Mariners: 4 takeaways from road series win versus Baltimore Orioles

2) Bad luck for Paxton and his replacement

If things had gone to plan, James Paxton would have been scheduled to start on Tuesday. He still proved to be a source of news on the day, albeit not for the reasons anyone concerned would have hoped for.

As had previously been reported and expected, it was confirmed on Tuesday that Paxton’s season was over. Manager Scott Servais advised the pitcher would undergo surgery after receiving a second opinion.

Servais did not offer clarification on if Paxton would be undergoing Tommy John surgery for the left forearm strain he suffered. Regardless, it is another setback in an ever-growing list of injuries for the Canadian since entering the Majors in September 2013.

It is tough not to feel bad for the 32-year-old, who on his day has top of the rotation talent. He took a gamble on a one-year deal with the Mariners and it unfortunately did not work out for him.

It will be interesting to see if the Mariners are prepared to offer Paxton another chance next year. For now, all you can do is wish him a full recovery and good (better) luck in the future.

Paxton’s place was taken by Nick Margevicius. Some would say he was unlucky to miss out on a spot in the starting rotation, so at least he was now getting his opportunity.

Margevicius did little to inspire any confidence however, based on Tuesday’s outing in the second game of the double-header. He managed to get through the first two innings unscathed, but then everything went wrong.

Even the comfort of a 4-0 lead did little to help, as the 24-year-old loaded the bases in the third and overall gave up six hits and six runs (two earned). He officially lasted just three innings and 67 pitches, as he also had one walk and four strikeouts.

A despondant Margevicius acknowledged afterwards that his biggest problem on the night was falling behind in the count. Speaking to the media, he said:

“That’s not the thing I do; I get ahead. That’s something that’s very important to me, and I just didn’t do that well tonight.

“I think going through the lineup the second time, falling behind again; I wasn’t very good in that third inning, and then obviously, the double clearing the bases with two outs can’t happen. I need to get myself out of that inning, especially if we just put up [four runs]”

If nothing else, at least Margevicius will likely get another opportunity to prove himself as a starter (albeit against the World Champion Dodgers.) Certainly though, he will need to improve on the 7.04 ERA and 1.57 WHIP he has managed so far in 7.2 innings this year.

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