Notebook: M’s ready to battle the heat, Angels with Ackley back

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The biggest road trip in recent memory gets underway in sweltering Anaheim, where temperatures reached 104 degrees today. The extreme heat is expected to stick around for at least one more day and the team is taking the appropriate precautions in dealing with it, including splitting up the batting-practice groups to get them off the field quicker and monitoring fluid intake before during and after the game.

I caught up with Mike Zunino, who will catch tonight, and he told me that in anticipation of the heat and upcoming travel he has gone out of his way to get extra rest in the last 24 hours. He estimates that he could lose anywhere from six to 10 pounds a game catching in these conditions. It is nothing new for him, however, growing up and playing college ball in Florida.

Trainer Rick Griffin said that the starting pitchers typically lose even more weight than the catchers. The trainers and other staff will make sure that each player is given a cup of water or sports drink each and every time they come off the field, and he estimates that most starters will drink at least a dozen 12-ounce cups of fluid during the game.

The lineup tonight has a welcome return as Dustin Ackley is back in there after missing two more games with the bad ankle. He has been receiving treatment and anti-inflammatories to help quiet the ankle, and he reported today that it felt much better and that he had no problem pushing off of it in early batting practice. With the team in a stretch run he said he will do everything he can to try and stay on the field but will keep the team in mind if a judgment call has to be made.

“Unless it is a situation like the last game when I got out there, I was able to play but I wasn’t able to perform like I wanted to, I wasn’t able to drive off that foot,” Ackley said. “As long as I am able do that and compete and feel like I am helping the team out I am going to be in there as much as I can, but if I feel like I am a liability or something like that then I will take that into consideration.”

I asked if there was any issue running. He believes there shouldn’t be.

“I don’t think it should be,” he said. “Yesterday and the last two days I was able to get loose and do a lot of the things that before it was kind of tough to do. Having another day, it’s gotten better and better.”

So Ackley is in there tonight and hopefully for the remainder of the way. Michael Saunders also returns after a day off.

Lineup!

Austin Jackson, 8
Dustin Ackley, 7
Robinson Cano, 4
Kyle Seager, 5
Kendrys Morales, DH
Logan Morrison, 3
Michael Saunders, 9
Mike Zunino, 2
Brad Miller, 6

Hisashi Iwakuma

Notes

• The Mariners will fly 5,662 miles on this trip.

• Fernando Rodney leads the Majors with 45 saves. No Mariner has ever led the American League in saves. His next save will give him sole possession of the club record.

• Kyle Seager saw his career high (tied) five-game hitless streak come to an end Sunday with two hits against the A’s. The two hits were his only hits of the homestand. He does have a nice road streak going, however, as he is 14 for his last 33 with three home runs and a .424 average.

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