Dustin Ackley went 4-for-5 with a home run, two walks, and three RBI in Wednesday's game at Triple-A Tacoma.

The home run came off Chris Volstad in the third inning. Ackley was sent down on Monday after he batted .205/.266/.250 through his first 45 games. The Mariners still have high hopes for Ackley, but he needs to reestablish himself in the minors. Nick Franklin is batting just .125 (1-for-8) since being called up earlier this week.

Mariners optioned 2B Dustin Ackley to Triple-A Tacoma.

Ackley was batting just .205/.266/.250 with one home run and eight RBI through 171 plate appearances. The M's could not afford to wait any longer for him to heat up and have promoted top infield prospect Nick Franklin in a corresponding move to provide an offensive spark.

Dustin Ackley smashed a grand slam off R.A. Dickey on Saturday, helping the Mariners to an 8-1 victory.

The homer was Ackley's first one this season, and his only hit in four trips to the plate. After getting off to a sluggish start, Ackley has turned it on in recent weeks, hitting .362 (21-for-62) over his last 16 games.

Dustin Ackley is not in Friday's lineup against the Angels.

Ackley is hitting .435 (10-for-23) over his last six games, but he's taking a seat Friday with left-hander C.J. Wilson on the hill. Robert Andino will make the start at second base while Brendan Ryan will play shortstop.

Dustin Ackley is batting .435 (10-for-23) over his last six games.

Ackley was batting .145 after an 0-for-3 performance on April 19, but he's strung together a six-game hitting streak since that includes a pair of three-hit contests. The second baseman batted in the No. 5 spot on Thursday, the highest he's been in the order this season. "I feel right now as good as I have the whole season - even better so than spring training," he said. "I'm just going to continue doing those things that I've been doing in the cage and BP and in the game, and hopefully they'll keep working out."

Dustin Ackley had another miserable night at the plate, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Friday's loss to the Rangers.

Ackley, who has been working on revamping his stance at the plate, is now hitting .145/.190/.164 with one RBI on the season. With a capable replacement like Nick Franklin waiting in the wings , it may be best to give him some time to figure things out at the Triple-A level.

Dustin Ackley went 0-for-3 on Friday after getting a couple of days off.

Ackley is 3-for-33 with no extra-base hits while working with his revamped stance at the plate. As disappointing as the early results have been, it's worth wondering how long the Mariners will stick with him. It's not like he's carried over any residual goodwill from last year.

Dustin Ackley is not in the Mariners' starting lineup on Wednesday night against the Athletics.

It's just a routine day off. Robert Andino will start at second base and bat eighth. The Mariners are also featuring Jason Bay in left field over Michael Saunders.

Mariners manager Eric Wedge said Thursday that Dustin Ackley (ankle) and Brendan Ryan (elbow) will sit out the first three games of the Cactus League schedule.

The Mariners are just playing things safe, as Ackley had bone spurs removed from his left ankle over the winter and Ryan had surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow. They should be fine for the start of the regular season.

Mariners trainer Rick Griffin said that Dustin Ackley has no restrictions after having bone spurs removed from his left ankle in October.

Ackley had dealt with the nagging condition with college, so he finally decided to do something about it. The 24-year-old is coming off a disappointing sophomore campaign in which he batted just .226/.294/.328 with 12 homers and a .622 OPS.

The Mariners have hired Dave Hansen as their new hitting coach.

He replaces Chris Chambliss, who was fired after two years with the club. A 15-year major league veteran, Hansen spent the last year and a half as the Dodgers' hitting coach. He'll face a tall task in helping to improve an offense that finished last in the league in batting average (.234), on-base percentage (.296) and slugging percentage (.369).

Dustin Ackley underwent ankle surgery on Thursday.

Ackley has been playing with a bone spur in his left ankle since college and decided to finally get it taken care of. He will be fully recovered by the middle of November. Brendan Ryan (elbow) also had surgery on Thursday.

Dustin Ackley is scheduled to undergo surgery early this offseason for a bone spur in his left ankle.

"I've had a bone spur problem ever since college," the second baseman revealed Wednesday. "It has never gotten better, kind of stayed the same always a nagging injury. It kind of affects my workouts. Now is the time to get it taken care of." Ackley is expected to be fully recovered from the ankle surgery by mid-November.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik revealed Wednesday that Dustin Ackley has been playing with a bone spur in his left ankle.

It's not clear how long he's been dealing with the injury or if he'll need offseason surgery. It doesn't seem to be a major issue, though. Ackley finished his 2012 campaign by batting .226/.294/.328 with 12 homers and 13 steals.

Dustin Ackley went 0-for-4 as the Mariners' leadoff hitter in Wednesday's loss to the Twins.

Barring an absolutely terrific final week, Ackley is going to end the season not having hit better than .260 in any month of the year. Frankly, if you're a young player going to have an ugly sophomore season, it'd at least be nice to see a few peaks mixed in among the valleys. Ackley hasn't really been any good at any point. The Mariners should look to bring in a veteran to start over him this winter and force him to try to win his job back.

Dustin Ackley (neck) went 1-for-5 with a double and four strikeouts in his return to action Tuesday.

Ackley missed two games with a stiff neck. It shouldn't be an issue moving forward.

Dustin Ackley returned to action on Tuesday September 25.

Dustin Ackley (neck) is back in the Mariners' starting lineup on Tuesday night against the Angels.

Ackley missed two games with a stiff neck. He is batting just .231/.299/.338 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI.

Dustin Ackley is not in the Mariners starting lineup on Saturday due to a stiff neck.

He was removed from Friday's game with the issue, but manager Eric Wedge said that Ackley is feeling better and would likely return to the lineup on Sunday. Kyle Seager will draw the start at second base for the Mariners on Saturday.

Dustin Ackley was removed from Friday's game against the Rangers with neck stiffness.

The Mariners have yet to provide an update on his status, but Ackley should be considered day-to-day. Alex Liddi replaced him in the lineup Friday, with Kyle Seager moving to second base.