Jesus Montero homered in his return to Yankee Stadium, but it wasn't enough to deliver the Mariners a victory on Friday.

He finished the night just 1-for-4 with the solo blast off of Hiroki Kuroda in the sixth inning. He's off to a solid start to the season as the Mariners cleanup hitter, hitting .276 with five homers and 17 RBI now. The Mariners clearly look like the early winner in the Michael Pineda deal.

Jesus Montero had an RBI double as part of a ninth-inning rally Monday as the Mariners came back to beat the Tigers 3-2.

The Mariners scored all three of their runs in the ninth, with Montero's double tying the game. Catching sure seems to suit Montero a lot better than DH did. He was back behind the plate tonight, and he's now hitting .425 with three homers and nine RBI in 11 games as a catcher. He's hit .200 with one homer and seven RBI in 17 games at DH.

Jesus Montero is not in Thursday's lineup.

It's just a routine day off for Montero, who started behind the plate Wednesday night. He's batting .292/.301/.449 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 23 games played.

Jesus Montero will start behind the plate Tuesday night against the Rays.

This will be Montero's seventh appearance (sixth start) at catcher this season. He should be able to reach 10 games started while Miguel Olivo (groin) is on the disabled list and figures to be a pretty solid lock to reach 20 games started before the season is out. Dustin Ackley will serve as the DH Tuesday while Kyle Seager plays second base and Alex Liddi plays third. John Jaso is taking a seat against the left-hander Matt Moore, but he should be in there against most right-handed starters.

Jesus Montero and John Jaso are expected to share playing time behind the plate with Miguel Olivo (groin) headed to the disabled list.

Montero has already caught six games (five starts) this season while Jaso has been used exclusively out of the DH spot. Olivo is expected to miss more than the minimum, so Montero should be able to get to 10 starts within the next couple of weeks. That's mighty good news for fantasy owners.

Jesus Montero launched his fourth homer in Monday's loss to the Rays.

The blast in the top of the 11th inning gave the Mariners a brief lead before the Rays came back to win. It was the lone hit in five trips to the plate for Montero, but he's now gone deep three times over the last nine games. He's gained catcher eligibility in some leagues and could be a fantasy stud in over the course of the year.

Jesus Montero will start behind the plate Wednesday against the Tigers.

It will be his fifth start at catcher this season, which should be enough to give him eligibility in some leagues. The 22-year-old is hitting .254 (15-for-59) with two homers and nine RBI over his first 16 games this season. He figures to be even more valuable in fantasy leagues as the season continues. Miguel Olivo will DH Wednesday.

Jesus Montero is not in Thursday's lineup.

He's just getting the day off. John Jaso will serve as the Mariners' designated hitter on Thursday and bat eighth against the Indians.

Jesus Montero hit his first home run as a member of the Mariners Saturday in a win against the A's.

Montero hit his solo shot to deep center in the second inning and added a two-run double in the sixth. He's batting .323 through the first nine games of 2012 and has already made two successful starts at catcher.

Jesus Montero is getting his first start of the season at catcher Wednesday.

Miguel Olivo will be on the bench, with John Jaso sliding into the DH role. Mariners manager Eric Wedge isn't sure how much time he'll give Montero behind the plate. "We've got to get into it for a bit. I don't really have anything preset in my mind," he said. "I want to work off Miggy and Montero and Jaso a little bit, and the rest of our ballclub. The last thing I want to do is define something too early here. We're only a week into it. We need to give it some time." Montero's future is likely as a DH or first baseman, but he shouldn't have trouble garnering catcher eligibility this season.

Updating a previous item, Jesus Montero is not in Monday's lineup due to a stomach issue.

He should be back to normal within the next day or two. Dustin Ackley will serve as the Mariners' designated hitter against the Rangers and Munenori Kawasaki will play second base.

Jesus Montero is not playing in Monday's game.

Dustin Ackley will serve as the Mariners' designated hitter against the Rangers and Munenori Kawasaki will play second base. Yu Darvish is making his debut for Texas.

Mariners manager Eric Wedge said that Jesus Montero will make his debut behind the plate at some point during the team's series at Texas next week.

Wedge wants to work Montero slowly into the position, which sounds pain-staking for those fantasy owners who drafted the 22-year-old hoping he would quickly gain catcher eligibility. Wedge also said that Montero would not be aligned with one particular pitcher all season in the way that some backup catchers are used.

Jesus Montero said that he felt fine after being hit in the helmet by a pitch during Monday's game.

Montero left Monday's game after being hit in the head by a pitch from Rockies' right-hander Edgmer Escalona, but he said that he could play Tuesday, if needed. It's not clear if the Mariners plan to send him for any precautionary exams.

Jesus Montero left Monday's game against the Rockies after being hit in the back of the helmet by right-hander Edgmer Escalona.

It's been an eventful 24 hours for the Rockies. Montero appeared to be OK, but he angrily jawed at Escalona before being escorted off the field by Mariners' manager Eric Wedge and team trainer Rick Grififn. Stay tuned for an update on his status.

Jesus Montero hit a two-run homer in Monday's loss to the Cubs.

Montero's third-inning bomb off of Travis Wood was his only hit in five trips to the plate, but he's still hitting a respectable .286 this spring. Although he'll playing in one of the league's toughest ballparks and will be limited to utility eligibility in many leagues to start off the year, Montero shouldn't go undrafted in any format.

Jesus Montero (flu) is expected to return to the Mariners' lineup Wednesday.

Montero was sent home early from Mariners' camp on Monday with food poisoning. He was able to do some work Tuesday and should be back to 100 percent soon enough.

Jesus Montero was sent home early from Mariners camp on Monday due to flu-like symptoms.

Montero should be back to 100 percent health in a couple of days. The 22-year-old went 1-for-3 with an RBI double in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Padres.

Jesus Montero started at DH on Sunday and had an RBI double in three at-bats against the Padres.

Montero left Friday's game after taking a foul tip off the mask.

Mariners' manager Eric Wedge said that Jesus Montero will be fine after taking two foul tips off his jaw in Friday's Cactus League opener against the Athletics.

The Mariners understandably removed Montero from Friday's game, but all indications are that he's doing just fine. The 22-year-old should continue to get plenty of playing time behind the dish this spring.