Roenis Elias takes the mound this afternoon for his first start in Target Field, his ninth game in the big leagues. It's kind of hard to remember that he has played so few games so far this year, especially with the success he's had to date. Today he'll be tested against a Twins team that is 20-20 on the year with a number of great hitters hiding in their ranks, like midwest shampoo salesman Joe Mauer and wherever the hell Brian Dozier came from. The Twins have been awful for a long time, and it's doubtful they will still be playing well in August, but come on, seriously.
The M's lineup is looking like it's getting a little more consistent in theory if not practice, as James Jones still leads off with Condor filling the two-hole today. Kyle Seager gets bumped up to fifth, and Brad Miller remains in the lineup batting ninth.
In other good news, James Paxton threw a simulated game at Target this morning, and all words are that he looked pretty good. Apparently he broke Stefen Romero's bat on the first pitch, so it looks like he's gained another skill by resting a few weeks. Consensus seems to be that he will throw one more sim game before rehabbing, so keep your calendars marked.
Paxton throwing sim game. Breaks Romero"s bat with first pitch. pic.twitter.com/oDZoxp1xKb
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) May 17, 2014
Game info:
- Mariners @ Twins, 4:10 PM PST
- TV: ROOT, Radio: 710 ESPN