Worth noting

By Greg Johns

June 19, 2014

• First baseman Justin Smoak is scheduled to make his second rehab start Thursday night for Triple-A Tacoma as he recovers from a strained quad muscle that has him on the 15-day disabled list until next Wednesday. Smoak will play DH again Thursday after going 0-for-3 with a walk on Wednesday.

"He hit the ball hard a couple times," McClendon said. "We'll keep running him out there and getting him at-bats."

• Right fielder Michael Saunders is expected to begin his rehab stint Friday with Tacoma, while DH Corey Hart is scheduled to return on Saturday. Saunders has been sidelined since June 10 with inflammation in his right shoulder, while Hart strained his left hamstring on May 18.

• After throwing seven innings of one-run ball with three hits on Wednesday, Hernandez ranks first in the American League in innings (113 1/3) and strikeouts (122), second to Anibal Sanchez in WHIP (0.953) and third in ERA (1.22) behind Masahiro Tanaka and Scott Kazmir. He's also tied for third in wins with eight.

Greg Johns is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregJohnsMLB as well as his Mariners Musings blog.