BALTIMORE -- The banged-up Mariners took another hit before their third game against the Orioles, as leverage reliever Matt Brash was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain -- the same injury that sidelined him six weeks ago.
But a positive development was that Colt Emerson took swings in the batting cage for the first time since suffering a back spasm during ground-ball drills on Monday, and is optimistic he could return to the lineup as soon as Thursday.
Beyond Brash, here are the rest of Seattle’s moves from Wednesday:
• INF/OF Miles Mastrobuoni reinstated from 60-day IL
• RHP Domingo Gonzalez recalled from Triple-A Tacoma
• INF Ryan Bliss optioned to Tacoma
• RHP Yosver Zulueta designated for assignment
Brash said after his erratic outing on Monday that he’s been dealing with an issue that correlated to the extreme command challenges.
“I clearly didn't have it,” Brash said. “I've been dealing with some stuff, so something was off mechanically there.”
Upon entering with a 5-1 lead in that one, he unleashed a wild pitch for his first offering that scored a runner from third base, hit Taylor Ward with his second pitch, issued a walk to his second batter (Gunnar Henderson) and then nearly hit Pete Alonso. Brash was able to escape thanks to a critical ABS challenge on Alonso from catcher Jhonny Pereda before inducing a groundout.
“I was just losing everything arm-side,” Brash said, “and obviously I'm not trying to hit Ward there. I don't do that, and I don't miss that far inside on sinkers ever. So yeah, just was super off, and it sucks.”
Brash missed 19 games during his first IL stint, after being forced to exit an April 29 outing in Minnesota. Back then, he said it was the first time in his career that he’d experienced a lat issue, and it was one that had built up over a few days before he ultimately landed on the IL.
“I'm not 100% medical on where we're all standing on this,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Wednesday. “It's related in some way. I'm not sure how relatable it is, but I think we’ll probably get more answers about that as we go on.”
Since returning from the IL, Brash had surrendered just one earned run -- during a blown save on May 29 vs. Arizona -- with seven strikeouts and four walks in six outings, over which the Mariners went 6-0. Overall, he has a 0.54 ERA in 16 2/3 innings across 20 outings.
The Mariners are already a man short in their bullpen while operating with a six-man rotation, and even at full strength, their leverage relievers had been flip-flopping days of availability due to extended usage.
For example, Brash and Andrés Muñoz were unavailable in Tuesday’s extra-innings win, which pushed rookie Nick Davila to his first career save, after being recalled from Tacoma one hour before first pitch. On Wednesday, José A. Ferrer was almost certainly unavailable after throwing a season-high 42 pitches in what was his third outing in the past three games. The same was likely for Gabe Speier, who’d also pitched three of the past four.
The Mariners also lost their most versatile arm on Wednesday, when Cooper Criswell hit the IL with a right shoulder strain -- which opened the door for Davila. The next man up now is Gonzalez, who made four appearances earlier this season and has a 1.66 ERA at Tacoma.
Mastro over Bliss
The decision on Bliss came with “a difficult conversation” from Wilson, after the infielder made two extremely athletic -- and vital -- plays during the late innings of Tuesday’s win. Bliss also grinded out an 11-pitch, 100.4 mph single vs. Taylor Rogers in third.
But given Emerson’s status and that J.P. Crawford is on the IL, the Mariners opted for the more versatile Mastrobuoni as their fill-in infielder. This is his first action of the season, having suffered a right calf strain during the World Baseball Classic then a left calf strain when rehabbing.
The lefty-hitting Mastrobuoni started at second base on Wednesday, but he’s capable at third and both corner outfield spots. He’d also be their emergency shortstop behind Cole Young, who made his third straight start there Wednesday, whereas Bliss is limited to second base.
“We're in a spot where we're particularly a little bit banged up,” Wilson said, “and guys are feeling it a little bit as we get into this long road trip. And so having that versatility is big.”