END GAME -- Oakland 5, Seattle 2

-What's with these ninth-inning rallies? The Mariners had three over the past week but came up short in all of them. They scored twice in the ninth today.
-Ichiro is officially mired in an 0-for-14 slump. The worst slump he has ever been in, according to a respected member of the Japanese media contingent here in Peoria, is 0-for-24 from July 30 to Aug. 5
-Matt Tuiasosopo delivered a pinch-double for his second hit of spring training. He's now 2-for-7.
- Wladimir Balentien definitely has some pop. He hit one to the wall in the second inning that was caught, and ripped a long double to center in the ninth.
-Cesar Jimenez was knocked around for three runs on three hits and walked two in an inning of work. He's competing with Arthur Rhodes, Eric O'Flaherty, Ryan Rowland-Smith and perhaps others for the bullpen role of lefthanded setup man.
-Chris Reitsma and Mark Lowe were encouraged by their efforts in relief. Each is coming back from arm problems and threw one scoreless inning.

Top 8

I missed the the three runs the A's scored to get some clubhouse interviews for stories. I'll have a recap at game's end. Mike Morse is now at SS. He told me this morning that SS is his favorite spot, and that he has played everything except pitcher and catcher as a pro baseball player.

Top 6

Line on Mark Lowe: 1 inning, 1 hit, 1 walk, no runs.

Top 5

Washburn is out, Mark Lowe is in. This is Lowe's first real game action since Aug. 3, when he struck out two Red Sox. He is trying to come back from an elbow condition that kept him from pitching.
Washburn went four innings, allowed two earned runs on five hits, struck out four and walked one.

Top 4

UPDATE: Washburn is in trouble, but has battled back with two strikeouts with runners on second and third. He just got Gregorio Petit to ground out, inning over, still 2-0 A's.

Wonder if Beltre is trying to protect that thumb. He let what looked like a routine ground ball eat him up for an error.

Top 2

Jarrod Washburn has had some bad luck. A single by Casey Rogowski actually glanced off 1B Bryan LaHair's glove and rolled up the line. That scored a run, and a soft blooper by Brooks Conrad drove in a second run. So it's 2-0 Oakland.

End 1st

Ichiro swung at the first pitch and grounded out to second base. He's done the exact same thing twice now in the past three games he has played and remains hitless in spring training. Now watch, he'll get four hits on Opening Day.

Decent crowd at the yard today, 66 degrees and sunny. Cold and Seattle-ish cloudy this morning though.