TOKYO -- Mariners designated hitter/first baseman Daniel Vogelbach was sidelined Thursday by a sore left elbow after getting hit in the arm by a pitch from Ryan Dull in his first at-bat Wednesday night after replacing Ichiro Suzuki in the fourth inning.

"It tightened up on him and didn't feel great this morning," manager Scott Servais said prior to Thursday's finale. "It's swollen. We're going to try to stay away from [playing] him."

Vogelbach acknowledged it wasn't ideal getting plunked on his first at-bat of the season, but he doesn't believe it's anything serious.

"I'll be all right," he said. "I'm just sore a little bit, but I'll be good. It was a fastball up and in and ran up in and in more than I expected and clipped me a little bit. Things happen. It's just part of the game and we'll move on from it."

Vogelbach is expected to split time with veterans Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce at first base and DH this season, with Bruce also capable of playing the corner outfield spots.

Haniger holding down the fort in center

Somewhat lost in all the offensive firepower in Wednesday's 9-7 Opening Night win was a big catch by center fielder Mitch Haniger that helped turn the momentum after the A's had scored three quick runs off reliever Nick Rumbelow after starter Marco Gonzales was removed in the seventh.

"I got a good jump, but it's tough here because there's no [warning] track here," Haniger said. "It's just all turf. I had a little more room than I thought. But luckily I picked it up and made the play. I probably made it look a little harder than it was."

After Matt Chapman's three-run homer cut the lead to two runs, Servais called upon Cory Gearrin, and he gave up a deep drive by Stephen Piscotty that Haniger tracked down at the wall for the second out of the inning. From there, Gearrin, Zac Rosscup and Hunter Strickland proceeded to hold the A's without a hit the rest of the way.

Haniger is more comfortable in right field, but he's handling center field in the Opening Series while Mallex Smith continues rehabbing from a strained right elbow. Yet the 28-year-old continues being a difference maker however he's used.

"He's playing really well out there," Servais said. "The catch, the jumps on the balls, I'm very confident in him out there. This is a smaller outfield, so it's a little easier to play than in Seattle, but he's been great. That was a big play.

"When the ball goes up in the air here, my first reaction is, 'It's going out.' So anytime it stays in the park, I feel great about it. Mitch has played well out there. It's not an issue at all."

Coming out of nowhere

One unique aspect of the Tokyo Dome is that the bullpens are enclosed rooms underneath the stands, so relievers sit inside and watch the game on TV before being summoned. And when they come into the game, they run through a tunnel and come onto the field through the dugout instead of from the outfield.

"It's quiet, like being in a cave," said Gearrin, a seven-year MLB veteran who signed as a free agent this winter. "When you go out, they're singing songs and all kinds of stuff going on. So there's a change of environment that is unique. But a lot of bullpens in the big leagues now, you go to Wrigley and it's all inside and there's a window you can watch the game.

"The weirdest part for most guys here is the walk to the field where you're going through the food room and the dugout and then you pass by the starter or whoever you're following. That's definitely different."