M's Notebook | Betancourt remains hot

Laying off those high fastballs pitchers love throwing him is one reason Yuniesky Betancourt has a major-league-best 18-game hitting streak.

The Mariners gave Betancourt a day off May 19, after a hitless, two-strikeout performance against San Diego the night before dropped his on-base percentage to .279. A chat with manager Mike Hargrove further emphasized the need for Betancourt to stop chasing balls that looked good but that he had no chance of making contact with.

Betancourt hasn't been held hitless since, going 25 for 68 (.375), with 10 runs batted in, 13 runs scored, a home run and seven doubles. He still gets tempted by the high heat, and insists it's a work in progress.

"I like to swing at them," he said after his second-inning single on Wednesday extended the second-longest streak ever by a Seattle shortstop. "Sometimes, it doesn't work out."

Hargrove says his No. 8 hitter has become a tougher out since taking a more disciplined approach. Betancourt's on-base percentage has climbed from .279 to .322, while his batting average has shot from .270 to .303.

"He's really been better since we had the first talk about it — or, our latest talk about it," Hargrove said. "We've been talking to him for 2 ½ years about it. He's getting better about it. Old habits are hard to break."

Betancourt insists he isn't consciously telling himself not to swing at high pitches every time he goes up there.

"You always try to avoid swinging at bad pitches," he said. "But you don't really let that get into your head, otherwise it's going to affect you negatively."

The team record for shortstops is a 20-game hitting streak by Alex Rodriguez in 1996.

Reitsma struggles

It was a grind for Chris Reitsma in the ninth inning, as he allowed three runs and threw 34 pitches in his first outing since coming off the disabled list. Reitsma yielded three doubles and a single in the inning and would have been replaced by Sean Green had he not retired the final batter he faced on a ground out.

Reitsma and Felix Hernandez have both struggled upon returning from the DL without first going out on a minor-league rehabilitation stint.

One hurler not being rushed back to the field any time soon is starter Horacio Ramirez, who threw for 12 minutes on flat ground Wednesday from a distance of about 90 feet. It was the second day of such throwing for Ramirez, who will stay behind in Seattle during the team's upcoming road trip and won't come off the DL until at least after that.

For now, he said, his sore shoulder just isn't ready.

"Not now, no," said Ramirez, eligible to come off the DL on Saturday. "It's just the fact that I haven't even thrown off a mound yet. It's a process you go through where you trust your shoulder and not have to think about it."

Huber hurting

Mariners relief pitcher Jon Huber left Wednesday's game in the eighth inning with tightness in his right forearm. Huber had a similar injury in 2003, tried to pitch through it, and wound up missing the rest of the season.

"It felt the same, so I didn't want to keep pushing it," he said, adding that the injury shouldn't be too serious. "It's better to shut it down for a few days than a few months."

Notes

• That Adrian Beltre thumb injury is turning out to be worse than expected as he missed his fourth straight game. The Mariners hope that Beltre can start in San Diego on Friday.

• Mariners backup catcher Jamie Burke had a single in the second inning and has hit safely in 10 of the 12 games he has appeared in this season. Burke is 11 for 32 (.343).

For the record

Streak: L4

Home: 17-13

Road: 13-13

vs. AL West: 12-10

vs. L.A.: 2-7

vs. Oakland: 4-1

vs. Texas: 6-2

vs. AL East: 9-7

vs. AL Central: 8-7

vs. NL: 1-2

vs. LHP: 11-3

vs. RHP: 19-23

Day: 9-9

Night: 21-17

One-run: 6-7

Extra innings: 0-0

Home attendance

Wednesday's crowd: 29,010

Season total: 877,457

Biggest crowd: 46,181 (May 13)

Smallest crowd: 16,555 (May 2)

Average (29 dates): 29,249

2006 average (29 dates): 26,310