Ramirez expected to make next start in Seattle

ANAHEIM -- Mariners right-hander Erasmo Ramirez was removed from Friday night's start against the Angels in the seventh inning after feeling some tightness in his right groin muscle, but the 23-year-old was feeling better Saturday, and manager Eric Wedge expects him to make his next start this coming week in Seattle.

"He says he feels pretty good today," Wedge said prior to Saturday's game against the Angels. "We'll see how he does moving around and whatnot. We want him to take it easy today, but he should be OK."

Ramirez was breezing with a 2-0 lead but felt his groin tighten on a pitch to Mark Trumbo leading off the seventh. Trumbo wound up reaching on an error and Ramirez then walked the next batter before signaling that he was feeling some discomfort.

"He's just a little tight and felt like it was pulling a little bit, but he was smart enough to let us know about it to where nothing more than that happened," Wedge said.

The Mariners' rotation for their final two home series was up in the air even before Ramirez's situation arose. Felix Hernandez will start Sunday's road finale against the Angels and rookie Brandon Maurer is slated for the opener of a three-game set against the Royals on Monday at Safeco Field.

But the remaining five games could be shuffled several different ways, depending how Hernandez does Sunday and whether the club decides to throw Hisashi Iwakuma one more time now that he's hit a career-high 211 2/3 innings.

"We'll have to wait and let Felix throw tomorrow, then we'll decide what we're going to do," Wedge said.