Pregame: Nelson Cruz gets a day off to rest his sore forearm

Nelson Cruz gets his first day off the season. He had previously started all 30 games.

“He got nicked by a pitch there the other night and I thought it was best just to give him an off day today,” manager Scott Servais said. “He hung in there and did the best he could last night, but he was a little sore. We’ll give him an offday and get him ready for the homestand.”

Cruz admitted that he was feeling discomfort in his right forearm. Doug Fister hit him with a fastball that ran in on his hands in Friday night’s game.

“It’s kind of sore when I swing, especially if I don’t make contact or if I don’t hit it square,” he said. “It’s on the tendon and it pinches when I swing.”

Cruz received treatment for it and expects to be back in the lineup on Monday in Seattle. And he said he’ll be available to pinch hit late in the game.

“It will be fine,” he said.

Sitting out isn’t something that happens often for Cruz and he doesn’t enjoy watching games from the bench without at least getting to hit as the designated hitter.

“Even when I’m hurt, I feel like I can still do something to help the team win games,” he said.

Cruz has been hit by pitches five times this season – the second most in the American League. Brandon Guyer of the Rays has already been hit nine times. Opposing pitchers have tried to pound fastballs in on Cruz’s hands this season. When they’ve missed too far in, he’s suffered the consequences.

“It’s part of the game,” he said.

Servais made the decision without consulting Cruz for obvious reasons.

“You just have to not put his name in the lineup,” Servais said. “Otherwise if you go ask him, he said he would say he’s fine and good to go. It’s just best to give him a breather.”

It’s the first time Servais hasn’t penciled Cruz’s name in the lineup at the No. 4 spot this season.

“Very, very, very hard,” Servais said. “He’s a guy you want to see in there every day. But you can’t play him all 162.”

Batter vs. pitcher matchups 

Astros numbers vs. Hisashi Iwakuma

Mariners numbers vs. Collin McHugh

American League West Standings

Around the AL West 

*** The A’s split a doubleheader with the Orioles. It looks like Henderson Alvarez will be joining the team soon. 

*** The Angels imploded in the ninth inning in a 4-2 loss to the Rays

*** Rangers starter AJ Griffin was placed on the DL and the team will use a four-man rotation for the time being.

On this day in Mariners’ history 

• 1980 – Tom Paciorek hits a home run leading off the 9th inning to boost the Mariners to a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees. He would go on to blast a three-run shot the next night, also in the bottom of the ninth, for another game-winner.
• 1985 – Mariner right-hander Mike Moore, in the longest no-hit bid by a Mariner to date, held the Milwaukee Brewers hitless through 8 innings. Robin Yount led off the Milwaukee 9th with a single to spoil the no-hitter.  Moore hurled 8.2 innings before giving away to Edwin Nunez in the Mariners 4-2 win.
• 1988 – Alvin Davis just misses tying the club-record for home runs in consecutive games (Richie Zisk-5) when he homered in four straight games (May 5-8), including his fifth career grand slam on May 5.
• 1998 – David Segui becomes the 13th player in Mariners history to hit three doubles in a game.
• 2002 – Arthur Rhodes struck out the first two batters he faced in the 8th inning to tie the Mariners record for consecutive strikeouts with eight.
• 2014 – Hisashi Iwakuma tossed 8.0 scoreless innings to lead the Mariners to a 1-0 victory over the Royals. It was the Mariners first shutout of the season and the first 1-0 win since Sept. 22, 2012. Iwakuma extended his scoreless innings streak to 48.2 IP vs. the AL Central teams, the 2nd-longest scoreless streak by any pitcher vs. a division dating back to 1974 (O. Hershiser, 55.0 vs. NL West in 1988).
• 2015 – Logan Morrison hit a walk-off home run on the first pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Mariners a 4-3 win over the A’s…it was Morrison’s first career walk-off hit.

Pitching probables

Game notes