Video: Recovering Tony Zych, Kyle Lewis get to work Mariners Field 1
Mar 15, 2017, 5:06 PM | Updated: 5:28 pm
PEORIA, Ariz. – Interesting and encouraging sights on Field 1 in Peoria Wednesday morning – two Mariners on the mend putting in good work.
On the diamond, Tony Zych, who underwent a biceps tendon debridement in October, threw to hitters for the first time since being shut down late last season. Live batting practices are usually the last step before returning to game action, and all went well in the short session.
Zych throwing first live bp. pic.twitter.com/QwVUCRQVw9
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) March 15, 2017
“I wasn’t trying to do too much, just get out front with the hitter in the box and try to to hit him,” said Zych, who was clearly happy with his outing.
Zych, who has been throwing bullpens for about two weeks, threw all of his pitches with Tuffy Gosewisch stepping in and taking a few swings. For Zych, the hitter in front of him helped take what he had been doing in bullpens to another level.
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“The adrenaline, to bring it up a little bit was awesome,” he said. “Once I got out there I felt great. There was no hesitation today. It is what it is. It’s either attached or it’s not, right?”
Zych threw with slightly different mechanics to help protect his shoulder. The results were good with Zych seeing better movement on his fastball due to the mechanics. Manager Scott Servais liked what he saw.
“I thought Z looked really good,” he said. “His misses were all below the zone, he had more angle to the fastball than we saw in the past. Hopefully he comes back tomorrow and we will go from there.”
Opening day is probably a push for Zych as the team will be cautious with him since he hasn’t pitched in a while and was not able to throw over the offseason. But things are moving in the right direction and he is getting closer to getting into games.
As Zych was finishing up his live BP, Kyle Lewis and a trainer walked to the outfield and set up a workout. Lewis, the Mariners’ No. 1 pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, is coming back from major knee surgery and was put through a number of drills on the field.
Kyle Lewis making progress. pic.twitter.com/ikSAXJtAxz
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) March 15, 2017
The Mariners are taking it understandably slow with Lewis but hope to have him back in games some time in July.
