Cyst taken from Erik Bedard's shoulder, M's beat A's

One Mariners pitcher had a rough night on the mound, while another had an easier-than-expected time on the operating table.

But while Friday night starter Brandon Morrow will almost certainly be penciled in to the team's starting rotation for 2009, the jury is still out on whether surgically-repaired Erik Bedard will be invited back. Bedard had a cyst removed from his shoulder Friday in an operation that otherwise found no structural damage and should be ready to start next season on-time.

However, team president Chuck Armstrong was deliberately vague about whether Bedard would be back in 2009. Speaking before the Mariners took a 10-8 win over the Oakland A's, Armstrong suggested the club might not tender the pitcher another contract.

"It's like trying to invest in the stock market," Armstrong said. "If you make a bad stock pick, you don't go back and ... well, some people do, but you have to teach yourself. You don't hold on to it hoping it's going to come back. If it's a bad one, you move on."

It's been widely assumed the Mariners would tender Bedard a new contract for 2009, which could be worth $7 million to $10 million in arbitration, if he came through surgery healthy enough to pitch in 2009 and perhaps recoup prospects for the team in a midseason trade.

The team dealt five players to Baltimore for Bedard.

But instead of contending for a division title, the Mariners club that beat Oakland on Friday, behind two home runs from Jose Lopez and another from Rob Johnson, has the worst record in the majors.

A crowd of 24,662 at Safeco Field watched Morrow leave the game down 6-5 after five innings, having allowed six hits, five walks and a pair of rocket home runs to Jack Cust and Travis Buck.

But Morrow, who threw 114 pitches, kept the game close by striking out eight. Seattle then erupted for five runs off A's starter Sean Gallagher and reliever Jerry Blevins in the bottom of the inning to give Morrow the victory.

"I'm not looking for homers, I'm looking to hit the ball hard," said Lopez, who hit his second homer of the game that inning, giving him 17 on the year and 89 runs batted in. "The best thing is, there are still two games left to play."

The Mariners could part company with Bedard, who is eligible for free agency after next year, and focus on building a young rotation behind Morrow, Felix Hernandez, Ryan Rowland-Smith and Ryan Feierabend.

Bedard told reporters last week that an MRI exam had spotted the cyst and a torn labrum. But the team said Friday that other than "a minor labral debridement" — a cleaning up of dead tissue around the area — the labrum and rotator cuff were sound.

Note:

• Ichiro scored his 100th run of the year in the third inning, giving him eight consecutive seasons with at least 200 hits and 100 runs scored.

For the record

Streak: W1

Home: 33-46

Road: 26-55

vs. AL West: 20-35

vs. L.A.: 5-14

vs. Oakland: 7-10

vs. Texas: 8-11

vs. AL East: 15-29

vs. AL Cent.: 15-28

vs. NL: 9-9

vs. LHP: 19-30

vs. RHP: 40-71

Day: 18-34

Night: 41-67

One-run: 17-30

Extra inn.: 5-7

Home attendance

Friday's crowd: 24,662

Season total: 2,278,237

Biggest crowd: 46,334 (March 31)

Smallest crowd: 15,818 (May 6)

Average (79 dates): 28,838

2007 average (79 dates): 32,700