Reliever Guardado regains stinginess

When Seattle Mariners manager Mike Hargrove made a pregame declaration that he planned to give closer J.J. Putz Thursday off to rest an overused arm, it became apparent that Eddie Guardado was likely to get some work.

The Mariners did not put themselves in a save situation, yet Guardado came into the game at a meaningful time and had another solid outing. He retired all three batters he faced in the top of the ninth inning to keep Seattle within striking distance of Baltimore.

Guardado, who was relieved of his closing duties on May 4, has not allowed a run in his past eight appearances. He’s given up just four hits in that span.

“At the time when I had the blown saves, I don’t think I was throwing the ball bad,” said Guardado, who blew three of eight save opportunities before Hargrove turned to Putz. “I was just making bad pitch selection and not getting the ball where I wanted it to be. I’m not going to blow anybody away (with speed), so my job is to keep the ball down and stay ahead of hitters. If I do that, I’m going to be fine. And at the beginning of the year, it was not that way.”

Guardado said he still has a “sick feeling” in his stomach after losing the closer’s job, but he believes he’s on track to get it back.

Putz has pitched in five of the previous six games.

Ichiro’s streak ends

Ichiro Suzuki, who entered Thursday’s game with a major league-best 18-game hitting streak, went 0 for 4 in the 2-0 loss to Baltimore.

Ichiro didn’t hit a ball out of the infield, recording groundouts in his first three at-bats before striking out on three pitches against reliever Chris Ray to lead off the ninth.

His batting average is down to .314 for the season.

Hernandez tries again

Felix Hernandez, who is scheduled to start when the Mariners face the Minnesota Twins tonight, is looking to get out of a recent funk.

Hernandez has struggled in his past two outings after going through a brief, four-start surge that saw him post a 3.75 ERA.

The 20-year old has allowed 12 runs in 10 innings over his past two starts, going 1-1 during that span.

Buy me some peanuts

Among the fans at Thursday’s game were former president Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn.

The Carters were in town as part of a fundraiser with son Jack, a politician in Nevada.

Jimmy Carter, who turns 82 in October, was sporting a Mariners cap while sitting in a Safeco Field suite.