Mariners notebook: A step forward for Mike Zunino?

Will the Mariners have anything left for Game 2 against the Padres after the offensive explosion in Game 1?

Fifteen hits and six home runs will be hard to duplicate, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see a few more balls leave the field tonight against James Shields, who has given up the most home runs in the MLB this year.

Perhaps the most welcome sight from Tuesday was the three-hit night from Mike Zunino, all three of which came on breaking balls with two strikes. After the game Zunino said the two days off he had gave him a chance to reset.

“I was able to just clear the slate, come back in the the cage today and go back to some things I was doing and just slow things down a little bit,” he said.

Lloyd McClendon was pleased with Zunino’s game but pointed out that he has seen progress for some time.

“He’s getting better,” he said. “It hasn’t shown up in the box score but he is getting better. I think in the end it is going to pay off. We will see a better hitter at the end of the year.”

The patience is there for McClendon not only because he values what Zunino brings behind the plate, but also because he realizes that Zunino is in a tough spot trying to learn at the Major League level.

I think there is also great appreciation for the way Zunino has handled the situation, never taking his offensive struggles with him on defense and never hanging his head about his shortcomings at the plate. Zunino has hit at every level from the time he picked up a bat. These struggles cannot be easy for him, but he doesn’t show it or inflict it on others.

“What you have to understand is he is relatively very young at this level,” said McClendon. “He hasn’t had a lot of at-bats, and even to this day, every day is a new day for him. A new experience. He’s learning pitchers, he’s learning this staff. It’s starting to slow down a little bit for him and he is learning the league.”

We will see if the game against the Padres carries over for Zunino. If he truly is slowing down the game and staying in his approach, that is a big step forward. The next step will come with experience, according to McClendon.

“I think the next step for Mike is understanding the competition,” he said. “Understanding who is on the mound, who can do what to you.”

Zunino has an idea of what to look for, particularly with two strikes.

“Just shorten up,” he said. “Look for a pitch over the plate and shorten up. Obviously in those situations you have to look for something out and away and react in. That’s all I am trying to do.”

The result will not always be measured in hits. McClendon says he has seen better at-bats from Zunino of late and also mentioned that he has put some pretty tough pitches in play. It’s a work in progress that appears to be progressing.

Lineup!

Smith 7
Miller DH
Cano 4
Cruz 9
Seager 5
Morrison 3
Zunino 2
Ackley 7
Taylor 6

Walker

Notes

• Austin Jackson ran the bases Tuesday for the first time since spraining his ankle, and McClendon said the results were just so-so.

“Wasn’t great,” he said. “The running part was a tick below average. It’s the first time he’s been out.”

It is not a big concern because it was his first time out. Before today’s game he ran some drills with a trainer and that appeared to go okay. There has been no problem with hitting, only turning and stopping. The hope is he will be ready to go on a rehab assignment sometime this weekend.

• If the Mariners get into a late-inning situation and need a righty, don’t be surprised if McClendon goes to Danny Farquhar despite his recent struggles.

“I think the biggest thing we can do is get him back out there and let him pitch,” he said. “It is hard to straighten it out not pitching. Obviously you like to have it a lower-leverage situation right now but if the matchup called for it I wouldn’t be afraid to put him late in a game.”

• If you follow me on Twitter, and you should @shannondrayer, then you may have seen a Tweet from me about Brad Miller getting work in left field during batting practice. Andy Van Slyke was hitting balls to Miller at the wall, and while some of the plays at the wall looked a little rough (to be expected for a lifetime shortstop), his throws to second base were excellent – strong and on target. Some were even from just a few steps in front of the warning track. Good work is being put in but no word yet as to when we could see Miller in the outfield in a game.

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