Scott Hanson
The Seattle Times
James Paxton said he would be looking at film of the last time he faced Toronto to help him prepare for his start against the Blue Jays on Saturday at Safeco Field.
The Mariners left-hander will undoubtedly like what he sees, as on that May 8 start, he became the first Canadian to throw a no-hitter in Canada in Seattle’s 5-0 victory.
“I will definitely look at that game and how I am going to pitch to guys and how they approached me,” Paxton said before the start of the series. “But it will be a different game. Your stuff is always different.”
Paxton, who threw seven shutout innings Monday against Houston, called the no-hitter “the coolest game I have thrown for sure.”
“That was a special game and a lot of things went right,” he said. “A lot of balls hit hard went right at people, a lot of great plays were made.”
Paxton, unlike the majority of Canadian fans who root for the Blue Jays, grew up a Mariners fan because his family would take him to a couple of games each summer from their home just outside Vancouver, B.C. Paxton said he has converted some of his friends from Blue Jays fans to Mariners fans.
During his no-hitter in Toronto, it seemed everyone at the Rogers Centre was a Paxton fan.
“That was really special,” he said of the support. “There was a group above the dugout when I walked over there and when I pointed to my maple leaf tattoo, they gave me a big cheer. So that was pretty cool for me, the support I had from the Canadian fans and the chance to show my appreciation to them.”
Paxton said he hopes he can inspire young Canadian baseball players.
“Just showing kids in Canada that it is possible, that there is a path to get here, and for all those kids that have that dream to play in the major leagues, they can look at what I’ve done and know that they can do it,” he said.
Gordon in lineup after rolling ankle
Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon was back in the starting lineup Friday night, less than 24 hours after leaving Thursday night’s game when he rolled his ankle trying to turn a double play in the ninth inning.
“It didn’t swell up at all, and it feels a lot better today,” said Mariners manager Scott Servais. “He’ll have it taped up and he’s ready to go.”
Servais feared it was much worse Thursday night, hoping Gordon’s ankle wasn’t broken.
“He said if I have given him 10 or 15 minutes last night he would have been OK (and stayed in the game),” Servais said, then joked, “but at that point, I wasn’t really ready to stand out there for 10 to 15 minutes.”
Note
Servais said reliever Juan Nicasio was unavailable because his right knee “is barking some.”
