Mariners’ Taijuan Walker puts up six more zeros

PEORIA, Ariz. – Game over?

If the door for the fifth starter spot was open at all, it appears Taijuan Walker slammed it shut Wednesday night when he threw six scoreless innings to extend his streak to 18 this spring with 19 strikeouts. He had his fastball command from the beginning and mixed in all of his pitches. He threw 82 pitches with 57 for strikes, struck out six and walked just one in the Mariners’ 3-2 win over the Cubs.

Box score: Mariners top Cubs 3-2

“He was okay. He was just okay,” manager Lloyd McClendon said with a chuckle after the game, trying to downplay what 11,224 saw at Peoria Stadium.

With Roenis Elias scheduled to pitch on Thursday, McClendon was not ready to declare Walker the fifth starter, saying that position has yet to be locked down. It would be hard to deny Walker at this point, however. The pitches are there, he has shown improvement in his outings and he has shown maturity on the hill, going after hitters, working quickly and competing. We have seen the obvious with the zeros and I believe the questions that aren’t measured by numbers on a score sheet have been answered as well.

McClendon was not happy with Walker’s pitch selection in his previous outing. He felt Walker relied too much on his fastball, which was not his best pitch that day. McClendon put most of the blame on the catcher that game, Jesus Sucre, for allowing Walker to shake to what he wanted. On Wednesday, Walker said he shook Mike Zunino just once. Zunino had more to work with, however, as all of Walker’s pitches were working.

“From the first inning we were able to use them,” Zunino said of Walker’s four pitches. “We used the slider a little bit more in the first two innings and the change throughout and the curve late. It was nice to have that to show late. I think it just shows that his command is there and that’s going to be big for him.”

Walker was able to use the curve to get strike three and the changeup to get ground-ball outs, including a double play off the bat of Dexter Fowler in the sixth inning that erased the only hint of trouble he had in the game. The changeup as we see it now, which started to make its appearance late last year, has been a big focus for Walker. It is a hard changeup with higher velocity, somewhat like Felix Hernandez’s. While Felix is able to throw it as a swing-and-miss pitch, Walker’s is more of a contact pitch, a weapon particularly against lefties that can generate ground balls. Against the Cubs, Walker had nine groundouts and no flyouts. It is a pitch that Walker now has confidence in and is happy to have in his arsenal.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I would have a changeup at all but I’m glad I have it,” he answered when asked if this was the changeup he envisioned when he started trying to add it last year. “It helps that a lot people had been telling me, ‘Get a changeup! Get a changeup! I’m telling you it will be your best pitch.’ They definitely weren’t lying.”

McClendon has said that he would prefer not to have the battle for the fifth starter go down to the last day. In his mind, to take it to the end would not be fair. The announcement should come soon. Walker has set the bar high this spring but with one more outing of zeros behind him, it is time to focus on the next one.

“There’s always still more to be done,” he said. “Whatever they say I just have to continue to go out there and keep attacking.”

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