Opponent: Texas Rangers
When: 1:35 p.m.
Where: Safeco Field
TV: none
Radio: KOMO (1000 AM)
Pitchers: Seattle left-hander Matt Thornton (0-0, 0.00) vs. right-hander John Wasdin (1-0, 5.00).
Stoned
In a development that had coaches and sports writers squirming, Mariners catcher Miguel Olivo missed Wednesday night’s game because of kidney stones.
Olivo, a 25-year-old with a middle-aged man’s condition, underwent a surgical procedure Wednesday. He apparently has suffered for a while, although manager Bob Melvin said he wasn’t aware of it until Wednesday.
“I had been more concerned about his ankle,” Melvin said.
Olivo, in his Mariners debut following the Freddy Garcia trade with the White Sox, stepped on the foot of Rangers first baseman Herbert Perry and twisted his ankle in the fifth inning Tuesday.
Olivo limped back to the dugout and stayed in the game, and Melvin said there was no lasting effect from that incident.
The kidney stones are another story.
Besides the discomfort that Olivo experienced, the Mariners weren’t certain how long he would be lost. While it’s not a condition that would land him on the disabled list, he may not be available for a few days.
Because of that, the Mariners will hold off on making a roster move. Catcher Pat Borders will make the trip to St. Louis this weekend, Melvin said, and the Mariners won’t bring up a pitcher immediately.
“Pat’s still going to be here until we find out the extent of Olivo,” Melvin said.
He wasn’t saying who would be called up from Class AAA Tacoma, although the logical candidates are starting pitcher Travis Blackley or reliever George Sherrill, both left-handers.
Easing up on Eddie: It may seem like Eddie Guardado hasn’t lived up to his “Everyday Eddie” nickname because he has just 15 saves.
Melvin, however, already is concerned about overworking his closer.
“His innings are mounting,” Melvin said.
Guardado hasn’t pitched more than 672/3 innings in any of the last four seasons, but he is on pace to work more than 75 innings this season. Melvin says he must cut back on Guardado’s workload, especially the tendency to bring him into a game in the eighth inning.
“I have to stay away from it or we’re going to kill this guy,” Melvin said. “There are going to be times I have to do it, but I don’t want to do it. You get yourself into a pattern where if you do it a couple of times and it works, you want to do it again.”
Melvin had little choice much of the early part of the season because right-hander Rafael Soriano went on the disabled list with a sprained elbow and righty Shigetoshi Hasegawa struggled.
Rookie on the hill: Left-hander Matt Thornton will make his first major league start today, and Melvin said he’ll have just one message for the 27-year-old.
“Concentrate on throwing strikes, just like he did the other day,” Melvin said. “As long as he throws the ball over the plate, he’s going to be good.”
Thornton struggled with his control early this season at Class AAA Tacoma, but had no such problem in his major league debut on Sunday, when he pitched four scoreless innings against the Padres with one walk and one strikeout.
“Maybe it gave him some confidence in the fact that he knows if he throws the ball over the plate, he’s going to get some outs,” Melvin said. “There were some guys looking fastball the other day who still couldn’t get the head of the bat out there on him.”
Pitchers hit: The Mariners’ pitchers took another round of batting practice Wednesday as they prepared for this weekend’s interleague series at St. Louis. Divided into teams, the relief pitchers beat the starters, aided by J.J. Putz’s two home runs.
Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer
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