HOUSTON -- Logan Gilbert joked that it was a “two-towel day” on Friday afternoon after throwing a two-inning, up-and-down simulated game with the roof open at Daikin Park, where temperatures soared into the mid-90s.
His upbeat demeanor -- and that of Bryce Miller, who pitched behind Gilbert, also in a sim game -- spoke to how the Mariners’ recovering starters were feeling after their sessions ended.
“I’m trying to make sure I treat it like normal and not hold back or have any worries or concerns,” Gilbert said. “As long as I feel good, I shouldn't. And I didn't today.”
And Miller: “Today was just get through two innings with high intent and see if I feel anything, and I didn't feel anything. So yeah, I did my normal sequence stuff, tried to attack with the heater and work off of it. But yeah, everything felt good.”
Gilbert (right elbow flexor strain) reached 95 mph and threw roughly 35 pitches, with an additional 20 warmup pitches. He said his next steps would be building volume, potentially with another simulated session before beginning a Minor League rehab assignment, which could involve multiple outings.
He’s admittedly still harnessing command, with a comparable feel to Spring Training to where his focus until this point has been more on feel rather than working counts. And notably, he’s been more deliberate about his splitter usage.
“Because some people say it can add more stress, I'm just trying to be as careful as I can,” said Gilbert, who threw a few splitters on Friday. “I don't really know, because it's a balance. Like, I don't want to get away from it and then just throw it in-game to batters. But I also don't want to overdo it. So it's probably like a workload thing throughout the week. But again, it's tricky because you need to be careful with that pitch probably. But it's not like the one pitch I felt stressed with compared to other pitches.”
Miller (right elbow inflammation) was more optimistic about returning to the rotation, potentially for the next time he throws, which would tentatively be no sooner than next Thursday vs. the Nationals, as he’s expected to remain on a six-day routine.
“That's where we're reassessing it as we go,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said, “and obviously we want to build his capacity back up. So, depending on how that goes, we’ll see.”
Miller also mixed in his splitter on Friday and said he doesn’t have as much trepidation about using it when he returns.
“It didn't cause anything that's been going on for me,” Miller said. “I haven't been throwing it as much as I was last year, just because I haven't been able to find the shape.”
Miller added that he believes he and the Mariners have uncovered the root cause of his issue and how to alleviate it long-term.
“I know the cause, but I don't know if I should say it,” Miller said. “I'll say that everything's structure was really good. There's something in there that causes inflammation and something I can't just take out without missing the rest of the year. So this ideally gets me to the end of the year, and then we can reassess and see if I need to clean it up or anything. But at the end of the day, it feels good.”
Julio returns to lineup
Julio Rodríguez took batting practice on the field on Friday before starting in center field and batting third, one day after he was scratched with a back issue 35 minutes before first pitch.
“The bus today was really early and we were able to get here early to get a lot of treatment," Rodriguez said. "But it definitely felt fine. Yesterday, it was pretty tight."
Rodriguez went on the IL at the end of his rookie year with a lower back strain, but said this new issue has been “completely different. Obviously, you can get a back spasm for just sleeping wrong. I feel like back then, it was more of a sliding thing than anything else.”
Rodríguez’s quick return was a welcome sign, as he’s been on an upward trend this month, with a .794 OPS and five homers.
Woo ‘all good’ after being hit in dugout
Bryan Woo avoided what initially looked like a significant injury scare when he was hit by an errant foul ball that sliced into the Mariners’ dugout during the eighth inning on Friday, saying one day later that he was “all good” and in line to make his scheduled start on Saturday.
Woo was seen limping after the incident while receding into the dugout tunnel with Mariners assistant athletic trainer Taylor Bennett, but he added that doing so was so he could be examined without being on camera. He was noticeably walking at ease when arriving at the ballpark on Saturday.