Silva won't have many fond memories of his first spring training in Arizona. Plagued all spring by drier air, which he says kept his fingers from getting a proper grip on the baseball, Silva gave up six runs on 10 hits over five innings of a Class AAA game Sunday against San Diego.

Silva, sporting a 9.20 earned-run average in Cactus League play, said his grip on the ball was better this time. He'd worked on holding the ball the same way in his hands before his windup — to maintain the right grip.

"Sometimes, as a pitcher, you throw one pitch really good and you don't remember how your fingers were and stuff," he said. "That's what I try to do. I try to remember everything. If I throw one, I want to repeat."

Silva's mound problems this time — he did give up a pile of runs over a 107-pitch performance — were blamed on a mound with a sharp drop-off to it, an umpire who wouldn't call strikes down in the zone and an infield that was too hard and allowed about a half-dozen grounders to get through for hits.

Stottlemyre said Silva was victimized by some bad luck. But he also struck out seven.

• First baseman Richie Sexson received a cortisone injection on Saturday to help him with bursitis in his right shoulder. The team says the problem is nothing serious and that Sexson should be fine and back in the lineup today.

• Cha Seung Baek gave up four runs on seven hits over three innings in taking the loss against the Angels. Baek had allowed just one earned run over his first 11 innings this spring, which was making it difficult for the Mariners to part ways with him in favor of knuckleball specialist R.A. Dickey.

Dickey gave up three runs in three innings against the Angels, all of them coming on a Juan Rivera homer in the sixth. But the fact Dickey went three innings, exactly the type of pick-me-up long relief Seattle needs in its ailing bullpen, likely solidified a roster spot for the Rule 5 pick.

• Mike Morse went 1 for 4, lowering his spring batting average to .519.

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