Mariners shiver in early going

SEATTLE – These have been chilly days at Safeco Field, where the wind and dampness in the air have transformed 50-degree first-pitch temperatures into conditions that felt much colder.

It was so cold Friday night that when third baseman Adrian Beltre caught a hard one-hopper, a small disposable hand warmer popped out of his glove.

Even relief pitcher George Sherrill, who played nearly five years of independent league ball in Winnipeg, has shivered through the past two nights.

“It was cold last night when we walked out to the bullpen before the game, and when we walked in after the game it felt 20 degrees colder,” Sherrill said.

Manager Mike Hargrove, who played seven seasons at Cleveland, where winds off Lake Erie often sent a chill through old Municipal Stadium said, “I remember Cliff Johnson hit a two-run home run with two outs in the ninth to beat us, and I wasn’t sorry. I was glad it was a two-run homer.”

That game wasn’t the coldest Hargrove had played. That came in Toronto early one season on a day when games in Montreal and Detroit had been called off because of the weather.

“The last time I checked, Toronto was located in between them both, but we played that game,” Hargrove said. “The wind was blowing about 30 mph and the temperature at the end of the game was about 15 degrees. I’ve never been so cold.”

In the swing

Adrian Beltre’s 2-for-3 game Friday lifted his batting average to .175 and encouraged Hargrove. “His swing is getting shorter, more compact, and he’s having more good at-bats,” Hargrove said. “I hesitate to say he’s getting close. I hate that phrase. But certainly he’s looking better.” … The Mariners are hitting .212 as a team against left-handed pitching, but Hargrove isn’t concerned yet. “It’s way too early for that sort of thing,” he said. “I think we had the same problem early in the season last year and we ended up hitting pretty well against left-handers.” The M’s finished with a .264 team average against lefties after batting .209 against them in the first month of the 2005 season.