Nelson Cruz Out With Calf

The Seattle Mariners have been out with Nelson Cruz for a few days. The Mariners were in good shape because the offense was rolling well until Thursday Night when the Mariners lost 2-1. This ended the Mariners five game winning streak and now puts their record at 30-31.

Before the game general manager Jerry Dipoto on his weekly radio program said that Cruz was day to day. They wanted to give him as much rest as possible. I see that happening will depend on whether the offense continues to struggle or not.

Thursday’s night game loss primarily had to do with Mariners poor defense and the Twins good defense. The Mariners did win the series 2-1. Now they have a three game series against Toronto Blue Jays at Safeco before going on the road. Not sure whether Cruz will be in the lineup on Friday however I would not be surprised if he is on Saturday if the Mariners lose. The Mariners need to win this series to stay around or above .500.

Thursday night the Tacoma Rainiers won 1-0 in an unusual way when outfielder Mitch Haniger on a rehab assignment walked with the bases loaded. I am not sure if I have ever heard that happening before. At least I know it hasn’t happened very often. Not sure how many more games that Haniger will play in rehab but I would not be surprised if he goes on the next road trip with the Mariners.

Sunday the Mariners are expecting Felix Hernandez to make his second rehab assignment with the Tacoma Rainiers. How he does in that game will determine when he will be reactivated again by the Mariners. His first rehab assignment was last Tuesday where he pitched two innings giving up five runs. The performance was not as important as whether his arm was fine and he was throwing good velocity. He said that he was doing fine and that his fastball got up to 92 miles per hour.

Iwakuma is a few days behind Felix. He may be making a rehab assignment soon as well. According to Dipoto shortstop Jean Segura who signed a five year extension on Wednesday is ahead of schedule. Dipoto did not get into details other than that Segura will return sooner than later.  He feels that Drew Smyly is doing well on his rehab as well. No details on any of the other players that are injured however these are the key players to the Mariners success. The Mariners should be back to full strength after the all-star break. The Mariners should have a good push the second half of the season all they need to do is stay around .500 until then.   Go M’s.