Mariners notebook: Walker close to game action, Gordon gets 1st SS start

Yusei Kikuchi will look to build upon his first Cactus League start as he takes the hill at Salt River Fields against the Diamondbacks in Scottsdale. The Mariners have made a turn through the rotation with the exception of one pitcher, but we should see him soon.

Mariners OF Lewis hoping tight relationships will carry team in the future

Taijuan Walker threw a live batting practice session Friday morning and all went well. The Mariners are taking things a little bit slower with him coming off Tommy John Surgery and with Walker likely to slot into the 4th or 5th spot of the rotation, the team can afford to do so. The live session was meant to be his last tuneup before entering Cactus League play and while we don’t yet have a date for his spring debut, manager Scott Servais confirmed that the session went well enough for Walker’s next work should come in a game.

As for today’s game …

Lineup!

Shed Long Jr., 2B
Jake Fraley, DH
Austin Nola, C
Kyle Lewis, RF
Jose Marmolejos, 1B
Tim Lopes, 3B
Dee Gordon, SS
Mallex Smith, CF
Braden Bishop, LF

Yusei Kikuchi, LHP

Dee Gordon is making his first start at shortstop this spring. Dee will be the primary backup at short this season.

Mariners notes

• Salt River Fields is one of the ballparks that is testing the electronic strikezone technology this spring but as of this writing, we don’t know if it will be employed during the Mariners game against of the Diamondbacks. Most of the test fields are in the Grapefruit League so we will not see a lot of it this spring.

• Also scheduled to pitch: Nestor Cortes, Zac Grotz, Joey Gerber, Ian McKinney Wyatt Mills.

• Pitching plans for the weekend:

Sat. vs Royals: LHP Marco Gonzales
Sun @ Cubs: RHP Kendall Graveman
Mon. vs Rockies: LHP Justus Sheffield.

• Reliever Matt Magill, who was dealing with some shoulder discomfort coming into camp, threw a bullpen Friday morning and all went well.

• As a young team with a number of guys who can run, the Mariners are expected to be active on the bases this season. So far, so good. They lead all of spring training with 9 stolen bases so far.

• Today’s game can be heard live on 710 ESPN Seattle. First pitch is set for 12:10 PST.

Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s Shannon Drayer on Twitter.

Check out Shannon’s Get To Know Your Mariners series

•Cal Raleigh has been on the baseball path since Day 1
• OF Jake Fraley could be the gem of Zunino trade
• If anyone can relate to top Mariners prospects, it’s Taijuan Walker
• Julio Rodriguez looks the part of future superstar on and off the field

Follow @shannondrayer