No. 5 spot a comfortable one for Morse

NEW YORK -- In the first two games after manager Eric Wedge bumped Michael Morse from the cleanup spot down to No. 5 in the lineup, the Mariners outfielder went 5-for-8 with a pair of doubles to raise his batting average from .220 to .244.

Morse, who was again in the No. 5 spot for Wednesday night's game against the Yankees, said he's simply taking a better approach at the plate, which is one of the things Wedge hoped would come from letting Morse and Kendrys Morales know the entire offense didn't rest on their shoulders.

"I really haven't changed anything," Morse said. "The only thing I'm doing different is I'm trying not to swing at balls in the dirt. That's basically it. I'm trying to get a good pitch to hit and trying not to do too much."

Morse had a season-high three hits on Tuesday against the Yankees and hit the ball hard in most of his at-bats, something that had been missing recently despite his team-leading nine home runs.

Morse said he's all for the change in the batting order and sees the reasoning behind it.

"I think it puts some more power up at the top," Morse said. "Guys like Jason Bay and [Dustin] Ackley are real good No. 2 hitters, and [Kyle] Seager is a great No. 3 hitter. And Morales is a great No. 4 hitter, so I don't mind it. I love hitting fifth. I'd love hitting seventh. I think it's great. Whatever helps to win games, I'm for it."

Wedge doesn't think the spot in the order matters nearly as much as a player's approach at the plate.

"I think once he gets going, it doesn't really matter where he hits," Wedge said. "We want him in the middle with Kendrys someplace, whether it's 3-4 or 4-5. He's been a little better the last couple days, so there's no reason to mess with it."