Jarrod Washburn worthy, but loses 7-3 to Twins

For a while, it looked like all of Mariners starter Jarrod Washburn's remaining trade value might have been drained on a poorly-executed two-strike pitch.

But a three-run triple Washburn yielded to Denard Span on a slider that broke over the heart of the plate turned out to be his only costly mistake all day. The runs that scored wound up being the only earned ones Washburn allowed Wednesday afternoon in a 7-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

And so, while the Mariners missed out on their first three-game sweep of an American League opponent, in front of 30,441 at Safeco Field, they may have gained a trade partner. The New York Yankees placed starting pitcher Joba Chamberlain on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday with rotator cuff tendinitis and may want another look at Washburn, who threw a solid six innings.

"I thought he threw the ball really well," Mariners catcher Jeff Clement said of Washburn, who struck out six. "You could tell in the first inning, striking out the side, that he had his good stuff going."

Only not all day.

Washburn issued a walk to No. 9 hitter Carlos Gomez to load the bases with one out in the second. And then, after jumping ahead 0-2 on Span, he threw the ill-fated slider that got ripped into the right-field corner.

"It just kind of hung up there over the plate," said Clement, adding that the pitch was supposed to start on the outside corner and break down and away.

Washburn also likely cost himself another inning of work when he threw seven consecutive balls in the sixth after two quick outs and the count 1-2 on Brendan Harris. But Washburn fanned Gomez to notch his seventh "quality start" — at least six innings pitched, three earned runs or fewer allowed — in his last 10 outings.

Washburn left with Mariners trailing 4-3 after six, the difference being an unearned run that scored in the second after an Adrian Beltre error. Seattle nearly took the lead in the seventh when Beltre hit what appeared to be a two-run homer, only to have right fielder Span make a leaping catch at the wall.

Minnesota then scored three runs off Mark Lowe in the top of the eighth.

The big question regarding a Washburn trade is whether the Yankees will bite more than they did before the July 31 deadline. Washburn would have to first clear waivers — which he may have already been put through — though there are no AL contenders with a worse record than New York who could "block" the move by claiming the pitcher.

New York is already missing No. 1 starter Chien Ming Wang and Phillip Hughes due to injury. With Washburn riding a 3.44 earned-run average since May 25, he might be an upgrade over what's available to the Yanks.

Notes

• Relief pitcher Jared Wells made his Mariners debut, tossing two scoreless innings of one-hit ball. But Wells made a costly mistake in the eighth, trying in vain to nab the lead runner at third on a bunt attempt after he'd bobbled the ball. That left runners at the corners with none out and a run scored — charged to Lowe — on a bunt single by Span.

• Ichiro extended his hitting streak to 12 games, tying a season high.

• Mariners reliever Sean Green has been sitting out the past few games with an achy shoulder.

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

For the record

Streak: L1

Home: 23-35

Road: 21-35

vs. AL West: 13-19

vs. L.A.: 3-6

vs. Oakland: 4-5

vs. Texas: 6-8

vs. AL East: 12-25

vs. AL Cent.: 10-17

vs. NL: 9-9

vs. LHP: 12-22

vs. RHP: 32-48

Day: 13-24

Night: 31-46

One-run: 12-22

Extra inn.: 2-6

Home attendance

Wednesday's crowd: 30,441

Season total: 1,703,700

Biggest crowd: 46,334 (March 31)

Smallest crowd: 15,818 (May 6)

Average (58 dates): 29,374

2007 average (58 dates): 32,390