Ichiro Suzuki

The Mariners know they're going to hit Chone Figgins (above) second, behind Ichiro Suzuki, but they aren't as clear about where they will play him. Third base, replacing Adrian Beltre, seems the likely spot, but he could move to second if they deal Jose Lopez, as is rumored. Left field, where the White Sox considered him, is also a possibility. … It appears teams are starting to take a last shot at re-signing their big-name free agents. The Cardinals made an offer to Matt Holliday, and the Yankees are talking to Johnny Damon (whom they see as a part-time left fielder, part-time DH)

Giving back is great Mike DiGiovanna Los Angeles Times The pluses of playing regular-season games overseas far outweigh the minuses, especially as they pertain to Japan. Considering how much that country has contributed to Major League Baseball over the past two decades — Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki, now Yu Darvish, extensive media coverage of the game and fertile marketing terrain — it's important that the game give something back. It's good for younger, less-traveled players and those living more of a sheltered existence, to gain the cultural experience of going to another country, of visiting areas hit by the 2011 tsunami and connecting with families of storm victims.

Who's hot The Marlins have the best record in the majors (51-33) since interleague play began. Who's not The White Sox have dropped nine of their past 11 games and have fallen back to .500 for the season. Line of the day Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners DH AB R H RBI HR 3 2 3 2 1

May was the worst month in Ichiro Suzuki's career, as he hit .210 with a .270 on-base percentage. Oddly the Mariners played great, seemingly proving the theory that for a future Hall of Famer he has very little impact on winning. … What does Jair Jurrjens have in common with Lefty Gomez, Randy Johnson and Ubaldo Jimenez? According to Elias Sports, those are the only big-leaguers ever to begin a season with nine straight starts of six-plus innings allowing two or fewer runs in each game.

Josh Beckett Red Sox pitcher He has allowed one earned run in seven innings in each of his three starts for a 1.29 ERA. Ichiro Suzuki Mariners right fielder He is 0-for-11 in the first three games against the Red Sox.

"Before the game started, the fans were nice and polite. But after the game started and they started drinking beer, lots of beer, their personality changed." Ichiro Suzuki Seattle Mariners center fielder, on playing in front of the Bleacher Bums at Wrigley Field

National League * Hanley Ramirez, Florida, ss * Chase Utley, Philadelphia, 2b * Lance Berkman, Houston, 1b * Albert Pujols (above), St. Louis, dh * Chipper Jones, Atlanta, 3b * Matt Holliday, Colorado, rf * Ryan Braun, Milwaukee, lf * Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago, cf * Geovany Soto, Chicago, c * Ben Sheets, Milwaukee, rhp American League * Ichiro Suzuki (above), Seattle, rf * Derek Jeter, New York, ss * Josh Hamilton, Texas, cf * Alex Rodriguez, New York, 3b * Manny Ramirez, Boston, lf * Milton Bradley, Texas, dh * Kevin Youkilis, Boston, 1b * Joe Mauer, Minnesota, c * Dustin Pedroia, Boston, 2b * Cliff Lee, Cleveland, lhp

A recap of the Orioles' 4-2 loss to the Mariners last night: TIED NO LONGER The bottom of the eighth inning of a tie game started ominously for Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie, who gave up a leadoff double to Yuniesky Betancourt. However, Guthrie quickly retired the next two Mariners without Betancourt advancing. The Orioles then decided to walk the hot-hitting Raul Ibanez and face Adrian Beltre, who was 0-for-12 with four strikeouts in his career against Guthrie. However, Guthrie walked Beltre, loading the bases for Jose Vidro.

They all are starting to feel the same, from the pitching staff's absolute neglect of the strike zone to the starters' inability to get deep into the game to the offense's inability to do much of anything except squander opportunities. When the Orioles left their personal house of horrors otherwise known as the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday, they hoped things would be different. Instead, Monday's 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners before an announced Memorial Day crowd of 22,819 at Safeco Field brought more of the agonizing same.

