SAN DIEGO — Celebration can come at a cost.
Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez is heading to the 15-day disabled list after suffering a strained right calf Tuesday as he leapt from the bench to celebrate one of the club’s five home runs in a 16-4 victory over San Diego at Safeco Field.
The club responded by recalling lefty James Paxton from Triple-A Tacoma, after scratching him from a scheduled Tuesday start, in order to replace Hernandez in the rotation for Wednesday’s game against the Padres at Petco Park.
Hernandez’s injury is not believed to be serious, but he remained Tuesday night in Seattle — while the rest of the club flew to San Diego — in order to undergo an examination Wednesday by Dr. Edward Khalfayan, the club’s medical director.
Club officials had hoped Hernandez might only need to be pushed back a few days before reclaiming his spot in the rotation. Khalfayan’s examination prompted the Mariners to opt for caution by placing Hernandez on the disabled list.
“Not perfect,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said, “but it’s about as good as we could’ve hoped for. We’re hopeful this is just a two-week hiatus.”
The Mariners backdated the injury to May 28, one day after Hernandez’s last appearance. Effectively, that means he will only miss two starts before he is eligible to return June 12 for a projected start against Texas at Safeco Field.
“He’s sore today,” manager Scott Servais said. “It’s bothering him a little bit walking around. He’ll be down and not do a whole lot the next couple of days. But he’ll keep his arm activated so he doesn’t lose much time there.”
Hernandez, 30, was 4-4 with a 2.86 ERA in 10 starts.
“Hopefully, he’ll have a little left in his tank at the end of the year,” Servais said, “because he’s getting a little breather now. It has nothing to do with his arm. It’s all related to his calf.
“It’s important. It’s his push-off leg, and we all know his delivery and how much torque he puts on that leg. We’ve got to be careful that he’s 100 percent when he comes back.”
The Mariners moved to line up Paxton to start Wednesday’s game before determining Hernandez required time on the disabled list. Doing so required a corresponding space-clearing move on the 25-man roster.
Had Hernandez avoided the disabled list, the Mariners would made a different move — one that club officials did not specify.
Paxton, 27, returns after going 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA in 10 starts at Tacoma. He yielded no earned runs in six innings in his last start, May 26 at Round Rock (Rangers), but gave up 11 earned runs in 9 2⁄3 innings over his two previous starts.
“The reports have been good,” Servais said. “He’s made a couple of mechanical adjustments with his release point that feels very natural. He’s always thrown the ball hard, but the velocity has been up the last couple of outings.”
While Paxton was 12-8 with a 3.16 ERA in 30 big-league starts over the three previous years, he spent extended periods on the disabled list for a series of various injuries. He then lost his spot in the rotation this spring to Nathan Karns.
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