Mariners starter for Saturday is still open

The Mariners aren't sure who will start Saturday against Tampa Bay, but they've told Miguel Batista it won't be him.

Batista, coming off two decent starts, lasted just three innings Monday against the Twins. It was the 14th time in 19 starts that Batista didn't pitch six innings. A year ago he reached at least the sixth inning 23 times in 32 tries.

The most likely candidate to start Saturday is former reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith.

The second-year left-hander was sent to Triple-A Tacoma last month to get experience as a starter after pitching mostly in relief for the Mariners. He made three starts, giving up two runs in each and looking stronger each outing.

It's been a yo-yo season for Batista, moving in and out of the rotation.

"He's a little frustrated with it," pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre said. "Our Saturday spot is open."

WASHBURN'S FRUSTRATING DAY: Starter Jarrod Washburn wasn't in the mood to talk, which is unusual for him.

On a day when he had some of his best stuff of the season, Washburn gave up four runs in the second inning, which was enough to saddle him with his 11th loss even though he didn't allow another run in six innings.

Washburn said he didn't want to say something he shouldn't, but catcher Jeff Clement said the problem might have been an 0-2 slider with the bases loaded to Denard Span in the second inning.

The pitch was supposed to be on the far outside, but it cut back across the heart of the plate and Span slapped it just inside the first-base line and into the right-field corner. Span had a triple and a 1-0 Twins lead was expanded to 4-0. The Mariners never caught up.

"I don't remember what pitch I called, but he wanted to throw a slider," Clement said. "He wanted it to be on the outside, and if (Span) hadn't hit it where he did, it would have been a double play.

"I thought Wash threw the ball really well. You could tell from the first inning he had his really good stuff."

A VOTE FOR BLOOMQUIST: The president of the Willie Bloomquist fan club plays left field for the Mariners.

Raul Ibanez has stolen headlines the past few days with his RBI tear – 14 in three games Sunday through Tuesday. But run production isn't all about big swings. Part of it is about having lots of men on base.

In Monday's six-RBI seventh inning, Ibanez came to the plate twice with the bases loaded. In both instances, Bloomquist had reached base to set the situation in motion.

"Willie's at-bats ahead of me were huge," Ibanez said.

"What he brings to the game is playing hard, and hustling and battling you all the way. He had two great at-bats there in front of me, and if he doesn't then I don't have that big inning."

Words like that are music to the ears of Bloomquist, who has a part-time job in center field, backs up around the infield and is the team's top pinch runner.

It means that somebody's watching and appreciating.

"Hearing that lets me know I'm doing the job I'm here to do," said Bloomquist, who had another day off Wednesday despite a 39-game tear in which he's raised his batting average 129 points to .281.

FIRST AT FIRST: Before Wednesday's game, Jeremy Reed was taking ground balls at first base.

Reed has been nothing but an outfielder since coming to the Mariners in a 2004 trade with the Chicago White Sox, but with the promotion Tuesday of Wladimir Balentien from Triple-A Tacoma, there suddenly is less playing time available in the outfield for Reed and Bloomquist.

It's likely Reed will get a start at first base sometime in the next week or so. It's not a foreign position to him. He played about 1 1/2 seasons of first base at Long Beach State.

"From what I've heard he was a really good first baseman in college," manager Jim Riggleman said. "I told him to start taking some grounders there because with our outfield and DH situations, it makes sense."

While Reed could see considerable time at DH with Jose Vidro designated for assignment, there are going to be games when Reed, whose bat is starting to light up, is the first baseman over Bryan LaHair.

"This is going to mean that we can use the DH to give Raul (Ibanez) or Ichiro (Suzuki) a day off to be the DH," Riggleman said. "They're going to want to be in the field most of the time, and they will be. But this means we can give them a break now and then."

EXTRA BASES: Third baseman Adrian Beltre thought he'd hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh. But Span jumped at the wall and got his glove to soar a couple of feet above the top of the wall to make a spectacular catch to deny the home run. Beltre stood on the infield dirt between first and second, his hands on his hips, looking in disbelief. ... Ichiro stretched his hitting streak to 12 games with a single. And while he was just 1-for-5 Wednesday, he's hitting .401 during the streak. ... Reed has hit in eight consecutive games, during which time he's averaging .433.