Wolf makes his case with four shutout innings

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Left-hander Randy Wolf, attempting to win a rotation job after sitting out last season following Tommy John surgery, threw four shutout innings on Tuesday in the Mariners' 5-5 tie against the Padres.

Wolf, 37, is one of four pitchers who appear to be battling for the final two starting spots in Seattle's opening rotation behind Felix Hernandez, Erasmo Ramirez and James Paxton.

"I feel great," Wolf said. "Every day I'm very thankful and pleased with how I'm feeling, just the way I'm bouncing back between starts."

Wolf lowered his spring ERA to 4.15 while allowing two hits with two walks and picked up three strikeouts. He's on a Minor League contract as a non-roster invitee, looking to land a job with a Seattle organization that has a lot of talented young arms, but also a couple openings due to injuries to Hisashi Iwakuma, Taijuan Walker and Brandon Maurer.

"There's definitely a lot of talent here," Wolf said. "The starting pitching staff has done an incredible job in Spring Training. I've always said, 'You never get excited about numbers in March.' But there's a lot to be excited about with the talent that's here."

Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon liked what he saw of the veteran's latest outing.

"He threw the ball extremely well," McClendon said. "He had all his pitches going. I thought he was a little bit sharper than the last couple times out. It was a good outing for him."