It’s bullpen madness this afternoon at Safeco Field, where:
David Aardsma talked about the tight right forearm that has stalled his comeback from offseason hip surgery.
Shawn Kelley threw a 21-pitch simulated game, facing hitters for the first time since a right elbow injury led
to surgery last summer.
And former Mariner Mark Lowe returned to Seattle as a member of the Texas Rangers, called up today from Class AAA Round Rock after he’d ironed out problems that caused him to struggle and get sent down last month.
Aardsma knows he must be patient, especially now that his forearm has barked enough to force the Mariners to pull him back after five rehab appearances with the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers. It hasn’t been easy.
“The team’s playing great, everybody’s doing well, the bullpen’s doing well and you want to be a part of that,” Aardsma said. “Sitting there not being able to pitch, knowing that phone call’s not for you, it’s frustrating.”
Frustrating, but also wise.
Aardsma said he felt tightness in his forearm after his second outing with the Rainiers, and it didn’t get any better during outings last week at Salt Lake and Reno. It didn’t help that the weather was cold during every game he pitched, he said.
“It’s one of those things that crept up a little bit,” Aardsma said. “It wasn’t too bad and then it got a little tighter and tighter. We’re being real cautious with it and it’s getting better every day.”
He made one thing clear: When he is ready to rejoin the Mariners, he’ll need to earn his role and wouldn’t expect to return immediately to the closer job. In Aardsma’s absence, Brandon League has gone 8-for-8 in save situations.
“It would not be smart,” he said. “I have to pitch against big-league hitters and show that I can get guys out. I have to show that I can take a role in the bullpen. Brandon’s doing a heck of a job.”
He also isn’t concerned with talk about his velocity. Aardsma said he hit 94 mph on the Mariners’ radar gun.
“Last year at spring training someone said my average velocity was 91,” he said. “That’s right in the middle of where I’m at right now. I’m not really worried about velocity. That’s the last thing I should be worried about. I’m worried about feeling good. Right now my hip feels great and I’m making sure with my arm that there’s no problem.”
Kelley, who last pitched in the big leagues on June 15 last year at St. Louis, threw 21 pitches to Chris Gimenez, Luis Rodriguez and Ryan Langerhans. He expects to throw another simulated game Sunday and, if that goes well, begin a minor-league assignment.
“I still have to continue to get my arm strength,” Kelley said. “But I was basically looking at throwing all my pitches and not having any pain and having some decent command. I achieved all of that, I felt, so it was a good day.
“After I got done I was a little more fatigued than I was after the bullpens. Once a hitter gets in there, there’s a little bit more of something on the line and a little bit higher level of energy exerted. It was good because you can only get so much out of throwing bullpens.”
Kelley said he threw mostly fastballs, with “maybe three or four sliders and three or four changeups.” On his final pitch, he sent Gimenez spinning out of the box with an up-and-in fastball that hit the knob of his bat.
Lowe returned to the big leagues feeling confident he’d solved the issues that led to his 13.50 ERA in four relief appearances to start the season. The Rangers sent him down to Round Rock, where he went 1-0, 2.80 in six appearances and allowed only one hit while striking out six in his last 4 1/3 innings.
“It was just a little mechanical adjustment we made when I came set,” Lowe said. “Everything is good now.”
Here are tonight’s lineups:
RANGERS
Ian Kinsler, second base
Elvis Andrus, shortstop
Michael Young, DH
Adrian Beltre, third base
David Murphy, left field
Yorvit Torrealba, catcher
Mitch Moreland, right field
Chris Davis, first base
Julio Borbon, center field
Starting pitcher: Left-hander C.J. Wilson (3-1, 3.35 earned run average)
MARINERS
Ichiro Suzuki, right field
Chone Figgins, third base
Milton Bradley, left field
Miguel Olivo, catcher
Justin Smoak, first base
Jack Cust, DH
Jack Wilson, second base
Michael Saunders, center field
Brendan Ryan, shortstop
Starting pitcher: Right-hander Michael Pineda (4-1, 2.01)
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