Cliff Lee expected to debut for Seattle on Friday

The Mariners will finally get to see their big offseason acquisition play this Friday.  After pitching six-shutout innings against the AAA Tacoma Rainiers, Cliff Lee will fly to Kansas City to join the big-league club Monday and then make his first start for the Mariners on Friday against Texas.

Lee has been out since early spring training with a strained abdominal muscle from laughing so hard about the Phillies rotation that includes Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer.

“I felt good. I was throwing strikes,” Lee said in post-game audio supplied by the Mariners. “I’d like to have a little more command, but I’m sure that will come.”

The lefty said “the ab thing is a non-issue” and that he could have gone longer Sunday, but was taken out after six innings just to be safe.

“Everything felt comfortable,” he said. “My curve ball wasn’t as good as I wanted, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary. … Other than that, fastball, change-up, cutter, it was all right where I wanted it to be.”

Seattle is currently 9-10 and 2.5 games back of the AL West leader Oakland Athletics.