ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Cycle back to earlier this week.
Mariners rookie closer Edwin Diaz threw just five pitches Monday in recording the final three outs in a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
That came after a pair of nine-pitch innings and an eight-pitch inning in securing his three previous saves.
The word, it seems, is out.
“Scouting reports,” manager Scott Servais said.
“When you walk up to the plate, you know this guy throws 100 miles an hour. You’re not going to wait around. Why? The end result [of waiting] hasn’t been very good.
“Players know that. They’re going to be aggressive in going after him.”
Fast forward to Wednesday.
The Angels, showing that aggression, geared up and attacked Diaz’s fastball as he tried to close out another victory. Three singles, two on fastballs, produced a run, cut the Mariners’ lead to one and helped load the bases with one out.
It marked the first time that Diaz surrendered three hits in an inning.
“They were on my fastball,” Diaz said.
“I had to go to my slider. I threw pretty good sliders. I didn’t have confidence in my fastball, but I had a lot of confidence in my slider.”
He pitched out of the jam by throwing that slider — a pitch considered marginal when he arrived June 6 from Double-A Jackson. Once again, the Mariners, and Diaz, owe since-traded Joaquin Benoit a debt of thanks for his teaching assist.
That slider resulted in a 4-3 victory that amounted to a growth moment for the 22-year-old closer.
“It’s good for the kid,” Servais said.
“You have to go through this. It’s nice if you can go through it and not blow it. You build your confidence by knowing you can get it done.”
Plans for Paxton
Lefty James Paxton reports the swelling in his forearm continues to diminish and that he remains on track with his recovery.
“Definitely making progress,” Paxton said.
Paxton was hit in the elbow by a line drive on Aug. 7 in the ninth inning of a 3-1 victory over the Angels at Safeco Field. He was tracking to return Tuesday to the rotation before swelling developed in his forearm after an Aug. 13 bullpen workout.
The revised plan, barring further setbacks, is Paxton will make a rehab start Saturday or Sunday for Triple-A Tacoma against Las Vegas [Mets] at Cheney Stadium.
Servais said Paxton will “get a few innings against hitters.”
That will put Paxton — again, barring further setbacks — on schedule to return five days later to the big-league rotation against the White Sox in Chicago.
Miranda stays up
Lefty Ariel Miranda will get at least one more start, Servais confirmed, after working five strong innings Tuesday before exiting after two walks in the sixth.
Plans call for Miranda to start Sunday against Milwaukee at Safeco Field.
What comes after that might hinge on Miranda’s ability to harness a new slider as a third pitch to his fastball/change-up mix. While relievers can get by with two pitches — or even one — starters typically need at least three.
“He’s going to need it,” Servais agreed.
“I think it’s in there. He has plenty of fastball, and the change-up plays off of that really well. I think we can get something serviceable out of the [slider].”
Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. convinced Miranda to alter his grip on the pitch in the days preceding Tuesday’s start against the Angels.
“He threw a few of them [Tuesday] night,” Servais said.
“Some of them backed up. Some of them actually worked. His willingness to try it is great. He’s still a fastball/change-up guy. I liked the way he threw the ball.”
The Mariners acquired Miranda, a Cuban defector in 2014, from Baltimore in a July 31 trade for left-hander Wade Miley. Miranda, 27, has allowed six runs and 13 hits in 12 innings over three appearances, including two starts, since arriving
Cishek update
Former closer Steve Cishek had a rocky inning Wednesday in his his second, and possibly last, rehab appearance when he allowed two runs and three hits while starting for Short-A Everett against Tri-City (Padres).
Cishek is recovering from a torn labrum in his left hip, which was diagnosed after an Aug. 1 appearance against Boston. He was 2-6 with a 3.40 ERA and 25 saves in 44 appearances prior to the injury.
Club officials previously indicated Cishek could return to active duty as soon as today when the Mariners open a three-game series against Milwaukee at Safeco Field.
Cishek began his rehab assignment Monday by striking out the side while allowing one run and two hits in his only inning in a 5-0 loss to Salem-Keizer (Giants).
“He felt fine,” Servais said. “He wasn’t real sharp. He hadn’t been out there for a while. We’ll see how he does and see what we do after that.”
Thirteen and counting
Right-hander Cody Martin became the 13th different pitcher to start a game this season for the Mariners. That last time they had 13 different starting pitchers was 1999.
The other 12: Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, Wade Miley, Taijuan Walker, Nathan Karns, James Paxton, Wade LeBlanc, Adrian Sampson, Vidal Nuno, Mike Montgomery, Ariel Miranda and Joe Wieland.
Martin previously became the fifth Gonzaga alum to play for the Mariners. The others were Tyler Olson, Jason Bay, Rick Sweet and Casey Parsons.
Defensive ratings
The Gold Glove awards for defensive excellence include a sabermetric component that accounts for roughly 25 percent of the vote. The remainder is determined through a vote by the managers and coaches in each league.
The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) provides that metric — the SABR Defensive Index (SDI) — and it recently released its rankings for games through Aug. 7.
Some notable Mariners in the American League rankings:
•Robinson Cano is tied for third among American League second basemen with a 4.8 SDI. Boston’s Dustin Pedroia leads at 6.2.
•Kyle Seager is third among third baseman at 4.6. Texas’ Adrian Beltre leads at 10.8.
•Leonys Martin is third among center fielders at 1.4. Toronto’s Kevin Pillar leads at 11.0.
Worth noting: Cano, Seager and Martin each executed web gems in Wednesday’s 4-3 victory over the Angels that are not yet included in the rankings.
Junior on the call
Newly-minted Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. will join ESPN as a guest analyst for its telecast of Tuesday’s game between the Mariners and New York Yankees at Safeco Field.
Griffey will join play-by-play announcer Jon Sciambi plus analysts Rick Sutcliffe and Doug Glanville in what figures to be a packed booth.
It will be ESPN’s first telecast from Safeco Field since 2011.
Griffey was inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 24, and his No. 24 was retired by the Mariners in an Aug. 6 pre-game ceremony.
The game will also be shown by Root Sports Northwest with its regular broadcast team.
Short hops
The Mariners’ bullpen on Wednesday recorded its 21st game of pitching at least four innings while allowing one or no runs…Robinson Cano needs two more doubles to reach 30 for a 12th consecutive year…if Edwin Diaz is successful in his next save situation, he will match a franchise record by going 9-for-9 to start his career. Byron McLaughlin had nine in a row in 1979…
On tap
The Mariners return home for a six-game run at Safeco Field when they open a three-game weekend series tonight at 7:10 p.m. against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Left-hander Wade LeBlanc (2-0 with a 4.68 ERA) will start for the Mariners, but the Brewers have not yet determined a starter. The game can be seen on Root Sports Northwest.
