The Mariners Friday activated LHP James Paxton from the disabled list to put him on the mound at 5:10 p.m. Friday night in the first of three games against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. The Mariners (74-73) seek their fourth consecutive victory.
Paxton, 28, left Seattle’s Aug. 10 game with a strained left pectoral muscle in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels. He’ll be on a pitch count of about 60.
In 20 starts, Paxton is 12-3 with a 2.78 ERA with 138 strikeouts, including 7-0 with a 1.92 ERA with 59 strikeouts over his last eight starts.
Paxton was named American League Pitcher of the Month for July after going 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA with 46 strikeouts in six starts, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win six games in a single month.
Paxton is coming off the DL for the second time after also missing time with a left forearm strain from May 5–30. In parts of five seasons with Seattle, he is 30-18 with a 3.24 ERA. He was drafted by Seattle in the fourth round of the 2010 draft.
Paxton is opposed by RHP Charlie Morton (11-7, 3.86). The Mariners are 14.5 games behind Houston in the AL West standings and 3.5 behind Minnesota for the second AL wild card slot. Seattle is 5-11 against the Astros this season.
1 Comment
Paxton didn’t last long. A real pity – the team could have used 6-7 innings from the big leftie. He didn’t look right to me – confirmed by his interview after the game where he talked about the mechanics not feeling right. I think he’ll be fine after some coaching.