SEATTLE -- Catcher Jesús Sucre arrived in the Mariners clubhouse Saturday, the day after the Mariners recalled him from Triple-A Tacoma and his wife gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
"Oh my God. Yesterday was such a [nerve-wracking] day for me," Sucre said.
Seattle added him and rookie outfielder Ben Gamel to the active roster Friday, but Sucre delayed his return to the Mariners to be at the hospital with his wife, Beriuska. Their daughter, Samara, was born Friday night.
"I really appreciate these two guys," Sucre said, pointing to Félix Hernández's and Franklin Gutierrez's lockers.
That's because Hernandez and Gutierrez's wives went to the hospital to help out Beriuska, Sucre said, and Hernandez's wife is looking after the Sucres' 5-year-old son today.
Sucre spent the first part of the season on the 60-day disabled list. He broke his fibula on Jan. 17 while playing winter ball in Venezuela and had surgery on it Jan. 26. After being activated from the DL, Sucre started three games behind the plate for Seattle, logging one hit and two walks in 10 plate appearances before the Mariners optioned him to Triple-A Tacoma on July 20. In 24 games since with Tacoma, he was batting .300 with 10 RBIs.
Worth Noting:
• Right-handed reliever Drew Storen is eligible to come off the 15-day DL (right shoulder inflammation) Sunday. Storen only gave up one hit in a scoreless rehab inning in Tacoma Friday. He said he felt good.
Before Saturday's game Servais had yet to announce a decision on whether they would activate Storen right away.
But Servais added: "The initial plan was if he went down there and felt good then we would get him back on the roster."
• Catcher Mike Zunino got the chance to work with former Mariners catcher and current Mariners Minor League defensive coordinator Dan Wilson to quicken his throwdown footwork before batting practice Saturday.
"It's nice when Dan can come in here and work with whatever is feeling a little off," Zunino said. "And a lot of times it's just something that you don't do a lot. Sometimes guys aren't stealing, sometimes you don't get the opportunities in the game."
Zunino has thrown out 5 of 16 attempted base stealers this season, including three of the last five. But a little extra maintenance couldn't hurt, he said.
"If you get lazy with your feet it could dictate where your throw goes," Zunino said. "So it's one of those that's really good to keep sharp throughout the season."