Injury slows Carp’s rise with Mariners

There are several nice destinations in the Pacific Coast League, and Mike Carp enjoys visiting most of them.

The 25-year-old outfielder just thought he was done seeing places like Sacramento and Las Vegas in April.

"I'm having fun with it and making my pit stops in the cities I've been the last couple years, and hopefully I don't see them again after this," Carp said with a laugh Friday before playing his 11th game of a rehabilitation assignment for the Tacoma Rainiers at Cashman Field.

Carp said his injured right shoulder is feeling stronger every day and he is "real close" to returning to the Seattle Mariners.

The results on the field aren't where he would like them to be, however.

Carp went 1-for-4 with an infield hit, dropping his average to .140 in 11 games with Tacoma, as the Rainiers were beaten 5-0 by the 51s.

Tacoma manager Daren Brown has had Carp on his squad in each of the past three years and isn't worried about the numbers. "It's still early," Brown said. "I'm not too concerned about him."

It's been a frustrating stretch for Carp, though, as he tries to work his way back.

After brief stints in Seattle in 2009 and 2010, he established himself as an everyday major leaguer with a breakout season last year. Carp hit .276 in 79 games for the Mariners, including a 20-game hitting streak. He had 12 home runs and 46 RBIs after hitting .343 with 21 homers for Tacoma in 66 games early in the year.

All that earned him a starting spot in the lineup as the Mariners' left fielder this season. But the thrill of starting on Opening Day in front of 50,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome on March 28 was tempered when he sprained his right shoulder diving for a ball in the fourth inning.

Carp finished out the 11-inning game but he knew it might be his last for a while.

"I knew something was funny. I was hoping it would be a couple-day thing, but unfortunately it's been a couple weeks," he said. "It could have been a lot worse."

He said he realizes the importance of not trying to rush back. Carp said he felt he was just about back to his old self in early in his rehab stint, but ups and downs are all part of the rehab process.

"My third game in, I was like, 'Oh there's that guy,' " he said. "Then a couple days later I was kind of set back to reality a little bit. That's just baseball in general. You can feel great and not get any of the results, and you can feel bad and get all the results in the world. It's just about finding that balance and getting that consistency back."

Once he does, trips to places like Anaheim, Calif., and Arlington, Texas, will replace those brutal four-game sets in Fresno.

■ NOTES - 51s starter Jesse Chavez took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and had it broken up by Luis Rodriguez's one-out single to right. Chavez went seven innings, allowing two hits and one walk and striking out five. ... 51s left fielder Danny Perales missed out on an inside-the-park home run in the third inning when he tripped over third base and fell face-first into the dirt. Perales, who'd hit a shot off the right-center field wall that caromed back toward the infield, scampered back to third. ... 51s outfielder Travis Snider is awaiting results of an MRI examination performed on his right wrist Friday morning.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.