Quick hits: Mariners to face Mariners Tuesday in Peoria

PEORIA, Ariz. – Mariners manager Scott Servais had to calm himself down, with the reminder from third-base coach Manny Acta, when he started to go through all of the drills he wanted to get done before games start just four days from Tuesday.

“You just got to slow it down,” he said. “We have got time. It goes through your mind you have got to get all your systems in before you play a game. If we don’t execute perfectly against the Padres in Game 1, we’ve got time.”

Five days of full-squad practice before Cactus League games begin Saturday is not a lot of time, but drills will continue in the mornings throughout the spring. On Tuesday we will see Mariners face Mariners in live batting-practice sessions. While the hitters get their first opportunity to face a better caliber of pitching than they have seen from the coaches the last week, Servais says in truth, these batting-practice sessions are more about the pitching.

“It’s pitching practice. It’s not batting practice,” he said. “If guys want to take a few swings, great, but it is really great for the pitchers to get out on the mound, out of the bullpen.”

Most of the pitchers will get to throw two live BPs before they are put into Cactus League games. Pitchers throwing Tuesday include Ariel Miranda, Christian Bergman, Ryan Weber, Dylan Unsworth, Dillon Overton, Micah Owings, Rob Whalen, Andrew Moore, Cody Martin, Casey Fien, and Nick Hagadone.

Notes

• Leonys Martin could be in camp as soon as Wednesday. “If everything goes good today he could be in the air tonight, but we will see,” Servais said Tuesday morning.

• Steve Cishek, who is coming back from offseason hip surgery, is scheduled to play catch for the first time Tuesday.

• Tentative starters for the Mariners first four Cactus League games:

Feb. 25: Ariel Miranda
Feb. 26: Chris Heston
Feb. 27: Yovani Gallardo
Feb. 28: Felix Hernandez

• The final “Hot Stove Show” airs Tuesday night from 7-9 on 710 ESPN Seattle. Next Tuesday we begin “The Cactus League Report” from the Salty Senorita in Peoria. Guests for this show include Nick Hagadone, assistant hitting coach Scott Brosius, A’s beat writer Susan Slusser and Greg Johns from MLB.com.