--RHP Mark Lowe hasn't replaced RHP J.J. Putz as the Mariner closer, but he's taken over as the pie guy. With RHP Chris Jakubauskas collecting his first big league win and RHP David Aardsma getting his first major league save, Lowe kept up a Mariners pitching tradition by giving both men a shaving cream pie Friday night in Oakland.
--SS Carlos Triunfel, one of the most highly regarded of the Mariners' minor-leaguers, will miss the next two months or so. Triunfel, playing Friday for West Tennessee, suffered a broken tibia while sliding into a base and is likely to need eight weeks to recover. --LHP Jarrod Washburn was pitching in what to him are very friendly confines when he threw eight shutout innings against the Twins on Thursday. He came into the game 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA in seven previous starts at the Metrodome. He, for one, probably will be sad to see the Twins move into a new outdoor stadium next season.
--C Rob Johnson made his first start of the season after having three days to work with LHP Jarrod Washburn on the approach they wanted to take against the Twins. "Don (Wakamatsu) told us before the first game when I'd be catching and who," Johnson said. "That left Jarrod and I sitting on the bench for three games and talking about hitters and how to attack them." The time was well spent. Washburn and Johnson worked together for eight shutout innings in a 2-0 win.
--RHP Chris Jakubauskas, who made his way to the Mariners after four years in the independent leagues, made his big-league debut in the sixth inning Wednesday. Jakubauskas, who was a major surprise in the Mariners' camp, retired the first five Twins and finished with two scoreless innings.
--Manager Don Wakamatsu and general manager Jack Zduriencik got celebratory showers from their players after Monday's win. It was the first win at this level for Wakamatsu and Zduriencik.
BY THE NUMBERS: 0 -- Left-handed pitchers in the Seattle bullpen to start the season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We told the guys they were coming in for a chance to compete for a job. And a lot of them did." -- General manager Jack Zduriencik on three rookies (3B Matt Tuiasosopo, RHP Chris Jakubauskas and RHP Shawn Kelley) making the roster.
