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There's something about weekday afternoon games that always get my heart racing a little faster, perhaps because of a certain perfect game that happened on another Wednesday afternoon two years ago.
Of course, I'm not saying that Taijuan Walker will throw a perfect game today. But that's not what I'm not saying, either.
Following a season-best performance from Erasmo Ramirez last night, Walker has been recalled from Triple-A to take the right-hander's spot in this afternoon's series finale against the Mets. He made two starts in Tacoma during the All-Star break, totaling 10 innings, 11 hits, three runs, four walks, and just two strikeouts. His control has been a little shaky of late -- in his last appearance with the big league club, he went four innings with five walks and three strikeouts. Control issues aren't the only thing plaguing the 21-year-old, however. In his first Triple-A start, Walker needed 83 pitches to get through five innings. Although he claims to have worked out the kinks in his delivery, the results have yet to be seen.
Through 19 starts in 2014, Bartolo Colon is 8-8 with a 3.57 FIP. This month has been a bit of a rough patch for him, with two losses and an abbreviated start in San Diego last week, when he was pulled after five innings, four runs, and 86 pitches. Fun fact: In the 14 appearances Colon has made at Safeco Field, he's been pegged with just one loss -- all the way back in 2001.
Game notes
- Mariners vs. Mets, 12:40 p.m. PST
- Today's game will be televised on ROOT Sports, broadcast on 710 ESPN, and available to out-of-market fans at MLB TV here.
- James Paxton started the first half of a doubleheader for the Rainiers yesterday, going four innings and issuing three hits, three runs, a walk, and four strikeouts. Although it was not a clean outing for the southpaw, with a 32-pitch first inning and two home runs off of poorly located fastballs, Paxton told MLB.com's Adam Lewis that he felt healthy and was getting the feel for pitching again, which is the most important part of his rehab.