Morrow eager to close

SEATTLE – With a 98 mph fastball and the desire to throw it in the ninth inning, Brandon Morrow is eager to take over the Mariners’ closer duty while J.J. Putz is on the disabled list.

Manager John McLaren said Morrow will get his chance, but so will others, including veteran Miguel Batista.

“We’ll just mix and match,” McLaren said. “Brandon will get a portion of it. It all depends on the situation, who’s available.”

Batista, who has started 13 games this season, will work out of the bullpen for an undetermined period.

Batista has experience as a closer, including one save earlier this season. McLaren said knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey, who started Friday in Batista’s place, would get at least one more start.

The Mariners placed Putz on the 15-day disabled list Friday after a magnetic resonance imaging exam showed, he has triceps tendon inflammation and an irritated ulnar nerve.

Morrow, who replaced Putz with nobody out and a runner on first in the ninth inning at Toronto and blew away the Blue Jays with his fastball, said he’s ready to close.

“I was kind thrown into it (Wednesday), which was probably better that way. I didn’t have to think about it,” said Morrow, who believes he has found a bullpen routine that helps keep him calm before the high intensity of a late-game situation. “I have been working on controlling my adrenaline – don’t run out to the mound too quick, keep my heart rate down, keep my breathing down so I am not huffing and puffing out there, take a deep breath between every pitch.”

McLaren said he wants to be patient and make sure Putz is fully recovered before he pitches again. Putz suffered a bruised rib the first week of the season and spent about a month on the disabled list, then had a torn fingernail a short time later that hampered him.

“We’ll let him take his time to get ready,” McLaren said. “If it takes a rehab or two (in the minor leagues), whatever it takes for him to get back to 100 percent, that’s what we’re looking for.”

Putz said it’s been months since he felt completely healthy.

Putz won’t throw a ball this weekend and he’ll be re-examined Monday to determine the next phase of his treatment.