PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) -Seattle right-hander Felix Hernandez will make his Cactus League debut Thursday against Kansas City.
Hernandez hasn’t pitched in a game since he helped Venezuela beat Puerto Rico 2-0 on March 16 to advance to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic. The 22-year-old threw 86 pitches over 4 2-3 innings in the win, raising a few eyebrows in the Mariners’ organization.
But Hernandez erased any concerns about his health Monday, throwing 51 pitches in a bullpen session without any difficulties.
“I felt good, no problems,” a smiling Hernandez said following his workout. “I just have to do my thing. I’m ready to pitch.”
Hernandez, along with right-hander Carlos Silva, second baseman Jose Lopez and outfielder Endy Chavez, rejoined the Mariners two days after Venezuela was eliminated from the WBC.
Lopez and Chavez were in Seattle’s lineup for Monday’s game against San Francisco. Silva, who lasted just 1 1-3 innings in Venezuela’s 10-2 loss to South Korea on Saturday night, is tentatively scheduled to pitch against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday.
miles,” Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. “They’re all in good moods and ready to go.”
Hernandez hugged Wakamatsu in the team’s clubhouse shortly after arriving Monday morning, joked with teammates on the field and playfully kidded pitching coach Rick Adair while throwing in the bullpen.
With Adair and bench coach John Wetteland watching, Hernandez threw primarily fastballs during the workout and got some work pitching out of the stretch. He also got a quick refresher course on the Mariners’ signals from Adair.
Afterward, Hernandez said he still needs to build up his arm strength and work on his changeup.
“We have to pitch the way that we pitched (in the WBC),” Hernandez said. “That’s all we have to do, our thing. We have to do the little things and play baseball. We’ve been working over there like we were here, we did the same things. It was a lot of fun.”
Hernandez and Silva are both looking to rebound after sub-par 2008 seasons.
Hernandez went 9-11 with a 3.45 ERA and 175 strikeouts in a career-high 200 2-3 innings last year. He’s being considered for Seattle’s opening-day start.
The first step for now is pitching against the Royals, though Wakamatsu isn’t sure how long he’ll let Hernandez stay in the game.
“I think it’s going to depend on the outing,” Wakamatsu said. “If it’s easy we’ll go a little bit more. If it’s labored a little bit we’ll probably back off a little bit.”
Silva is trying to bounce back after going 4-15 with a 6.46 ERA during his first season in Seattle. The right-hander lost 35 pounds in the offseason and is hoping to stay healthy after back and elbow problems in 2008.
Silva allowed just one run and 10 hits in his first 11 innings in the WBC before the rough outing against South Korea.
“We had fun but it’s nice to be back,” Silva said. “Now that we have a week and a half left of spring training, we’ve got to get our work in before the start of the season.”
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