Rainiers’ Justus Sheffield pitches in the first inning. The Tacoma Rainers played the Albuquerque Isotopes in a baseball game at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Wash., on Friday, April 12, 2019. Joshua Bessex joshua.bessex@gateline.com
The Yusei Kikuchi pitching plan will be put into action Friday night at T-Mobile Park. Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais detailed it early on in spring training, but this is the first time the club will try it.
Instead of making his regularly scheduled start, the 27-year-old left-hander will make an abbreviated one, likely pitching just one inning against the Texas Rangers.
Servais has estimated Kikuchi will make this sort of short start about every fifth time to preserve his arm throughout the season.