SEATTLE (AP) -- Franklin Gutierrez was placed on the seven-day disabled list by the Seattle Mariners on Friday, a day after suffering a mild concussion when a pick-off attempt hit him in the face.
Gutierrez was injured in the fourth inning of Seattle's win over Boston on Thursday night when Franklin Morales' pick-off attempt tipped the end of Adrian Gonzalez's mitt and hit Gutierrez near his right ear. Gutierrez was down on the field for several minutes before being helped off and was kept in a hospital for observation Thursday night. Gutierrez was released and returned home on Friday, Seattle manager Eric Wedge said.
Gutierrez will be monitored over the next week and if he is not ready to be activated when the seven days are up, he will be required to spend another seven days on the disabled list. It's the latest in a string of injuries and ailments for Gutierrez. He missed most of this season with a combination of chest and foot problems. He was sidelined for a part of last season with stomach issues that caused him to lose weight.
''He's been on the south side of quite a few fluke things the past couple of years so I feel bad for him, he's been playing well,'' Wedge said. ''So hopefully this is something, just another bump in the road, we get him back sooner than later.''
Seattle recalled reliever Steve Delabar to take Gutierrez's roster spot. Delabar was selected because long reliever Hisashi Iwakuma will make his first start Monday night as Kevin Millwood is being pushed back with a sore groin muscle.
Iwakuma arrived from Japan with much fanfare in the offseason, but has been a rarely used spot reliever for most of the season with just 14 appearances in 78 games.
Iwakuma is taking Millwood's spot after the veteran starter was forced to leave a game early for the second time this month with his groin bothering him. Millwood is likely to start sometime next weekend when Seattle closes out the first-half with a three-game series in Oakland, Wedge said.
