Ken Griffey Jr. is sitting, Mike Sweeney is the DH, Rob Johnson and Russell Branyan are back and in the lineup.

It's Jarrod Washburn vs. Jon Garland, and the chance for the Mariners (32-34) to play a team that scores almost as few runs as they do, the Diamondbacks (29-38).

Washburn's durability may be an issue, since he was waylaid by back problems and unable to throw much of the last week.

The goal has to be scoring enough runs to give David Aardsma the chance to save another game. Aardsma leads all American League relievers with a 1.72 earned run average - and hasn't allowed a run in 20 of his last 21 appearances.
Can the Mariners a) get a lead and b) take it to the ninth?

Let's see.

The ump is blind!

Washburn walked one man, gave up a single to Felix Lopez and then came off the mound to field Stephen Drew's bunt.

Washburn threw to first, but hit Drew in the back - replays clearly showed the runner was on the wrong side of the base line when hit.

The Diamondbacks got a second run on a ground ball to shortstop, but Washburn got out of the inning with a bases-loaded double play.

In the third: Diamondbacks 2, Mariners 0

Two out solo home run from Miguel Montero - the No. 8 hitter in Arizona's lineup - came on a fastball right down the middle.
Of the D'backs three runs, two have been scored by the eighth or ninth hitters in the lineup.

Ouch.

In the fourth: Diamondbacks 3, Mariners 0

This is an offense?

Arizona has three hits and three runs.
Seattle has five hits, three stolen bases - by Ichiro, Adrian Beltre and Endy Chavez - and no runs.

The difference so far is walks and errors, and the D'Backs have benefitted from three of the former and one of the latter.

The Mariners get hits, they simply don't get them in the same inning - or with men in scoring position.

Chavez, incidentally, is being carted off the field after colliding with Betancourt in pursuit of a pop fly. It's his lower right leg, and it doesn't look good - think hyperextension or break.

Wladimir Balentien is now in left field.

If Chavez is seriously hurt, it takes another piece off Jack Zduriencik's trading block.

As we were saying

The Mariners got one-out singles from Franklin Gutierrez and Balentien.

Rally time?

Garland got a comebacker from Chris Woodward and turned it into an inning-ending double play. That's how the Mariners offense has been running lately.

After six: Diamondbacks 3, Mariners 0

The awakening

Reliever Scott Schoenweiss, in relief, was greeted by Russell Branyan's 16th home run of the season - a blast deep into the right field stands.

Naturally, Washburn was out of the game.

Beltre singled, his second hit of the night, but Sweeney struck out swinging at a pitch he couldn't reach.

Belte got to second base on a wild pitch, then third on a Gutierrez fly ball.
Wakamatsu then went to his bench, subbing Griffey for Balentien - and that crowd was on its feet, cheering.

Imagine the noise when Griffey went deep, hitting his seventh of the season and No. 618 in his career.

It was so loud Junior came out for a quick curtain call, tipping his cap.

Woodward followed up with a single and stolen base and Johnson - yes, Johnson - tripled him home for the lead.

Yes, Virginia, Aardsma will work the ninth and he will have a lead.

Amazing.

After eight: Mariners 4, Diamondacks 3

And in the end

Aardsma struck out the side, allowing only a single, to notch his 13th save.

The Mariners are a game away from .500 and seriously pumped.

Chavez appears to have torn ligaments in his right knee, a costly loss for the team and the first time in his career Chavez has had a leg injury.

Final score: Mariners 4, Diamondbacks 3

The Mariners made three roster moves

* Catcher Rob Johnson reinstated from the bereavement list.
* Catcher Guillermo Quiroz designated for assignment.
* Infielder Josh Wilson claimed off waiver from San Diego.

Obviously the first two moves were expected, but the claiming of Wilson seems interesting. Perhaps the Mariners are tiring of Ronny Cedeno and his anemic bat. Also with the call-up of Chris Woodward, there is a need for a shortstop at Triple A Tacoma.

Johnson will be in uniform and available for tonight's 7:10 (PT) game vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. Wilson is expected to join the team tomorrow.

Johnson, 26, has missed the last five games due to a family emergency in Houston. He has started a team-high 28 games behind the plate and leads the Majors with a 2.71 catcher's ERA. He is batting .202 (20x99) with 8 doubles, 1 triple and 9 RBI.

Quiroz, 27, appeared in four games after being called up on May 26. He is batting .286 (4x14) with 2 RBI. Quiroz began the season at AAA Tacoma, hitting .250 (11x44) with 1 double, 1 home run and 5 RBI in 12 games with the Rainiers. He was transferred to AA West Tennessee on May 13, and hit .267 (8x30) with 1 double and 1 homer. The Mariners now have 10 days to trade, release or outright Quiroz' contract to the minors.

Wilson, 28, has split the 2009 season between the Arizona and San Diego organizations. He began the year at AAA Reno prior to being called up by the Diamondbacks on April 26. With Arizona, he hit .231 (6-for-26) in 11 games with 1 double and 2 RBI. The D-Backs designated him for assignment on May 13, and San Diego claimed him off waivers on May 15. He hit .105 (4-for-38) with 2 doubles with the Padres. In a combined 27 Major League games this season, he is hitting .156 (10-for-64) with 3 doubles, 3 RBI, 6 walks and 12 strikeouts.

Wilson's Major League career includes Florida (2005), Washington (2007), Tampa Bay (2007), Arizona (2009) and San Diego (2009). He is a career .219 hitter (78-for-356) with 19 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs and 27 RBI in 143 Major League games.

... just people who are stupid enough to be afraid to ask.

I'm sitting here getting ready to leave San Diego and thought I'd post quickly before I have to get on the plane back to the Northwest.

A few things ...

* I'll be doing my weekly segment with Ian Furness on KJR sometime after 2 p.m.

* Here's a preview of tonight's game from our site.

* University of Hawaii third baseman Vince Catricala, who was drafted in the 10th round, signed with the Mariners.

But back to the reason for this post ... Sharkhawk mentioned something that they do on the Seahawks blog, well, at least Mike Sando did and Eric Williams is doing. Basically, they have a "Answers to your questions" post. Where they answer questions that have been asked in comments and And I've been meaning to do that, but my ADD only allows me to stay on task for a certain amount of time.

I know I've gotten some questions in the comments sections of some posts and in my email and I'm going to go back and pull some of those, but to make sure, if you have a question, post it in the comments below or email me at ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com and I will try to answer them to the best of my ability. We'll try and make this a weekly deal.

They can be funny, they can be tough, they can have more than one part, they don't even necessarily have to be about baseball or the Mariners in exact terms, but don't just ask why so-and-so sucks, especially if that so-and-so is me. Put a little thought into them and I promise to put some thought into the answer.

And since I've been milking this the last four days, I'm going to bid adios to this fine ciudad, and say ....

You stay classy, San Diego.