Cirillo, Guillen exit early
LARRY LARUE; The News Tribune
By the sixth inning of their 30th victory of the season, the Seattle Mariners were playing without the left side of their infield Thursday.
Oh, there was a third baseman and a shortstop out there at Safeco Field - just not the players who'd started the game at those positions.
And Jeff Cirillo and Carlos Guillen might not play together this weekend.
Shortstop Guillen exited in the third inning after legging out an infield single and having his right hamstring cramp up.
"I felt it right out of the batter's box," Guillen said, "but I think I can play with it."
Manager Bob Melvin replaced Guillen with Mark McLemore as a "precaution," Melvin said - but the manager acknowledged the shortstop might not be in the lineup today.
Cirillo almost certainly won't be.
After a defensive play to end the top of the sixth inning, Cirillo came out with back spasms, a problem he's been fighting close to two weeks.
"It's just been a progression since the Yankees series, and it got worse last week in Cleveland," Cirillo said. "We had terrible beds in Cleveland, then a long rain delay one game.
"There's no pain. I'm fine. It just feels like a two-by-four is strapped to my back. There's no way I can play right now."
Melvin figures Cirillo may miss a few games, possibly the whole weekend series against the Twins.
If Guillen can't go, McLemore likely will start at shortstop. In Cirillo's place, Melvin could start left-handed hitting John Mabry or rookie Willie Bloomquist - or McLemore, if Guillen starts at shortstop.
"We have options," Melvin said, "and we'll just see how those guys feel when they get to the ballpark (tonight)."
