Mariners notebook: A different lineup approach vs. a knuckleballer

Lloyd McClendon going with a very different lineup today.

Lineup!

Miller 6
Ruggiano 9
Cano 4
Cruz DH
Seager 5
Morrison 3
Weeks 7
Ackley 8
Zunino 2

Starting at the top, Brad Miller moves from two to one with Seth Smith getting the day off before the a team off-day tomorrow.

“This is a chance to give him two days to get his legs back under him,” McClendon said. “I told him today I don’t know when he’s coming out of there again today so…”

With Austin Jackson out and the Mariners facing mostly righties lately, McClendon has not put a lot of his right-handed bats in the lineup. Today’s starter for the Red Sox, Steven Wright, is another righty, but he throws the knuckleball, which the Skipper says calls for a different lineup.

“It’s been my experience that righties do better against a knuckleball than lefties,” he said. “Most of the time the ball is moving back to you. Ruggiano has had some success against knuckleballers, Weeks has had some success. It’s a combination of both things – getting them some at-bats to keep them sharp if we face a left-hander in Baltimore, and hopefully they will do some damage against the knuckleballer.

Notes

• I did not see Felix in the clubhouse this morning, which is not completely out of the ordinary on a Sunday getaway day as there is no batting practice and some guys arrive a little later. Of course there were questions about Felix’s ankle, which he tweaked last night, but McClendon did not seem concerned.

“He’s fine,” he said. “He’s done it before. He assured me that was not the reason. He just didn’t pitch great. He’s only human. We think he is Superman sometimes, but he’s only human.”

• Austin Jackson saw his first game action last night since injuring his ankle. He was the D for Tacoma and went 2 for 4. Today he will have another test as he is in the lineup and playing center. He is eligible to come off the DL Tuesday, but there is a good chance we won’t see him quite then.

“He’s got probably a little bit more to do,” said McClendon. “As much as we would like to have him back we have to be cautious with him.”

• The Orioles had TBA listed for all three games of the series against the Mariners earlier today, but have settled the pitchers for the first two games. Righty Miguel Gonzalez will throw Tuesday and lefty Wei-Yin Chen is set for Wednesday. The Orioles rotation was thrown into disarray when Saturday’s scheduled starter Bud Norris was scratched with bronchitis, and Chris Tillman was scratched today with back stiffness. The pitcher for Thursday’s series finale with the Mariners is still listed as TBA.

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