PEORIA, Ariz. -- Tony Zych fired a sharp 1-2-3 inning against a Texas Double-A squad and Steve Cishek looked strong in a 22-pitch bullpen session as Seattle's two rehabbing relievers took big steps forward Thursday.
Zych, pitching in a game for the first time since biceps replacement surgery in his right arm in October, induced two quick grounders to second and then struck out his final batter looking in a 12-pitch outing that had him beaming afterward.
"It was all good," said the 26-year-old right-hander, rated as the Mariners' No. 14 prospect by MLB Pipeline. "I was surprised it was as smooth as it was. It felt great."
With less than two weeks until Opening Day, manager Scott Servais acknowledged it "would be tough at this point" to have Zych ready by the start of the regular season. But the Mariners are thrilled to see his progression.
"I'm excited with where he's at," Servais said. "He's made some adjustments mechanically that allow him to take a little pressure off his arm to be able to bounce back quicker and some of things he needs to do to be a viable option in a Major League bullpen. He didn't have that last year at times. He just didn't feel good."
Cishek didn't feel good at the end of last year, either, after enduring a tear in his left hip labrum, but he's recovered fully now from microfracture surgery, and Thursday's bullpen session was a big lift. He'll likely throw another bullpen Sunday and progress toward facing live hitters soon.
"It was a good first step," said the 30-year-old side-winder. "I never thought I'd be this excited to throw a bullpen."
General manager Jerry Dipoto, who would love to add two quality right-handers into his bullpen mix at some point after the season opens, was just as excited. Cishek is several weeks behind Zych in his throwing program, but could be a valuable addition as a former closer who pencils in as the club's top setup man to Edwin Diaz when healthy.
"That's about as good as we could possibly have hoped for," Dipoto said. "It's better than we could have hoped for. And on the heels of watching Tony Zych throw a really strong inning, that was very encouraging."