Millwood questionable for start next week
The structure of the Seattle Mariners' rotation, which was already in flux with manager Eric Wedge and pitching coach Carl Willis factoring recent call-ups Erasmo Ramirez and Hector Noesi into the puzzle, is up in the air.
Kevin Millwood, who came out of Wednesday's game with shoulder tightness, isn't certain if he's going to be healthy enough to make a start next week.
The 37-year-old veteran indicated that he would need a little more time before he'd know how quickly his shoulder would rebound.
The Mariners, as a result, have their rotation set through Sunday in Texas -- Hisashi Iwakuma, Jason Vargas and Blake Beavan getting the call -- but it's not clear what the team will do after that.
Millwood normally would have started the first game of the homestand against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, but that's on hold. What Seattle does have, if Millwood needs extra time, is plenty of options.
"We have to give him a couple of days before we decide what we're doing," Wedge said of Millwood. "We have coverage now with Noesi and Ramirez, so we'll be OK. But we'll give him some time to see how he feels and go from there."
Ramirez has started once since his recall last week, and Noesi, who was brought up at the same time, will get at least one start, Wedge said.
The Mariners' ace, Felix Hernandez, lost the series finale Thursday at Toronto. Hernandez gave up seven runs on 10 hits in four innings during the Blue Jays' 8-3 win.
