PEORIA, Ariz. -- When he was signed during the first week of Spring Training, journeyman slugger Roberto Petagine figured he had to put up good numbers and make himself a viable left-handed option off the bench if he had a chance to make the Mariners Opening Day roster.

A month later, his hard work and his surprisingly potent bat have paid off, and the 35-year-old has a reason to smile.

Mariners manager Mike Hargrove announced 11 cuts from big-league camp on Wednesday morning, and Petagine was not one of them. It's a major accomplishment for a guy who entered the mix on Feb. 22, a day after position players reported to Peoria.

And it's even more of a feat considering the fact that Petagine, as a non-roster invitee, has to supplant someone on the 40-man roster to make the Opening Day 25-man list.

As if to celebrate the fact, Petagine went out later in the day and hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to salvage a 10-10 tie against the Kansas City Royals.

It's possible that the Mariners will get Petagine on the 25-man roster by placing injured outfielder Chris Snelling on the 60-day disabled list.

Either way, the Mariners decided to take a chance on a guy with some thunder in his bat and the ability to use it late in games after sitting on the bench for a while.

While being used largely in a pinch-hitting role this spring, Petagine has hit .429 with two home runs and 10 RBIs over 42 at-bats in 22 games. He added one of the Mariners' longest homers of the spring in an exhibition against the Japanese World Baseball Classic team.

"I had to do good every day, every opportunity I had, to show that I could be a bench player," Petagine said. "I could not make mistakes."

Petagine hasn't made many mistakes in his playing career when he's had a good amount of at-bats, something he's never had at the Major League level.

He's had short stints in the Majors with the Houston Astros (1994), San Diego Padres (1995), New York Mets (1996-97) and Cincinnati Reds (1998), then hit .281 with one homer and nine RBIs last year in 18 games with the Boston Red Sox.

But his potential at the plate was realized during six seasons in Japan, where he won three Gold Gloves at first base, two home run titles and one Most Valuable Player award. Petagine's best year in Japan was 2001, when he hit .322 with 41 homers and 127 RBIs for the Yakult Swallows.

Petagine said he's already proved to himself that he belongs in the Majors.

"You've seen my numbers before [in Japan]," Petagine said. "I you can do it before, you can do it now."

Moyer roughed up: Jamie Moyer was hammered by the Royals in his final spring appearance before his Opening Day start at Safeco Field on April 3, giving up eight runs on eight hits in five innings.

Moyer surrendered two home runs and also hit two batters in succession.

"I didn't locate well," Moyer said. "That usually causes problems, for me especially."

Felix improving: Hargrove said the shin splints in Felix Hernandez's right leg were feeling a lot better on Wednesday, which means that even if Hernandez doesn't pitch again before his scheduled season debut April 7 against the Oakland A's, the team would not be concerned.

"The report on him this morning was real good," Hargrove said. "He could pitch on Sunday, but I don't think he absolutely has to have it.

"The health of his shins is more important than him making an appearance. The important thing is him being healthy for that [April 7] start."

Mariners log: The Mariners are set to face Angels starters Bartolo Colon, John Lackey and Jeff Weaver during their season-opening series at Safeco Field on April 3-5. All three Angels pitchers are right-handers. The Mariners will counter with Moyer, Joel Pineiro and Jarrod Washburn. ... Raul Ibanez has a chance to have one of the best individual springs in team history. He went 3-for-4 with a homer and an RBI on Wednesday and is batting .439 with five homers and 13 RBIs. The highest spring batting average in Mariners history is .491, by Edgar Martinez in 1996.

Coming up: The Mariners will stay in Peoria on Thursday for their final Cactus League game in Arizona, an 11:05 a.m. PT split-squad special start against the San Diego Padres. Pineiro will get the start and will be followed by J.J. Putz and Eddie Guardado. The rest of the team will fly to Las Vegas for a night game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Cha Seung Baek starting and being followed by right-handers Francisco Cruceta, Jeff Harris and Sean Green.