BALTIMORE – Brendan Ryan is fielding ground balls – cautiously – running and throwing but missed his fourth consecutive game Wednesday since being hit on the left elbow by a pitch.
“My range of motion is limited and I can’t swing a bat yet,” Ryan said. “I have trouble sleeping because I roll over on the elbow and it wakes me up.
“I’d probably have been better off if the pitch had hit all tissue instead of all bone.”
Since being hit by the pitch in New York on Saturday, Ryan has undergone hours of ice and electric stimulation, and worn a sleeve to try to push some of the fluid from the arm.
“Right now, you still can’t see my elbow as an elbow,” Ryan said, pointing to a sleeve he’s had to wear. “I can’t bend my arm past a certain point – it’s like hitting a wall.
“It just goes to show you, it’s not whether the pitch is 87 mph or 98 mph, it’s where it hits you.”
Watching teammate Munenori Kawasaki play shortstop, Ryan said, is worrisome.
“He’s getting nine ground balls a game and handling all of them,” Ryan said. “And he’s hitting. I’d better get back soon …
“I’d be surprised if I’m not ready to play Friday.”
GO TO YOUR ROOM
After manager Eric Wedge was ejected in the 14th inning of Seattle’s 8-7 loss Tuesday, he heard about it – from home.
His 41/2-year-old son had a question for him Wednesday.
“Cash wanted to know why the umpire put me in a ‘timeout,’ ” Wedge said, laughing.
THE LITTLE THINGS
That 14-inning loss to Baltimore might have been decided in the sixth inning, on a play that occurred before Dustin Ackley’s RBI single, which scored Mike Carp from third base but saw Miguel Olivo thrown out at the plate.
One at-bat earlier, with Carp at third and Olivo at second base, Kawasaki took a full swing and rolled a ball softly along the first base line.
Mark Reynolds fielded it and tagged Kawasaki out – and Carp stayed at third base. It changed the outcome of the game.
“People don’t often see the domino effect, but Carp has to go on that ball, and if he does, he scores and Olivo gets to third base,” Wedge said. “If that happens, Ackley’s single scores Olivo with our eighth run and we still have an inning going.”
SHORT HOPS
Seattle had a 21-game winning streak in games where it had 18 or more hits snapped Tuesday. The Mariners had been 25-1 since the start of the 2009 season in such games. … Make a note: Saturday’s Mariners game will be heard on 770-AM, not 710-AM, due to a scheduling conflict with the Seahawks. All told, there will be six such conflicts between now and the end of the season. … Kyle Seager began the night with 66 RBI, the second-highest total by an American League third baseman. Seager trails only Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera (95) – and is three ahead of Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre.
UP NEXT
Seattle has the day off before beginning a three-game series with the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday.
larry.larue@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners @LarryLaRue
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