Twins looking to spoil Bonderman’s MLB return
Jeremy Bonderman will be back in the big leagues for the first time in three years.
Out of baseball since the end of the 2010 season, Bonderman will make his Seattle Mariners debut Sunday in a road matchup against the Minnesota Twins.
Bonderman, perhaps best remembered for being mentioned in Michael Lewis’ ‘Moneyball’ than for his work on the mound, was drafted by Oakland before spending his entire career to this point with Detroit between 2003-10.
The right-hander is 67-77 with a 4.89 ERA in a career that consists of 193 starts among 207 appearances. He was signed to a minor-league deal this offseason, and went 2-4 with a 4.52 ERA in 11 starts at Triple-A Tacoma after undergoing Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery last year.
“He’s under control, but you can tell he’s excited to be here,” manager Eric Wedge told the Mariners’ official website. “For a 30-year-old, he’s been through so much. He’s worked so hard to get back here, that’s been evident here for the last year. So, good for him. He deserves the opportunity.”
The only Minnesota hitters with more than three at-bats against Bonderman are Justin Morneau (7 for 29) and Joe Mauer (8 for 27). Morneau, however, was held out of Saturday’s 5-4 victory due to the flu.
Bonderman is taking the spot in the rotation left by rookie Brandon Maurer, who was sent to the minors after allowing six runs over 5 2-3 innings in his fourth straight loss, 6-1 to San Diego on Tuesday.
The Mariners (24-32) remained without Justin Smoak and Michael Morse on Saturday.
Morse is expected to miss a fifth straight game Sunday with a strained quadriceps muscle while Smoak has not started since last Saturday’s loss to Texas due to tightness in his right oblique muscle.
Wedge believes Smoak could return to the lineup Sunday, although the timing may not be perfect since the slugger is hitting .125 against left-handers as the Mariners get ready to face Twins starter Scott Diamond (3-4, 5.22 ERA). Smoak, though, is 2 for 6 with a homer against the lefty.
Diamond may not be too tough. He is 0-2 with an 8.41 ERA in his last four outings, surrendering four runs over 4 2-3 innings Tuesday in a 6-5, 14-inning victory at Milwaukee.
He went 0-1 with a 4.61 ERA in two starts against Seattle last year, with Brendan Ryan going 5 for 6 with two doubles against him.
Minnesota (24-29) won for the fifth time in six games Saturday by rallying for three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning capped by Ryan Doumit’s two-run triple off closer Tom Wilhelmsen. The Twins won for the fourth time in their last 16 meetings with the Mariners.
Doumit went 3 for 5 to raise his batting average 12 points to .230. He’s 6 for 16 with a homer, triple, two doubles and six RBIs in the last four games.
“Some guys get up there to try to get on base. Some guys get up there to try to do some damage. I was hitting cleanup today. I was up there to do some damage,” Doumit said.
Jason Bay homered twice for Seattle, giving him four over his last five games.