Mariners notebook: Cano slowed in field; Zunino still making adjustments

BOSTON – Robinson Cano is clearly favoring the quad muscle that landed him on the disabled list and forced him to miss 11 games – both in the field and on the base paths.

“Range-wise, how he’s moving, maybe he’s at 70 percent,” manager Scott Servais answered when asked to estimate just where Cano is now in comparison to being fully healthy. “It’s just where we are at. We need him in the lineup. He’s a veteran player, he knows what he can get to and what he can’t. We are going to trust the fact he is going to play smart and we can keep him on the field.”

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Tim Bogar, who managed the game Thursday after Servais was ejected, actually took Cano off the field in the ninth inning in Washington, going to a defensive replacement with a two-run lead. Third base coach Manny Acta suggested the move, then Bogar approached Cano, armed with a number of reasons on why it might be a good idea. Turns out he didn’t need to make the hard sell.

“He was all for it,” said Bogar. “He was whatever it takes to help the team win. It was an easy decision because he made it that way.”

Zunino off to a slow restart

In his first four games back from Tacoma, Mike Zunino is just 1 for 13 with one hit and eight strikeouts. Servais cautioned before his first game back with the M’s that Zunino would still be very much a work in progress. While stating that the results are what the results are, he has seen a difference – to a point.

“The intent is there to stay with the new plan, no question, going into the games,” he said.

The problem? As the games go on, or at times even within an at-bat, Servais and his coaches have seen Zunino revert back to what he was doing earlier in the season.

“It’s a little concerning,” Servais said. “You have got to stick with it, but it’s also a feel thing. You have got to really trust it. The results are the results, but if you look at his work, his batting practice, how he is going about making the changes mechanically, it’s all very good. Then when the game starts sometimes, he’s just not carrying it through the game.”

Mariners coaches can give him small cues during the game. Servais believes it is important with the catcher to keep in-game hitting adjustments simple.

“If the catcher is running into the video room to look at his at-bats, I think you are sending the wrong message to your pitchers. You have got to separate it.”

Notes

• The Mariners have announced that Rob Whalen will start Saturday’s game.

• Mike Freeman and Chris Heston were claimed off waivers Friday by the Dodgers.

• Drew Smyly played catch from 90 feet Friday. Felix Hernandez is scheduled to throw a bullpen Saturday, his first such session since being placed on the DL. Hisashi Iwakuma should also throw a pen in the next couple of days.

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