M's Notebook | Feierabend sent to AAA

Notching his first major-league win wasn't enough to spare pitcher Ryan Feierabend another trip back to the minors.

The Mariners optioned the 21-year-old left-hander to Class AAA Tacoma on Monday, barely 24 hours after he had beaten the Texas Rangers. That cleared the way for Jeff Weaver to rejoin Seattle's starting rotation Saturday in San Diego.

"That's kind of his lot in life right now," Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said of Feierabend, who tossed 14 combined innings in two starts, going 1-1 with a 5.14 earned-run average. "He pitched well, which he needed to do. ... But now, it's just not his time."

Weaver is running out of time in Seattle, unless he improves quickly on an 0-6 record and 14.32 ERA. Despite having not pitched competitively during his month on the disabled list, Weaver opted not to go on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment.

Hargrove said Weaver threw well in a simulated game on the weekend.

"He threw the ball well, kept the ball down, had good command," Hargrove said. "His strength was good. His velocity was so-so. But it's a simulated game. It's hard to get the adrenaline flowing."

Feierabend took the news as best he could.

"Any time you come up here, you want to stay, you want to help the team any way you can," he said.

Feierabend added that he was also told he might not have to wait all that long to get back to Seattle.

"They said that it's a possibility, and it could happen with just about anybody," he said.

Reitsma returns

Because Weaver is still on the DL, the Feierabend move freed up a roster spot. The Mariners quickly filled it by activating reliever Chris Reitsma off the DL ahead of schedule.

Reitsma hasn't pitched in more than two weeks, since a bout of tendinitis in his right elbow. It's in the same general area where Reitsma had surgery last year, though the pitcher said the two injuries are mostly unrelated.

"The only thing we could think of is that, with the surgery, maybe some scar tissue broke loose a little bit and flared up the joint," he said. "Unfortunately, the joint was flared up enough that they had to give it some time."

Reitsma was supposed to throw a simulated game on Monday. But his arm felt so good during a Saturday bullpen session that the Mariners figured he might as well get back into games.

Hargrove said the bullpen "really needed the arm," given its taxing workload with the team playing 23 games in 23 days.

Notes

• Injured reliever Mark Lowe took a major step toward getting back on a mound by throwing his first bullpen session since spring-training surgery on his elbow. Lowe threw 25 pitches off the mound at Safeco Field with the catcher crouched in front of home plate, then another 10 pitches from the full distance.

"The pitches were perfect, right where I wanted them to be," Lowe said, estimating he threw at about three-quarters velocity. "When I was missing, I was missing down. It was jumping out of my hand really well."

Lowe said there's still "a possibility" he could be back before the All-Star break. "It'll just go by how I feel."

• Jason Ellison started in center field for the first time this season Monday as Ichiro got his version of a night off by serving as the designated hitter. Ellison distinguished himself right off the bat, racing to the warning track and making a one-handed catch of a liner by Miguel Tejada with a runner on.

"That's my true position, so I'm excited about it," said Ellison, who'd made three previous starts in left field this season.

• Adrian Beltre didn't start because of his sprained thumb, with Willie Bloomquist getting the start at third base. Beltre pinch-ran, and the M's will attempt to start him tonight.

For the record

Streak: W3

Home: 16-12

Road: 13-13

vs. AL West: 12-10

vs. L.A.: 2-7

vs. Oakland: 4-1

vs. Texas: 6-2

vs. AL East: 8-6

vs. AL Central: 8-7

vs. NL: 1-2

vs. LHP: 10-3

vs. RHP: 19-22

Day: 9-8

Night: 20-17

One-run: 5-7

Extra innings: 0-0

Home attendance

Monday's crowd: 19,090

Season total: 829,160

Biggest crowd: 46,181 (May 13)

Smallest crowd: 16,555 (May 2)

Average (28 dates): 29,613

2006 average (28 dates): 26,324