M's Notebook | Bloomquist surprises himself

HOUSTON — Noted speedster Willie Bloomquist was pretty certain he'd never hit an inside-the-park home run without a fielding mistake being made.

And he was darn certain that he'd never hit one up a hill.

But Bloomquist accomplished both feats on one swing for the Mariners in the sixth inning Friday night, driving a ball to the warning track that eluded Houston Astros rookie center fielder Hunter Pence. Pence chased after the ball, which bounced off the wall and rolled up a grass berm in dead center — dubbed "Tal's Hill," for team president Tal Smith — before it could be retrieved.

Bloomquist had no idea what was going on behind him as he rounded third and arrived home with a headfirst slide.

"I was just hoping [Pence] wasn't going to run it down because it looked like he was gaining on it," said Bloomquist, a onetime South Kitsap High standout. "I don't know if it tipped off his glove or not. To be honest with you, the last I saw of it was right after I hit first base. I had it in my mind I was going to third. When I saw [third-base coach] Carlos [Garcia] waving me [in], it kind of took me by surprise a little bit."

It was the 22nd inside-the-park home run in Mariners history, and the sixth on the road. Adrian Beltre had the team's previous such homer, last June 23 at Safeco Field. Oddly enough, even with the presence of the uniquely-styled hill in center, it was just the second inside-the-park homer in Minute Maid Park history.

"I don't think you'll see another park where you'll hit it and it will roll up a hill," Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said.

Bloomquist ran the bases so quickly that here wasn't much of a play at the plate.

"I was running scared," he said. "It's been a while since I had to run like that."

No move on Mateo

There wasn't any quick resolution to the assault case involving demoted Mariners reliever Julio Mateo when he appeared in a New York City courtroom on Friday.

Mateo was attending a pre-trial hearing on charges of having assaulted his wife, Aurea, during a road trip last month. After signing a protective order in front of a judge, agreeing to continue to have no contact with his wife, Mateo was told to reappear in court on Sept. 4.

A spokesman for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said Friday that the charges against Mateo still stand and won't be dealt with until that later court date. Aurea Mateo had previously obtained a temporary protective order against him after the charges were filed.

The Mariners wanted to see what would happen at the pre-trial hearing as they ponder their next move regarding the pitcher. Mateo continues to pitch well at Class AAA, and the Mariners are seeing their bullpen continuously taxed by working multiple innings per night.

Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi is aware that Mateo's next court date won't be until the final month of the season. But he declined to say what the team will do next.

"I'm not going to discuss any of it," Bavasi said. "I haven't even discussed it with him. I'm not going to discuss it with anyone else [first]."

But he apparently told his players to discuss the matter amongst themselves to reach a consensus on whether they'd accept Mateo back. Some players argued in favor of bringing Mateo back, while others insisted the team shouldn't recall him.

Mariners president Chuck Armstrong, with the club on its road trip, declined comment and said he first wanted to learn more about what happened in Friday's court appearance.

Long road back

One pitcher who is getting another shot with the Mariners is left-hander Ryan Feierabend, who will be working a long-relief role for the first time since his initial call-up with the club last September. Feierabend's two previous outings for the Mariners this season were starts.

With lefty Jake Woods optioned to Tacoma on Thursday, Feierabend was added to the roster before Friday's game. Primarily a starter, he knows long relief requires an adjustment period.

"There's a big difference," Feierabend said. "As a starter, you can sort of pace yourself throughout the game. You have a little more room for error."

That difference, he said, took some getting used to when he first did it in the big leagues last season.

"You try not to think about it," he said. "You try to be ready to go in there and have it working for you right away."

Note

• Astros 2B Craig Biggio began the night needing 15 hits for 3,000 in his career. He got three more, an infield single in the first inning, a single to center in the sixth and a run-scoring double in the eighth. He passed Sam Rice for 27th place all-time with 2,988.

For the record

Streak: L3

Home: 17-13

Road: 18-16

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: 9-7

vs. NL: 5-5

vs. LHP: 13-5

vs. RHP: 22-24

Day: 10-10

Night: 25-19

One-run: 10-9

Extra innings: 2-0