Relievers Joe Beimel, Mark Lowe bring veteran presence to Mariners’ bullpen

SEATTLE – A professional pitcher for 17 seasons, Seattle Mariners’ reliever Joe Beimel has a plan for every contingency.

When manager Lloyd McClendon called on Beimel for a rare game-finishing appearance Saturday against the Oakland A’s, Beimel knew what to do after throwing the final pitch of his team’s 7-2 victory.

Beimel made a quick pivot to face the outfield and executed a precise recreation of the imaginary arrow launch Fernando Rodney performs after saves. Absent such an opportunity, the closer wasn’t needed on Fernando Rodney Bobblehead Night.  

“I always told him that if I had a chance to come in and finish a game, I was going to do it,” said Beimel, who recorded the most recent of his four career saves in 2009. “He laughed and told me, ‘Go ahead.’ Turned out it was the perfect opportunity, because it was his bobblehead night. It was a fun thing to do while giving a little credit to him.” 

After a rocky first month, the M’s middle men seemed to have regained the form that established them among baseball’s best in 2014.

That the revival began with the promotions of Beimel and 31-year-old right-hander Mark Lowe last week from Tacoma is not a coincidence. Each has appeared three times, allowing a combined three hits without a run.

 “Beimel and Lowe have stabilized things, given us a bit more of a veteran presence,” McClendon said Sunday. “They’ve pitched well, to boot. That helps.” 

Beimel and Lowe replaced Dominic Leone and Yorvis Medina. 

“The only reason we made changes in the first place is that guys were elevating balls up in the zone, and opponents were taking advantage,” McClendon said. “It helps that our starters are going deeper into games. 

“All in all, things are starting to even out. You’re starting to see the bullpen as it was last year.” 

Beimel was a staple of that bullpen. During a 21-game stretch he did not allow a run, and never allowed more than two runs for the entire season.

 For somebody who hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2011, it was a breakout year. But when contract talks stalled, Beimel ended up signing a one-year deal with Texas – only to be cut in March. 

“I had a lot of weird things happen in the innings I was pitching during spring training, and I wasn’t sharp,” he said.

Lowe, the one-time Seattle prospect who was called up in 2006 and pitched five seasons with the Mariners before he was sent to the Rangers.

Tours with the Angels, Rays and Indians followed, but M’s general manager Jack Zduriencik remembered Lowe as a hard-throwing reliever beset by some hard-luck injuries. Lowe signed a minor-league deal with Seattle last December, and after showing lights-out stuff in Tacoma – 11 strikeouts and no walks over seven innings – he rejoined Seattle to help buoy a struggling bullpen.