The Seattle Mariners got some bad news Friday about center field, specifically center fielder
Franklin Gutierrez. Not only is the veteran coming back slowly from a right pectoral injury, but he has
developed a case of plantar fasciitis. On the other side of the coin, Gutierrez's replacement, Michael Saunders, is giving the
club plenty of reasons to breathe easily. Saunders had his biggest day of the season with two homers Friday in Toronto. He
homered in the ninth with the Mariners down two runs to help force extra innings against
Blue Jays closer Francisco Cordero. Then in the 10th, he delivered a grand slam off Luis Perez to secure a 9-5 Seattle win,
the fourth in a row for the Mariners. This is the same Saunders who was given a chance to replace the often-injured Gutierrez
last year but faltered badly. "Saunders is a completely different hitter this year," manager Eric Wedge said. "To his
credit, he's always been a complete playe...
Original Story:
|
April 27, 2012
