PEORIA, Ariz. — Injured Seattle Mariners shortstop Chris Taylor is fighting a familiar frustration after learning he will be sidelined four-to-six weeks because of a broken bone in his right wrist suffered Friday on a foul ball against Milwaukee.
“I had a similar feeling last year (after breaking his left) pinkie,” Taylor said. “That’s what happens. It’s baseball. I’ve just got to keep my head up and bounce back.”
Taylor initially didn’t think he’d suffered anything more than a bruise. He remained in the game and drove a single back through the box before exiting for a pinch-runner.
That optimism faded Friday night as he tried to sleep.
“It was throbbing,” he said. “The whole night, it kept getting worse and worse. I probably got about one hour of sleep. It was swelling up a lot. And for it to swell up that much, I knew it might be an issue.”
Taylor’s injury effectively ended his battle with Brad Miller for duty as the Mariners’ starting shortstop. Taylor was 8-for-19 in eight games, while Miller is 7-for-17 in seven games.
“I’m going to get back as quickly as I can,” Taylor said, “but I’ve got to make sure I’m 100 percent. That’s the most important thing. There’s really no reason to rush it at this point.
“Hands are never fun. You really do have to be careful, especially with the swing. That has a lot of wrist involved in it. I’m going to listen to the trainer and, basically, just do what they tell me to do.”
Hernandez tunes up
Mariners ace Felix Hernandez, shifted to a simulated game against minor-league players, completely overmatched said minor-league players while throwing 51 pitches (38 for strikes) over 31/3 innings.
His only problems came from three defensive errors behind him.
It was good,” Hernandez said. “Did my work. Feel pretty good. Threw a lot of strikes, working on my stuff, and it was fine.”
Plans call for Hernandez to get an extra day of rest before his next start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs in Mesa. He will then get one more spring start before facing the Los Angeles Angels in the season opener.
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