McClendon to miss series after death of sister

OAKLAND -- Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon will not be with the team for the upcoming three-game series against the Tigers as he's flying to Indiana to attend funeral services for his sister.

McClendon's sister, Angela Price, the youngest of 12 children in the family, died at age 44 on Wednesday from health complications in Gary, Ind.

Bench coach Trent Jewett will manage the team in McClendon's absence. Jewett, 51, also filled in as manager for two games against the Nationals last August when McClendon was attending his daughter's wedding.

McClendon is in his second season as Seattle's skipper after working as a coach for the Tigers the previous eight years. He will stay with the team through Sunday's game in Oakland, then fly back to Seattle before heading to Indiana for Tuesday's service.

The Mariners open a seven-game homestand Monday and McClendon said he'll rejoin the team for Thursday's series opener against the Angels.

Worth noting

• With All-Star selections coming Sunday and Monday, it appears six-time All-Star Robinson Cano will not be named to the team after being voted in by the fans the previous five years in a row. McClendon said he expects Cano to rebound strongly from his tough first half.

"It's baseball," McClendon said. "He's human. It happens to the best of us. He just had a bad first couple months, but I think he's starting to come out of it. I expect he'll have a breakout second half."

McClendon said Cano has dealt with some things in the first months of the season.

"He's battled some stomach issues and also the loss of his grandfather," McClendon said. "There are some things that have been going on, but Robbie is a tough kid. He doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeves, he just goes out and gets it done. It's been a tough couple months, but he's a proud kid. Nobody would be more disappointed about his performance than him, but in the end, the full body of work is what we should judge him on and I think when it's all said and done, he's going to have a pretty good year for us."

• With Hisashi Iwakuma returning Monday after 10 weeks on the disabled list, the Mariners rotation sets up with Iwakuma, Taijuan Walker and J.A. Happ facing the Tigers on Monday through Wednesday. That means Felix Hernandez gets the start Thursday against the Angels, with Mike Montgomery, Iwakuma and Walker likely closing out that series heading into the All-Star break.