Greetings from Montana, here’s the daily minor league report, I’ve missed a few days, I’ll try not to let it happen.

Yesterday’s Results Standings Winner/Loser/Save

at Tacoma 10, Nashville 7 — 25-20, 3rd, -3.0 — W-E. Hull (5-2); S-R. Messenger (7)

West Tenn — (Rained Out) — 17-26, 5th, -5.5 – – -

High Desert (Off Day) — 31-14, 1st, +6.0 – – -

Clinton 9, at Peoria 3 — 24-21, T3rd, -4.0 — W-C. Hann (2-0)

AAA Tacoma Rainiers (Pacific Coast League)

BOX SCORE

Here’ Grant Clark’s game

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Mike Sweeney is unavailable today but won’t go on the disabled list – at least not immediately.

Jose Lopez is available, but not starting. With a break today and tomorrow’s scheduled off-day, that will give him two days off the field to rest tired legs.

Which brings us to the game – Erik Bedard vs. Trevor Cahill – and the Mariners need to win to avoid a sweep before flying to Anaheim.

Ichiro is leading off and has a 20-game hitting streak, wich is the eighth longest in franchise history. As intriguing, it’s the seventh streak Ichiro

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Jarrod Washburn is warming up, getting ready to test an ailing left knee against an Oakland team that he has a 8-15 lifetime record against.

Seattle will try to give him, like, runs tonight, so the team has scrambled its lineup once more.

One of the keys could be DH Mike Sweeney, batting cleanup. Although his season numbers – .232, 2 home runs, 9 RBI – aren’t good, Sweeney is batting .524 against the Athletics in 2009.

Some of that may be familiarity: Sweeney spent last season with Oakland. But in his long career, Sweeney’s had

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Reaching down to their Class AA affiliate, the Mariners have brought up catcher Guillermo Quiroz to replace the injured Kenji Johjima, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

To make room for Quiroz on the 40-man roster, the team placed left-hander Cesar Jimenez on the 60-day disabled list.

A 28-year-old veteran, Quiroz has been with Seattle before – in 2006 – and has bounced around baseball for years.

Why Quiroz and not one of the better known catchers in Tacoma?

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Kenj Johjima has a broken big left toe, will be placed on the disabled list and miss at least the next two weeks.

The Seattle catcher was injured on a broken play in the first inning, when Adam Kennedy slid into him as Johjima tried to block an errant throw from Jose Lopez.

Who’s coming up?

Manager Don Wakamatsu said it won’t be Jeff Clement, who has not been catching in Tacoma, which seems to limit the choices to veteran Jamie Burke or rookie Adam Moore.

That decision will be made Tuesday.

Ichiro Suzuki does things mere mortals cannot, like leading the majors with 18 infield hits this season – despite starting the year on the disabled list.

At the moment, he’s got an 18-game hitting streak working, one game short of the American League’s longest of 2009 (Jacoby Ellsbury, 19 games).

He’ll try to stretch that streak against Oakland starter Brett Anderson, a left-hander he’s never faced.

If you’re watching on television, don’t adjust your color – players from both teams in this game and all teams today are wearing red caps in honor of Memorial Day.

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You’d think talking to a handful of major league players – hitters, pitchers, even coaches – would provide the answer to most any baseball question.

Think again.

The question: Which pitch is the toughest to hit?

“The slightly above the belt changeup,” Jarrod Washburn said.

“The backdoor slider,” hitting coach Alan Cockrell.

“Fastball down and away,” Mark Lowe said.

And then, there was the opinion of Ken Griffey Jr. – backed up by Jose Lopez, Adrian Beltre and, sort of, by Mike Sweeney.

“The pitch right down the middle,” Junior insisted. “It freezes

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This one may be a little brief as I am embarking for a drive back to Montana for a week to see my family and most importantly my dog, who moves back during baseball season. I’ll still do some posting during the week, while Lash is on the road trip.

Overall, a great win today for the M’s, they got a great start from Felix, some power from the middle of the order and lots of applause at the end.

"Obviously, it’s a nice win, especially with the crowd we

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