Ailing Bay a 'day or two' from returning to lineup

ANAHEIM -- Jason Bay sat out his fourth straight game Thursday, but the Mariners outfielder said an ailing hamstring is nearing full recovery and he hopes to be able to return in a day or two.

"It feels 10 times better today," Bay said prior to the series finale with the Angels."It's the most marked improvement I've had. It was never that bad to begin with, but it's one of those things where you either miss a couple days now or a couple weeks later. The last couple days were stagnant, but today was by far the best day. So hopefully I'm a day or two away."

Bay felt the hamstring tighten on Sunday when he was running to first on a double-play ball in Oakland.

"It's pretty basic hamstring tightness," he said. "Almost 35 doesn't recover as fast as 25 used to, but I feel a lot better today."

Bay is batting .222 with eight home runs and 17 RBIs in 53 games this season, though he's struggled recently while hitting just .180 without a home run over his last 12 games after a two-homer game in Minnesota on June 1.

Michael Morse also was out of the lineup Thursday after playing first base on Wednesday as he continues dealing with a strained right quadriceps.

"He's feeling better, but we've got to get him a little further along before he's ready to be in the outfield," manager Eric Wedge said.