SEATTLE — While the Seattle Mariners will wait until Friday to make room for newly acquired reliever David Phelps on the 25-man roster, they did make a separate move on Thursday, optioning right-handed starter Sam Gaviglio to Triple-A Tacoma and recalling right-handed reliever Max Povse.
Manager Scott Servais said right-hander Yovani Gallardo, demoted to the bullpen a month ago, will rejoin the starting rotation and pitch in Gaviglio’s place on Sunday against the Yankees.
Gallardo, who struggled to a 3-7 record with a 6.30 ERA in 14 starts before being assigned to the bullpen, has been solid since the demotion. In four relief appearances, he has a win, a save, and has allowed only one run in 11 1/3 innings.
“I’ve been throwing the ball pretty good coming out of the bullpen,” Gallardo said. “I’ve been feeling great. Unfortunately, earlier in the year, things didn’t go my way, but now I’m going to go out there and throw the same way I’ve been throwing coming out of the bullpen, and get that opportunity (to start) again.”
Perhaps most importantly, Servais said, Gallardo never pouted.
“He handled the demotion like a true professional,” Servais said.
Gaviglio, who began the season in Triple-A Tacoma, performed well after being called up in May, and helped the Mariners survive an unprecedented collection of injuries to their starting pitchers. But he took the loss in each of his last four starts, most recently allowing five runs in a loss to Houston and seven runs in a loss to Oakland.
“He was really on a roll there for a nice stretch through May and early June, when we really needed him to step up,” Servais said. “But just where we’re at right now, I didn’t think Sam was maybe quite as sharp last time out. We’ll give the ball to Yovani, and hopefully he can get us deep in the game on Sunday.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
