Notebook | Mariners ready for rematch with Rangers

The Mariners left Seattle on Sunday night for Texas, where a three-game series that begins tonight could include more than the normal trappings of a few days with the Rangers.

Last week at Safeco Field, as the Rangers were dealing the flailing M's a three-losses-in-four-games blow, the teams became embroiled in a brushback battle that resulted in Seattle first baseman Richie Sexson being suspended for six games. Over the weekend, he appealed it down to five games, which he began serving against the Chicago White Sox and will continue by missing this series.

Publicly, at least, the M's are saying they think the flare-up is history. At the same time, they might want to be wary.

"If there was any chance at all they were going to do something, they would probably do it to Richie, and he's not playing these three games," pointed out M's pitcher Jarrod Washburn. "If they're upset about anything, I would think it's the helmet toss, but I would think it's a dead issue."

In the series finale Thursday, Felix Hernandez hit two batters, the latter second baseman Ian Kinsler after he had homered earlier. Kinsler glared at Hernandez and had some words as he took first base.

Later, Rangers starter Kason Gabbard fired a high fastball with Sexson at bat in the fourth inning. The pitch wasn't much inside, if at all. But Sexson, saying later Gabbard should have thrown the pitch lower so as not to endanger his head, charged the mound.

Shortly before he got to Gabbard, Sexson took off his helmet and flung it at the right-hander, locked up with him and was ejected. Texas had nobody tossed out.

"It should be over with," said Willie Bloomquist. "The point was made on both sides. We have no reason to be going around drilling any of their guys and they have no reason to be drilling any of our guys.

"I'm not sure from their standpoint, but just from a common baseball knowledge standpoint, it should be over with."

Said Jose Vidro: "If it happens again, it wouldn't surprise me, but if it doesn't, I think it'd be better for the game. We've got more important things to worry about. We need to play better baseball."

Bad battery?

Asked about some apparent situations during his start Saturday when he and catcher Kenji Johjima weren't in concert, Washburn didn't deny it.

"There's times when you're not always on the same page," he said. "It happens."

Washburn was asked if there was any more of it than normal.

"With Kenji? No," he said. "Read into that what you want."

Washburn has made prior reference to some difficulty working with Johjima. On Saturday, he appeared to bark at his catcher after one White Sox at-bat.

"It's a work in progress," said Washburn. "When he comes over from Japan, you know there are going to be communications issues with the language barrier, and him learning an entirely different league and a whole new pitching staff. And also, he has to learn the umpires and opposing pitchers. He's got a lot to handle. I would never want to have to do what he's doing. He's got a tough job, a lot of hurdles."

As for whether it's more complicated than merely different pitch preferences in particular situations, Washburn said: "I don't know how exactly to word it. It's more like a consistency issue, I guess. Sometimes you click and sometimes you don't."

The M's have used backup catcher Jamie Burke in Erik Bedard's last three starts. Asked if he thinks a similar situation might be developing with him, Washburn said, "I'm not the kind of guy who's going to demand anything like that. Mac [manager John McLaren] makes those decisions, I don't."

Asked about the Washburn-Johjima relationship, McLaren said, "I don't think it's a problem. I didn't notice it, to be honest with you."

Notes

• McLaren said Washburn has tinkered with adding a split-finger fastball to his repertoire the past couple of outings, saying he threw one against the White Sox on which "the bottom dropped out."

• Many players on both sides used pink bats and wore pink wristbands Sunday to show support for breast cancer awareness and research.

• Bloomquist declined to comment on the baserunning miscue that cost the M's a scoring chance Saturday, when Ichiro was thrown out at the plate on the tail end of a play in which Bloomquist was picked off first. Said McLaren: "If anybody was to blame, it'd be me. No excuses whatsoever."

For the record

Streak: W1

Home: 9-12

Road: 6-12

vs. AL West: 9-9

vs. L.A.: 3-3

vs. Oakland: 3-2

vs. Texas: 3-4

vs. AL East: 3-10

vs. AL Central: 3-5

vs. NL: 0-0

vs. LHP: 2-7

vs. RHP: 13-17

Day: 4-7

Night: 11-17

One-run: 1-8

Extra innings: 0-1

Home attendance

Sunday's crowd: 30,346

Season total: 546,810

Biggest crowd: 46,334 (March 31)

Smallest crowd: 15,818 (May 6)

Average (21 dates): 26,039

2007 average (21 dates): 28,707