Extra rest should benefit Mariners starter Taijuan Walker as he takes the hill against the Orioles

Taijuan Walker takes the hill Thursday night for the first time in 11 days, and Mariners pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. is not expecting a repeat of what he saw the last time Walker made a start.

On June 19 in Boston, Walker took his usual turn in the rotation, but it was not a normal start as he was coming off an outing in which he was lifted after just 3 1/3 innings with pain in his foot due to inflammation of the posterior tibial tendon. After a couple of days off, he was able to go through his normal routine of getting ready for his next start, but while he was hopeful that the pain in his foot was behind him, that was not the case. Walker said he felt a flare-up just two pitches into his outing and had to be limited to five innings when it became apparent he was no longer using his legs.

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This week Walker has looked better in his work, according to Stottlemyre.

“He looks good to this point,” Stottlemyre said. “He had a good bullpen, was able to get off his back side, use his legs. We all know he’s a guy who needs his intensity, needs his lower half. He’s had some time, he got his (cortisone) shot and he doesn’t have anything structurally wrong. Everything looked good based from his bullpen. I know he’s ready to go.”

Both Stottlemyre and manager Scott Servais took a wait-and-see approach to Walker’s last start, not knowing for sure how the foot would react. This time, they and Walker appear to feel more confident with what they have seen in the days leading up to his start.

“I feel a lot better going in,” Stottlemyre said. “I’m satisfied the little bit of rest he got has got him in a good place where he needs to be.”

Walker was sent home early from the last road trip and was shut down for a few days to let the inflammation quiet. While he did not require a trip to the disabled list, it has been 11 days since his last start and Servais expects to have him on a 90-100 pitch count.