TACOMA — Seattle Mariners pitcher Kendall Graveman said Monday he has a benign bone tumor in his cervical spine but intends to continue pitching.
Graveman, who spoke after making a rehab outing, started this season in Seattle’s rotation and made two starts before going on the injured list with a neck spasm.
He said the symptoms first developed in 2018 and a diagnosis of the tumor came last season while he was recovering from Tommy John surgery in the Chicago Cubs organization. He said the location of the tumor makes it difficult to do a surgical procedure.
“It has been lingering for about close to two years now. It helps with medicine, but still the whole process has been trial and error. So that’s what we’re dealing with,” Graveman said. “I’ve seen plenty of specialists. I’ve seen numerous doctors. There is a procedure that is a possibility, maybe something that later on down the road we’ll check into. But I’m just going out there competing with it is the only thing right now that we can do, and continue to work through it.”
Graveman said he was told the tumor will not get worse, will not grow, but it does cause inflammation. Medication has helped reduce some of the inflammation, but he said the pain is not a traditional muscle or nerve pain and that it’s difficult to describe.
“They tell me I’m not doing further damage to my body, so now it’s about being mentally tough enough to go out and pitch through it,” he said.
NBA Playoffs Jazz 135, Nuggets 125, OT
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Jamal Murray scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime on a day Donovan Mitchell erupted for a Jazz playoff-record 57 points and the Denver Nuggets beat Utah 135-125 on Monday in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds for Denver. He had a chance to win it in regulation at the buzzer, but his right-handed hook shot over Utah’s Rudy Gobert was off the mark. Murray took over in the extra period, sealing the game on a 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds remaining.
Game 2 is Wednesday.
Mitchell’s scoring spree surpassed the Jazz mark of 50 by Karl Malone on April 22, 2000, against Seattle.
Mitchell was 19 of 33 from the floor and 13 of 13 from the free-throw line. He also had seven assists.
Stanley Cup Playoffs Bolts 2, Jackets 1
TORONTO — Andrei Vasilevskiy had 28 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Monday to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Barclay Goodrow and Yanni Gourde each had a goal and an assist as the Lightning pushed the Blue Jackets to the verge of elimination after being swept by Columbus in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.
Game 5 is Wednesday.
Cam Atkinson scored for Columbus, and Joonas Korpisalo had 20 saves.
The Associated Press
