If Only We Can Get To Tug ...
Ichiro singled to open the game but never got to second base and the inning ended quickly.
Today's lineup includes Raul Ibanez batting cleanup, Bryan LaHair at first, Jeff Clement catching and Tug Hullett (.182) as the DH.
On this team, there are so many options - not all of them good ones.
No score, Washburn pitching ...

The Kid Can Play ...
You love him, you hate him, he drives you crazy - but Yuniesky Betancourt can play the game.
With Kelly Shoppach at first base and two out, Andy Marte doubled off the wall in left center field.
Jeremy Reed made a strong throw to shortstop - and Betancourt made a perfect relay to the plate and Clement.
The result? Shoppach was out at the plate and the inning ended.
No score, Anthony Reyes pitching ...

They Got To Tug ...
DH Hullett put Seattle on the board with the first home run of his big-league career - a bolt over the wall in right field.
Manager Jim Riggleman likes his swing, his aggression within the strike zone. No, he's not a traditional DH, but the Mariners haven't had one of those all year.
Mariners 1, Indians 0 ...

It's Pitching & Defense ...
The Jarrod Washburn teams wanted at the deadline is back, and he just struck out the side in the fourth inning.
Washburn is using his fastball-changeup attack and is freezing Cleveland hitters with good location on both.
Can the Mariners win a 1-0 game? The last time they did was May 28 against Boston - when Erik Bedard and J.J. Putz shut the Red Sox down.
Mariners 1, Indians 0 ...

And Now, A Decision ...
Mr. Washburn has pitched a shutout through six innings, retired 12 of the last 13 Indians to bat.
He's also thrown 97 pitches, about the number he usually throws. So, does he stay in? Does he want to stay in?
Washburn is pitching so efficiently he's likely to work at least one more inning. It would save the bullpen and get the game three outs closer to Putz.
Now, if Seattle can score, it would make such decisions a tad easier.
Mariners 1, Indians 0 ...

It's Up To The Bullpen - And Batista
Miguel Batista in with two outs and a man on in the seventh inning.
Washburn gave up a hard-hit ball that Jose Lopez turned into an out with a fine diving catch, and Washburn walked Shoppach.
Riggleman went to the bullpen and Batisa, fresh off a good start last week at Safeco Field.
The Mariners needed seven outs from the bullpen after Washburn got the first 20.
Batista threw one pitch, shattered a bat, and got the first of those outs to end the seventh.
Mariners 1, Indians 0 ...

Ichiro At Work ...
Ichiro doubled to the right field corner, his third hit of the game and 178th of the season.
The Mariners immediately had Jeremy Reed bunt Ichiro to third, and Reed got the bunt down - not always a given with Seattle batters.
The Indians brought their infield in, knowing what an insurance run could mean.
Beltre flied out to right field, Ichiro trotted home and the Mariners doubled their lead.
Mariners 2, Indians 0 ...

The Big Horse ...
J.J. Putz time.
Ryan Garko spread his stance a little wider than normal and singled into right field - bringing the tying run to the plate.
Shin-Soo Choo, the former Mariner prospect, homered on a 3-1 pitch and the game was tied.
That's blown save No. 8 for Putz.
Mariners 2, Indians 2 ...

Bonus Panels ...
Tie game, extra innings, another no-decision for Washburn, who has won only five times this season.
Seattle's record in extra innings this year is 4-7.
Putz was throwing hard - 95 mph consistently - but he put one of those fastballs in the wrong spot against Choo, and the Korean outfielder hit his eighth homer of the year.
Mariners 2, Indians 2 ...

Does This Sound Familiar? ...
Ichiro walked and was forced by Reed at second base, but Adrian Beltre singled Reed to third with one out.
That brought up Raul Ibanez - and of course, Ibanez singled home the run. That's RBI No. 93 for Ibanez - his 30th RBI of August.
Who gets the chance to try and close the game? Putz has thrown one inning already, Sean Green has warmed up.
It's Green, and thanks to a two-out RBI single by reserve catcher Jamie Burke, he'll have a two-run cushion.
Mariners 4, Indians 2 ...

And The Win Goes To ...
Green has never had a big-league save, and allowed a leadoff double to Grady Sizemore.
Franklin Gutiererz grounded out. Ben Francisco lined a ball into center field, and Reed made a marvelous diving catch.
With two outs, Jhonny Peralta singled Sizemore home - and the Indians brought up pinch-hitter Victor Martinez.
Jim Riggleman pulled Green and went to newcomer Randy Messenger.
Messenger got a ground ball out on a 96 mph fastball and earned the save.
Putz got the win, his sixth.
Mariners 4, Indians 3 ...

Erik Bedard will throw a baseball again today, but it’s almost certain the left-hander won’t make another start for the Mariners this season – and that troubles both the man and the team.

No, in this lost season the Mariners aren’t trying to get another win from their opening day starter. What they needed, and Bedard was working toward, was a game against live hitters where everyone could see that he was healthy heading into the off-season.

The chances of getting that are nil, now.

Playing catch with a variety of intensities and distances, Bedard had made progress, then suffered a setback – pain in his left shoulder, which landed him on the disabled list early in July.

Now he’s throwing again, but hasn’t been on a mound in close to two months.

The Mariners are hoping to send Bedard to their Instructional League camp in Arizona to watch him pitch. Bedard isn’t wild about that idea, saying if he isn’t ready to pitch by end of the season, it might be best to just let him go home and rest the shoulder for a few months.

That’s understandable. He’s been trying to rehab the shoulder since early July, and isn’t much closer to pithing today than he was a month ago.

For the Mariners, however, seeing a healthy Bedard would help them in determining what the team must do this off-season. If he’s healthy, Bedard is the team’s No. 2 starter behind Felix Hernandez.

If he’s not, that’s one more major issue that Seattle’s general manager – whoever that may be – will have to deal with.

Bedard is doing whatever is asked of him, but neither he nor the team know whether the shoulder will hold up to game-situation pitching. It’s still possible, in fact, that the man acquired from Baltimore last off-season may need surgery.

Neither Bedard nor the team want that, so they continue to try and build arm and shoulder strength gradually. Today, Bedard will throw again.

No one is certain when he’ll pitch next.