ARLINGTON, Texas — For now, Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker can only wait and wonder whether he will pitch again this season as he works to maintain his routine.
“They said, ‘Just keep doing your work and be ready,’” he said. “I’ve been telling them that I feel good, I feel strong. But at the end of the day, that’s their choice.”
The problem is workload. Walker, 23, has already thrown a career-high 169 2/3 innings in his 29 starts. A year ago, injuries limited him to just 129 innings. Two years ago, he threw 156 1/3 innings.
While Walker is being skipped on the Mariners’ current cycle through the rotation, manager Lloyd McClendon hasn’t yet ruled him out for the rest of the season.
“He’s doing his normal stuff,” McClendon said. “He had touch-and-feels in the bullpen. He’ll play catch every day. Condition.”
Walker’s last start was Sept. 14, when he worked seven innings in a 10-1 victory over the Angels at Safeco Field. He improved to 11-8 and lowered his ERA to 4.56. He is 10-5 and 3.92 in his last 24 starts.
“There’s been tremendous growth,” McClendon said, “from where he started to where he is now. The maturity factor. The ability to slow the game down. Not get overwhelmed and let things speed up on him.”
If Walker starts again, the likeliest slot is next weekend in a rematch against the Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
The Mariners have their rotation loosely in place until then: Vidal Nuño and Felix Hernandez in the final two games against the Rangers; then Hisashi Iwakuma, Roenis Elias and James Paxton at Kansas City.
McClendon said Hernandez will start the Sept. 25 opener at Anaheim, and Iwakuma will pitch the series finale. As for the middle game, McClendon hedged: “I don’t know yet.”
It figures to be either Walker or Nuño.
Until he finds out, Walker logs time as best he can. That includes joining the relievers, who do their daily run conditioning by catching footballs in pass-catching drills.
“I just keep working out,” he said. “Playing catch. Going out there and doing some football passes. Just trying to stay active. Power shagging (fly balls during batting practice).
“I’ve got to do something to stay busy.”
CRUZ STILL LIMITED
Nelson Cruz remains limited to duty as a designated hitter because of a strained quadriceps muscle suffered Sept. 2 while running the bases.
“I’m not sure we’ll see him in the outfield here (for the weekend series at Texas),” McClendon said. “We’re hoping for (next week in) Kansas City.”
Cruz missed six games because of the injury but, prior to Friday, was 8-for-27 in seven games since he returned with three homers and six RBIs.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Mariners entered the weekend with a 37-35 road record, which meant a 4-5 record (or better) on this, their final trip — through Texas, Kansas City and Anaheim — would clinch a winning record away from home.
Further, the Mariners were 83-70 away from home over the last two seasons. Only Kansas City, at 85-67, has a better road winning percentage in that span.
STRONG-ARMING
The Mariners, prior to Friday’s games, had a 2.73 ERA for September, which ranked first by a wide margin among all 30 clubs.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were second at 3.11, while the second-best American League club was Boston at 3.68.
The Mariners also ranked first (again by a wide margin) among all clubs in bullpen ERA for September at 1.46. San Francisco was second at 1.71; Texas was second among AL clubs at 2.18.
As for the rotation, the Mariners, at 3.47, ranked fourth in the majors and second among AL clubs. The Dodgers were first at 2.82, followed by Boston at 2.92 and the Chicago Cubs at 3.02.
MINOR DETAILS
Outfielder Tyler O’Neil and right-handed pitcher Edwin Diaz were picked by MLB.com as the Mariners’ minor-league player and pitcher of the year.
O’Neill, 20, led the Hi-A California League with 32 homers in 106 games at Bakersfield while batting .260 and driving in 87 runs. He was the club’s third-round pick in the 2013 draft.
Diaz, 21, was a combined 7-10 with a 3.82 ERA in 27 starts at Bakersfield (seven) and Double-A Jackson (20). He was a third-round pick in the 2012 draft.
LOOKING BACK
It was 14 years ago Saturday — Sept. 19, 2001 — that the Mariners clinched the American League West title with a 5-0 victory over Angels at Safeco Field.
The Mariners marked the occasion with an on-field celebration that included a short prayer and a parade with an American flag in a gesture of remembrance for the terrorist attack that took place eight days earlier.
SHORT HOPS
The Mariners, entering Friday, had a 23-16 record with rookie shortstop Ketel Marte as their leadoff hitter…Nelson Cruz had 166 hits, prior to Friday, and needed one more to achieve his career high. He also had 166 last season at Baltimore…Robinson Cano, before Friday, needed seven hits in the final 15 games to reach 2,000 for his career and become the 14th player in major-league history to reach that milestone in his first 11 seasons.
ON TAP
The Mariners and Rangers continue their three-game series at 5:05 p.m. (PDT) at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.
Lefty swingman Vidal Nuño (1-2, 3.21) will try to repeat his dominant performance in his last start against Texas when he faces lefty Cole Hamels (3-1, 4.04).
Nuño allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings in a 6-0 victory over the Rangers on Sept. 9 at Safeco Field. He has only made one brief relief appearance since that game.
The game can be seen on Root Sports Northwest and heard on 710 ESPN.
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