Lowe’s early return remains on schedule

SEATTLE – Relief pitcher Mark Lowe’s target for returning to the Mariners had always been the All-Star break, perhaps ambitious considering the seriousness of his elbow surgery last fall but something he needed to aim for.

Then he needed another operation to clean out scar tissue during spring training, and that made the timetable tenuous. Lowe returned to his rehab, and is giddy over the progress he has made.

“We’re thinking somewhere near the end of June, maybe the first part of July,” he said by phone from his home in Peoria, Ariz. “I haven’t had any setbacks at all.”

Lowe, who has been playing catch from 120 feet, plans to cut that distance to 75 feet this week but increase his intensity, then pitch off the bullpen mound on May 21.

“They may pull the catcher out in front of home plate a little to cut down the distance, but it’ll be nice to get up there and get the feel of being on the mound again,” Lowe said.

The report couldn’t have been any better for a pitcher whose career was considered in jeopardy after surgery last October to repair a chondral defect in his right elbow.

“I’ve had positive thoughts through this whole thing,” said Lowe, who climbed from Class A to the major leagues last year and became a vital part of the Mariners’ bullpen with his 97 mph fastball. “It’s been great of the Mariners not to try and rush me through this. They want me for the long run and not for just one season.

“That’s been helpful and made this a lot easier for me to swallow.”

Hernandez throws

Felix Hernandez threw in the bullpen, remaining on schedule to return from the disabled list Tuesday against the Angels.

Hernandez, who suffered a strained right forearm last month, said he felt fine, which was a dramatic improvement over his condition the previous day.

“I’m surprised he threw today, he was so sick yesterday,” Hargrove said. “He had a 102 temperature yesterday and we sent him home. But he’s ready to come back.

Bloomquist waits

Willie Bloomquist is staying near his phone as his wife, Lisa, prepares to give birth to their second child.

“If you don’t see him in the third inning, you’ll know they called him in the second,” Hargrove said.