SEATTLE -- As the first month of the regular season nears the end, first baseman Richie Sexson continues his search for a consistent batting stroke.

And thanks to his manager, Sexson keeps getting daily opportunities to find success.

"Richie is a streaky hitter," skipper Mike Hargrove said. "He also is a good hitter and a big run producer. He's going to be OK."

Sexson went into Friday night's series opener against the Royals with a .158 batting average, three home runs and 12 RBIs, which tied for the club lead.

But history tells Hargrove that his first baseman will emerge from his April hibernation and be a force in the lineup.

Therefore, the manager practices patience.

"I have more patience with a guy, who over the last how-many years, has hit at least 30 home runs and driven in more than 100 runs," Hargrove said. "It's easy to have patience with those guys, and patience always pays off in this game. Always does."

Before arriving in Seattle three years ago, Sexson was an April run producer. He hit nine home runs and drove in 22 runs for the Diamondbacks in 2004, slugged eight home runs and drove in 17 runs for the Brewers in '03, when he hit 45 home runs and drove in 124 runs, and had six home runs and 19 RBIs for the Brew Crew in April '02.

He had six home runs and 19 RBIs in his first season with the Mariners and followed that up with two home runs and 15 RBIs in 94 at-bats last April.

Though Sexson's batting average remains low, Hargrove sees progress being made.

"Richie has had some good at-bats," Hargrove said. "What he was doing on the road trip, up to his last at-bat [in Oakland], he was over-swinging, trying too hard. You like guys who try hard, but at this level, that usually doesn't translate into good things.

"In his last at-bat, he came up with a big double."

That was Sexson's ninth hit of the season -- all of them for extra bases.

Felix in 'pen: Injured right-hander Felix Hernandez (strained right elbow muscle) had the first of three bullpen sessions that could get him ready for his return to the starting rotation, projected to be either May 4 or 5 at Yankee Stadium.

He threw 35 pitches and "felt good" according to team medical director Dr. Edward Khalfayan and he "remains on schedule."

Hernandez, who won his first two starts and tossed 17 consecutive scoreless innings, has been sidelined since April 18.

In another medical development, left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes has opted for season-ending surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Dr. Lewis Yocum will perform Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery on the 37-year-old Rhodes on Wednesday in Southern California.

Two-out producers: Hargrove says it's still way too early to determine the team's personality, but after the first 17 games, scoring two-out runs has become a note.

The Mariners have scored 32 runs with two outs with Sexson leading the way with nine two-out RBIs.

"Sparky Anderson told me one time that you really don't know the personality of your club, or what your club is all about, until between 40 and 50 games," Hargrove said. "So, it's too early to say anything right now, but two-out runs are big momentum boosters."

This 'n that: Home runs are accounting for nearly half of the Mariners runs. The Mariners scored 75 runs in their first 18 games and 37 were the result of the team's 19 home runs. That figures out to a 49.33 percent, which leads the Major Leagues. The White Sox are next with 47.67 percent and the Braves third with 45.79 percent of their runs being scored via the home run ball ... The first 25,000 fans attending Friday night's game received a collectible Ichiro Suzuki bobblehead, the first of four interlocking bobbleheads this season. ... Friday night marked the beginning of All-Star Game in-house balloting at Safeco Field. Between now and June 22, fans attending Mariners home games can vote for the AL and NL All-Stars. Fans also can vote on MLB.com. ... Former Mariners second baseman Harold Reynolds, along with his wife and baby daughter, visited Safeco Field on Friday. Reynolds, who holds the club record for most stolen bases in a season (60 in 1987) threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

On the farm: Hot-hitting outfielder Waldimir Balentein had his 17-game hitting streak end in Las Vegas Thursday night. He went 0-for-3 in Triple-A Tacoma's 9-3 loss. During the streak -- longest in the Pacific Coast League this season -- he batted .403 (27-for-67) with five home runs, 15 RBIs and four stolen bases. ... Fellow Rainiers outfielder Adam Jones has hits in 17 of his 20 games and is batting .310. He also has seven multi-hit games. ... At Double-A West Tennessee, catcher Rene Rivera has five hits in his last 11 at-bats and has at least one hit in seven of his last nine games. ... Greg Halman extended his hitting streak to six games in Class A Wisconsin's games against Fort Wayne. Halman also has hits in 11 of his last 12 games, going 15-for-48.

On deck: The three-game series continues Saturday night with the Mariners welcoming Royals right-hander Gil Meche back to Safeco Field. Right-hander Jeff Weaver gets the nod for the Mariners in the middle game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT.