Branyan looks to get swing back

CLEVELAND – When Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu left Progressive Field Friday, he was thinking that he would sit first baseman Russell Branyan the next two games because of a sore back. Combined with Monday’s day off, that would have given Branyan three consecutive days off.

But when Wakamatsu got to the ballpark Saturday, Branyan told him his back had improved considerably and made a case to start. Wakamatsu put him in the lineup, but said Chris Shelton would start at first today.

“(Branyan) reassured me he wanted to be in there, and his back was going in the direction we wanted it to, rather than getting worse,” Wakamatsu said.

Besides the bad back, Branyan is battling a slump that has seen him drop from .320 on June 13 to .275. In the 27 games since, he has hit .192 (20 for 104) but has still produced three doubles, a triple, seven homers and 20 RBIs. He has walked 12 times and struck out 40 times.

“He’s done so much for this club,” Wakamatsu said. “Offensively, it’s hard to put your finger on what he’s going through the last couple of weeks. Is he pressing too much? Is it his swing mechanically? There’s a lot of different factors, but the biggest thing for him is just try to retain the routine he had in the first half, and push it through the second half. The back doesn’t help. That’s what we’re juggling right now.”

Wakamatsu believes the return to Cleveland, where Branyan began his career, might be on his mind.

“Absolutely. There’s always going to be some anxiety to try to prove, ‘Hey, you let me go,’ or whatever it is, coming back to where it all started for him,” the manager said. “Obviously, it would bring back memories for a lot of people. Those are all things he needs to go through, grow, and continue on.

“We believe in him as a player and what he can do. I think he can be a premier hitter. But half a season doesn’t make a season, and that’s what we’re trying to tell him right now. Just keep pushing. You’ve got to fight through things like this.”