Orioles rookie Zach Britton kept waiting and waiting in the hope that one run would come and the finest start of his young career would turn into his sixth victory. It didn't, which was about the Orioles' only regret on a memorable Thursday night. Britton and the Seattle Mariners' Jason Vargas were masterful as both pitched nine shutout innings, but the game wasn't decided until J.J. Hardy's bases-loaded, two-run single in the 12th inning lifted the Orioles to a pulsating 2-1 victory in front of an announced 19,082 at Camden Yards.

I am not going to tell you the Orioles have pulled out of their season-long nose dive. I am not going to sit down at the keyboard and bang out 800 words with my fat little fingers that say Buck Showalter waved a magic wand and now everything is fine with this team. Especially not after Wednesday night's 6-5 loss to the lowly Seattle Mariners at Camden Yards, their fourth in five games, if you're starting to worry. All I'm saying is this: For the most part, you can watch the Orioles these days without wanting to strangle someone or throw a brick through your TV. Win or lose, it has actually been fun to watch this team play -- at least most nights.

The Mariners know they're going to hit Chone Figgins (above) second, behind Ichiro Suzuki, but they aren't as clear about where they will play him. Third base, replacing Adrian Beltre, seems the likely spot, but he could move to second if they deal Jose Lopez, as is rumored. Left field, where the White Sox considered him, is also a possibility. … It appears teams are starting to take a last shot at re-signing their big-name free agents. The Cardinals made an offer to Matt Holliday, and the Yankees are talking to Johnny Damon (whom they see as a part-time left fielder, part-time DH)

National League * Hanley Ramirez, Florida, ss * Chase Utley, Philadelphia, 2b * Lance Berkman, Houston, 1b * Albert Pujols (above), St. Louis, dh * Chipper Jones, Atlanta, 3b * Matt Holliday, Colorado, rf * Ryan Braun, Milwaukee, lf * Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago, cf * Geovany Soto, Chicago, c * Ben Sheets, Milwaukee, rhp American League * Ichiro Suzuki (above), Seattle, rf * Derek Jeter, New York, ss * Josh Hamilton, Texas, cf * Alex Rodriguez, New York, 3b * Manny Ramirez, Boston, lf * Milton Bradley, Texas, dh * Kevin Youkilis, Boston, 1b * Joe Mauer, Minnesota, c * Dustin Pedroia, Boston, 2b * Cliff Lee, Cleveland, lhp

A recap of the Orioles' 4-2 loss to the Mariners last night: TIED NO LONGER The bottom of the eighth inning of a tie game started ominously for Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie, who gave up a leadoff double to Yuniesky Betancourt. However, Guthrie quickly retired the next two Mariners without Betancourt advancing. The Orioles then decided to walk the hot-hitting Raul Ibanez and face Adrian Beltre, who was 0-for-12 with four strikeouts in his career against Guthrie. However, Guthrie walked Beltre, loading the bases for Jose Vidro.

Orioles (59-76) @ Devil Rays (56-81) Day ............... Time ................... TV ....................................... Starters . Tonight ......... 7:10 ............... MASN ............................... Kurt Birkins (1-1, 8.00) ........................................ ............................................. vs. James Shields (10-8, 4.10) Tomorrow .... 7:10 .............. MASN ............................ Jeremy Guthrie (7-5, 3.62) .....................................

SAN FRANCISCO -- Leading up to the first pitch of the 78th Major League All Star Game last night at AT&T Park, the focus was on two of the greatest all-around outfielders in the sport's history: Barry Bonds and Willie Mays. Once the dust settled, though, it was another star outfielder who stole the show and provided what has become a predictable result: one more win for the American League. Buoyed by the first inside-the-park homer in All-Star Game history -- a rattling smash to right by Seattle Mariners star and game Most Valuable Player Ichiro Suzuki -- the AL won, 5-4, before an announced crowd of 43,965 to secure World Series home-field advantage for the fifth consecutive year.