SEATTLE (AP) - The Seattle Mariners placed starting shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt on the 15-day disabled list Thursday after he pulled his hamstring running out a ground ball the previous night.

Betancourt injured the lower part of his right hamstring after hitting a ground ball in the eighth inning in Wednesday night's 4-3 win over San Diego. Betancourt was on crutches in the Mariners' clubhouse before Thursday's game and manager Don Wakamatsu said it will be at least 15 days before Betancourt is recovered.

He won't be eligible to come off the DL until July 10, just three games before the All-Star break.

"We talked about it in spring training, good organizations, and as we move forward and we add more depth, that's how you sustain and win championships, you cover these," Wakamatsu said. "We're awfully thin right now."

Betancourt was the third Seattle player to go on the DL in the past 10 days, joining pitcher Erik Bedard and outfielder Endy Chavez.

The corresponding roster move was easy for Wakamatsu. Second baseman Jose Lopez, who was on the bereavement list to attend the funeral of his sister in Venezuela, returned to Seattle on Wednesday night and was back in the starting lineup Thursday.

Lopez missed the previous six games.

Betancourt, the Mariners' talented shortstop who flustered fans with his struggles to make routine plays, was hitting .250 with two homers and 22 RBIs in 63 games this season. Wakamatsu said Ronny Cedeno would get most of the starts at shortstop in Betancourt's absence.

The Mariners also plan on activating catcher Kenji Johjima from the DL on Friday. Johjima was back with the Mariners on Thursday and traveling with the team to Los Angeles where Seattle opens a three-game series with the Dodgers on Friday.

Johjima completed a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, catching all nine innings. He's been on the DL since May 26 after fracturing the big toe of his left foot. Wakamatsu intends on having Johjima start on Friday.

The Mariners are also delaying the return of Bedard. Expected to return in New York next week, Wakamatsu said it's now likely Bedard won't start again until July 4 in Boston.

Bedard was placed on the DL on June 17, retroactive to June 8, with inflammation in his left shoulder.

Lopez left the team June 17 hoping to get home to Venezuela in time to see his ill sister, who had cancer. She passed away before he arrived back in his native country, but was able to attend the funeral.

Lopez also lost his brother in a motorcycle accident during the 2007 season. He was the third Mariners player to be called away recently to deal with a death in the family, joining first baseman Russell Branyan and catcher Rob Johnson.

"I've just never been around when a team's been struck with three in one week," Wakamatsu said.