Kind of a mixed bag for the Mariners today as they play two games and get a split --- a 5-4 win over the White Sox here in Glendale and a 6-2 loss to the Brewers in Maryvale.

Obviously, the result doesn't matter much this time of year, it's more about the performance of players who are either competing for spots on the team, of being tried in new roles.

That was the real story of today as Jose Lopez had an error and a couple of other adventures in playing third against the Brewers. I didn't see it since I was in Glendale for the White Sox game, but I heard enough about it here and elsewhere and it was the first thing manager Don Wakamatsu mentioned in his post-game comments.

Wakamatsu had said on Sunday he hadn't seen anything yet to make him think moving Lopez to third wouldn't work.

Today was the first real bump in the road for Lopez, and the key now will be how he responds.

Wakamatsu said he would talk to Lopez "about positioning and angles to the ball. I think everything has been rosy so far but I like to see that so he can make some adjustments with it.''

Doug Fister also had a shaky outing with two runs, two hits and two walks in two innings in the beginnings of his attempt to win the No. 5 starter's role. Wakamatsu said he looked a little nervous, the first time he'd seen that out of him all year.

Adam Moore, however, had three hits to highlight the game there, and the team had 12 overall but just couldn't bunch them together enough to score any runs. And Wakamatsu said the rest of the pitching seemed find (here's the box score of that game).

As for the White Sox game, the story of the day might have been Matt Tuiasosopo, who got his first start at shortstop in years --- he said it might have been since a 2007 Arizona Fall League game --- as the team attempts to see if he can show that he can handle the job well enough to fill a utility infielder role.

He had four chances and while he had one high throw, he converted the rest, beginning one double play and showing good range another time when he roamed behind second to get a ball and then made a strong throw for the out.

He also went 3-4 and is hitting .500 for the spring.

Bench coach Ty Van Burkleo, serving as the manager here with Wakamatsu in Maryvale, said Tuiasosopo is "looking great. He had a great spring last spring and he's picked up where he left off. He hit four balls right on the button and got three hits. We're moving him around to some different positions and that may be beneficial for him making the club.''

Van Burkleo liked all the pitching here as the White Sox got just four hits. Ryan Rowland-Smith started and gave up a homer to Paul Konerko on a fastball he left up, but otherwise was fine. Ryan Feierabend, in his first game against an opponent since Tommy John surgery last spring, had two scoreless innings, with Van Burkleo saying that "he looked great. He was keeping them off-balance, throwing strikes.''

And as mentioned in the game thread, Josh Fields hit a batter, then gave up a triple to score a run, then looked pretty dominant in getting the final three outs with the tying run 90 feet away.

"The kid did a great job coming out of that,'' Van Burkleo said. "He hit the first guy, kind of had him and then hit him. And then next kid smoked that ball in the gap. Then got the next three guys. He came at them throwing strikes, had a live fast ball.''

Also of note, OF Franklin Gutierrez played six innings --- his first action of the spring while getting over a sore shoulder --- and while he had a couple tough at-bats early with a strikeout and a double play, he finished with a sacrafice fly.

"He's fine,'' Van Burkleo said. His timing was off a little bit so we wanted to get him another at-bat so he could end on a good note and he had a real good swing on that sac fly so he's able to leave feeling like he's getting his timing back. But he's fine throwing.''

Also, 19-year-old catcher Steven Baron saw his first action and had a hit. Van Burkleo talked to him after the game about making sure he was keeping proper communication with the dugout --- with the runner on third and no outs, the M's wanted to guard against a squeeze.

"But he did a great job,'' Van Burkleo said. "He's a young kid, neat to watch him stroke a base hit and we got him the ball.''

Jason Vargas is skedded to start for the M's tomorrow in Peoria against the Indians.