Giants focused on sweeping Mariners (Jul 25, 2018)
The San Francisco Giants know a thing or two about playing without their ace, having missed Madison Bumgarner for extended stretches each of the past two seasons.
So, forgive them if they don't feel that bad for the Seattle Mariners and James Paxton.
The left-hander (8-4, 3.70 ERA) was scheduled to start Tuesday night in the opener of a two-game interleague series against the Giants.
But renewed soreness in Paxton's lower back after a weekend bullpen session caused the Mariners to leave him on the 10-day disabled list and start left-hander Roenis Elias instead.
The Giants ended up winning 4-3, scoring an unearned run in the ninth inning, and look to sweep the brief two-game series on Wednesday.
"I came in and played catch (Monday) and it just wasn't quite where we want it to be," said Paxton, who is now expected to rejoin the rotation next Monday when the Mariners play host to the American League West-leading Houston Astros. "There's still a little bit of soreness and a little inflammation in there. I don't think it's going to take long to get it out, we just want to make sure we get it right before I go back out there and let it rip."
Understandably, Mariners manager Scott Servais said the team wants to be cautious with Paxton.
"We've got a big part of our season coming up and he's certainly a huge factor in how we do here and his ability to carry the innings and be as dominant as he can be," Servais said. "I appreciate the honesty (from Paxton) in coming forward with it. We'd love to have him out there, but that's not the case."
Meanwhile, the Giants announced left-hander Derek Holland will start Wednesday afternoon in place of right-hander Jeff Samardzija, who has been dealing with a sore shoulder.
"Samardzija needs a bit more time," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He'll rest for a couple of days and we'll re-evaluate the situation."
Bochy said Samardzija (1-5, 6.25 ERA) won't pitch again until a consensus is reached that he's 100 percent.
"We don't want to push him. We've done this twice already," Bochy said, referring to Samardzija's previous attempts to come off the disabled list.
Holland (5-8, 4.06 ERA) is familiar with the Mariners, having spent the first eight seasons of his 10-year career with the AL West-rival Texas Rangers. Holland is 13-6 with a 3.73 ERA in 27 career appearances against Seattle, including 23 starts.
His last two appearances this season came in relief, and his most recent start was on July 10, when he gave up one run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings but took the loss in a 2-0 setback against the Cubs.
Right-hander Mike Leake (8-6, 4.22) is scheduled to start for the Mariners. In his most recent start, Leake allowed two runs and six hits in six innings and did not get a decision in Seattle's 4-3 loss to Colorado on July 15.
Leake, who pitched for the Giants in 2015, is 5-2 with a 4.81 ERA in 10 career appearances against them, including nine starts.
The Giants got a boost Tuesday when Hunter Pence, serving as the designated hitter with an interleague game in an American League ballpark, hit his first home run of the season, a 445-foot shot off the facade of the second deck in left field off Mariners reliever Chasen Bradford. It snapped a 140-at-bat homerless streak for Pence dating to Sept. 25, 2017, at Arizona.
