Carlos Silva returned to the Safeco Field mound and has just completed a simulated game. And no, they didn’t have the grounds crew boo as he walked off the field just to make it truly realistic.
From a purely amateurish press box viewpoint, the big right-hander seemed to have good downard tilt to his pitches and he gave up little more than ground balls against Adrian Beltre and Ryan Langerhans.
“His arm angles is better, and the big thing is going to be when he faces live competition,” manager Don Wakamatsu said. “He’s been working on this for so long that he needs to get some hitters in there and get some adrenaline going.”
Wakamatsu said the next step for Silva won’t be determined until today when the club sees how his arm feels. If he’s fine, he’ll probably throw one more simulated game, then go down and pitch with the Tacoma Rainiers before returning for some action out of the Mariners’ bullpen in September.
After that? Winter ball in Venezuela, probably.
“Hes been dormant for so long, I know it’s important in his mind that he’s able to get to work on things, No. 1 to test his shoulder and No. 2 to get all his pitches to work for him.”
Other notes from the clubhouse this afternoon:
-Ichiro Suzuki remains down with tightness in his left calf and isn’t in the starting lineup for a third straight game. Suzuki lobbied again to play, but the Mariners are being cautious in order to avoid a more longterm problem.
-Chris Jakubauskas threw another bullpen session this afternoon and probably will pitch in games Friday and Sunday for the Rainiers.
-Adrian Beltre ran the bases before batting practice and didn’t seem to be dragging his feet — or anything else (sorry, couldn’t resist) — two weeks to the day since he was hit by a ground ball and suffered a severely bruised right testicle.
-From the Mariners’ crack baseball information staff, this nugget: The Mariners are tied with the Yankees for the most “walkoff” victories this season at 11. The club record is 12 by the 1986 Mariners.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
