In the “just-getting-his-work-in” department, right-hander Brandon Morrow got his work in on Sunday, and it wasn’t a particularly pretty sight.

He was supposed to pitch two innings in his first Cactus League outing, but six of the nine batters he faced in the first one-plus innings reached base, ran his pitch count into the mid-30 range and he was outta there before anyone was out in the second inning.

Manager Don Wakamatsu walked from his chair near the third-base dugout at Surprise Stadium and made a pitching change, yanking Morrow and bringing in left-hander Justin Thomas.

Morrow is determined to start the regular season in the rotation. One rocky start in the spring won’t change that, but the three walks he issued is not what he had in mind.

“I may have tried to throw too easy,” he said. “My arm wasn’t catching up a lot of the time. I might have been too relaxed out there. I have to learn to lower my effort level so I can go seven or eight innings.”

Lefty reliever Justin Thomas,perhaps best known for his Venezuelan Diary which he penned for Mariners.com during his month in the Carribean, inherited a bases-loaded none-out jam and escaped with just one run being scored.

— Jim Street