Manager Jim Riggleman sees the club being nearly ready to move right-handed pitcher J.J. Putz back into his familiar role as the closer.
That was based on the two shutout innings Putz threw Wednesday against Boston, his best outing yet since coming off the disabled list.
However, that was before Putz pitched the eighth inning Friday in Toronto with a one-run lead and suffered a blown save. Putz allowed a double and two singles before getting out of the jam with the score tied at 3-3.
Both Putz, who has been on the disabled list twice for a total of 49 days this year, and the man currently sharing the closer's role, right-hander Brandon Morrow, threw two scoreless innings Wednesday, then needed 29 pitches to throw one shutout inning Friday.
"With both guys throwing two innings the other day," Riggleman said, "I feel confident that I could bring either one into the game (in the ninth)."
What the manager is waiting for is for Putz to show that he can throw in three consecutive games. When that happens, Morrow will move back to the eighth inning until -- or unless -- Seattle wants him to make the transformation to starter.
BLUE JAYS 5, MARINERS 4 (10 innings): RHP Mark Lowe was one strike away from securing the save of a 4-3 game, but 2B Joe Inglett drilled a single off the top of the glove of a leaping RF Ichiro Suzuki to give the Jays the win.
Seattle, which has now lost six consecutive games, had taken the lead in the top of the 10th when LF Willie Bloomquist walked with two out against LHP Jesse Carlson, stole second and scored on CF Jeremy Reed's single.
Bloomquist had two hits earlier in the game, stretching his hitting streak to seven, and scored a run.
RHP Brandon Morrow threw 29 pitches in a scoreless ninth inning, so the Mariners didn't want to press him into duty for the 10th. RHP Mark Lowe took both the loss and blown save, but not until he had a 0-2 count against RF Brad Wilkerson, who eventually walked in front of Inglett's single.
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Just another reminder that Dave Niehaus gets inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend. A well deserved honor going to a great Mariner fan. "My, oh, my" what a great day for him and for all baseball fans in the Northwest.
Does there ever come a time as a fan where you know that you are hoplessly out of it? And you just stop really routing for your team to win? In this case the Mariners. You want them to do good. However, you know deep down inside that it might be in the teams best interest to lose. Now I'm not saying rout against them, or anything like that
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