Veteran outfielder Carlos Quentin is in the process of retiring after departing Triple-A Tacoma after just five games. He was 3-for-17 at the plate with the Rainiers before choosing to return home.
Veteran left-handed pitcher Joe Saunders is looking for a better opportunity after choosing to opt out of his minor-league deal. He was 0-3 with a 5.73 ERA, allowing seven runs and 11 hits in seven innings over five games.
The Mariners signed Quentin, 32, to a minor-league contract on April 22. He became a free agent a week earlier when released by the Atlanta Braves, who acquired him April 5 from San Diego in the Craig Kimbrel deal.
Quentin is still under contract for $8 million through the end of the season, which the Braves remain obligated to pay. The Mariners were paying a pro-rated portion of the $507,500 minimum salary prior to his departure.
Saunders, 33, signed a minor-league deal with the Mariners in February after agreeing to switch to the bullpen in an effort to revitalize his career.
Wilhelmsen progressing
Injured relief pitcher Tom Wilhelmsen reported no problems after throwing “about 25 pitches” in a bullpen workout Friday that marked his first time on a mound since he suffered a hyperextended elbow on April 11 in Oakland.
“Fastballs and some sinkers,” he said. “Felt great. Next bullpen on Sunday. No issues at all.”
Wilhelmsen said he was between 90 and 95 percent and “felt pretty good.”
Barring a setback, Wilhelmsen is expected to return in mid-May.
Iwakuma update
Right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma has progressed to throwing long toss in his recovery from a strained back muscle, manager Lloyd McClendon said.
Iwakuma strained his right latissimus dorsi muscle on April 21 when throwing the day after his last start. He was 0-1 with a 6.61 ERA at the time of his injury.
“He’s progressing,” McClendon said, “but he’s three or four weeks away.”
Wasted chances
This won’t be a surprise to Mariners fans: Seattle ranks next-to-last among American League clubs in all three slash categories — batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage — with runners in scoring position.
Their .213 batting average is better than only Texas (.200), their .294 on-base percentage is better only than Cleveland (.290), and their .333 slugging percentage is better than only Texas (.284).
Staff turnaround
If you weren’t surprised by the previous note, it’s probably no shock that the Mariners are wasting some fine pitching in their scuffling efforts to get back to .500. They are just 5-5 (before Friday) in their past 10 games despite compiling a 2.73 ERA.
The strong pitching effort represents a turnaround from the season’s first 12 games, when the Mariners posted a 4.95 ERA and went 5-7.
The rotation is pacing the staff resurgence. After a rocky 6.17 ERA through the first 12 games, the unit hummed along at 2.09 over the next 10 games. The rotation entered Friday with a nine-game streak of allowing two or fewer earned runs.
The club record for starters allowing two or fewer earned runs is a 13-game streak last season from Aug. 7-20.
Looking back
It was 13 years ago Saturday — May 2, 2002 — that Mike Cameron and Bret Boone became the first players to hit consecutive home runs twice in the same inning.
The feat occurred in the 10-run first inning of a 16-5 victory at Chicago. Cameron went on to hit four homers in the game, which had not been done in the American League since Cleveland’s Rocky Colavito did it in 1959.
Short hops
The Mariners led the majors in April with five extra-inning games. They went 2-3. … The Mariners, prior to Friday, had allowed just four homers in 10 road games. …The Mariners entered Friday with a club-record streak of playing 18 straight games decided by three or fewer runs. The last club with a 19-game streak was the 2011 San Francisco Giants.
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