Morrow loses closer job for now

The Mariners have decided to give Brandon Morrow some time to get back to full strength and gain confidence in his other pitches like his breaking ball and splitter.

For the next few weeks Morrow will get plenty of work, but not in the 9th. Look for Aardsma or Bautista to get the save opportunities while Morrow develops his pitches.

Morrow blows save in the 11th inning

Brandon Morrow had a bad night in Texas. After the Mariners had come back in the top of the 11th to take a 5-4 lead, more blew the game on a 2-run double to Hank Blalock. He gave up a lead off single to Michael Young and walked Josh Hamilton.

This was another bad outing for Morrow, but he some of the best stuff in the league and the Mariners will be patient with him. Morrow only threw 16 [itches, but expect to see Aardsma to pitch Thursday if a save opportunity comes up. The may want to rest Morrow.

Aardsma Gets 3rd Save, Shoulder Stiffness For Morrow

Brandon Morrow has been on fire over his past 6 appearances. After a brutal start he has pitched six scoreless innings , while earning five saves.

Morrow has shown complete command of all his pitches except for his first appearance. He has 7 K's over the 6 inning stretch and has secured that closer position.

Aardsma got the save last night because Morrow wasn't available due to stiffness in his pitching shoulder. This is something you will just have to put up with Morrow until his arm gets back to full strength. Clearly he is not 100% healthy and the Mariners have been trying to protect him until he is completely healthy.

Morrow should be good to go for Sunday.

Seattle Mariners Closer Report

Between April 9-12 the Mariners had 4 save opprotunities. So far they've had 5 saves chances, closing out 4. The Mariners are monitoring Morrow's workload as to try and avoid injury.

As Morrow gets stronger and once Aardsma starts to become unreliable Morrow will start saving games back to back. After his blown save you could tell he wasn't quite ready after walking 3. He also has thrown over 50 pitches in the two saves, so the Mariners went with Aardsma for 2 saves.

Keep Morrow as your closer, but pickup Aardsma as insurance. We still think Roy Corcoran can get in the mix for saves as well. If Aardsma is gone and you have a roster spot free, take a flier on Corcoran.