Seattle Mariners vs Texas Rangers major league baseball feed ESPN Star 360 gamecast radio commentary live streaming April 04, 2011 After enduring two surgeries on his pitching shoulder and sitting out the 2010 season, Erik Bedard is just happy to be healthy.
The Seattle Mariners left-hander is expected to make his first start since July 25, 2009, on Monday night against the Texas Rangers, who are seeking their first 4-0 start in 15 years.
The Mariners seemed to get a prized starter in February 2008 when they acquired Bedard from Baltimore in a six-player deal, months after he finished 13-5 and third in the AL with 221 strikeouts.
8:05 PM ET, April 4, 2011
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Seattle Texas
W-L 2 - 1 3 - 0
Night 2-0 1-0
Grass 2-1 3-0
Current Streak L1 W3
Last 10 2-1 3-0
Pitching Matchup
Seattle Texas
Erik Bedard
0-0, 0.00 ERA
Derek Holland
0-0, 0.00 ERA
WATCH Seattle Mariners vs Texas Rangers NOW
Injury Report
Seattle
* David Aardsma RP - Apr 2: 15-Day DL
* Franklin Gutierrez CF - Apr 1: 15-Day DL
Texas
* Scott Feldman SP - Apr 2: 15-Day DL
* Brandon Webb SP - Apr 1: 15-Day DL
Gameday Line
FAVORITE OPEN CUR UNDERDOG O/U
@Texas N/A 170 Seattle 9
After enduring two surgeries on his pitching shoulder and sitting out the 2010 season, Erik Bedard is just happy to be healthy.
The Seattle Mariners left-hander is expected to make his first start since July 25, 2009, on Monday night against the Texas Rangers, who are seeking their first 4-0 start in 15 years.
The Mariners seemed to get a prized starter in February 2008 when they acquired Bedard from Baltimore in a six-player deal, months after he finished 13-5 and third in the AL with 221 strikeouts.
Bedard, though, has made just 30 starts during his injury-plagued tenure with Seattle. He went on the disabled list twice in 2008, with shoulder surgery ending his season in July.
He developed inflammation in the same shoulder in the middle of the next season and underwent a procedure to repair a torn labrum on Aug. 14, 2009. The following August, he needed to have bone spurs removed.
"He was one of the best left-handers in the league when he was at his best in Baltimore," manager Eric Wedge told the league's website during spring training. "He feels good, and we're hoping he can stay there."
Bedard seems to have emerged a better pitcher from that trying time as he was 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in his first five starts this spring. In his final one at Dodger Stadium last Wednesday, he gave up five runs and seven hits over four innings.
"It's been a long couple of years," Bedard said after that game. "I worked hard in the offseason to get where I'm at, and it paid off. Here I am."
The Mariners are hoping an effective Bedard can help them build on a solid start. Seattle (2-1) won its first two games in Oakland this weekend but got only Ryan Langerhans' home run in a 7-1 loss Sunday.
"You want to come out of the gates strong," Langerhans said. "You've seen it tons of times where teams that weren't predicted to be in the thick of things get some (early) momentum and are able to keep it rolling. That's something we have to do."
The Mariners might have a difficult time keeping things rolling against the defending AL champions, who completed their home sweep of Boston with a 5-1 win Sunday. The Rangers (3-0) totaled 26 runs and 34 hits over the three games.
"It just makes a statement that we're here to try to duplicate last year, that we can do it against anybody," outfielder David Murphy said. "We did it against a great team."
Texas hasn't won its first four games since a 7-0 start in 1996, and left-hander Derek Holland will try to help his team pull off that feat.
The Rangers were originally scheduled to give Alexi Ogando his first major league start in this game but moved him to Tuesday.
"The other guys have more experience (starting)," manager Ron Washington told the league's website. "We can adjust as we go along."
Holland is coming off a season in which he had to deal with a rotator cuff inflammation and being shuffled between the majors and minors. The left-hander was 3-4 with a 4.08 ERA in 14 appearances -- 10 starts -- in 2010.
The Seattle Mariners left-hander is expected to make his first start since July 25, 2009, on Monday night against the Texas Rangers, who are seeking their first 4-0 start in 15 years.
The Mariners seemed to get a prized starter in February 2008 when they acquired Bedard from Baltimore in a six-player deal, months after he finished 13-5 and third in the AL with 221 strikeouts.
8:05 PM ET, April 4, 2011
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Gameday Matchup
Seattle Texas
W-L 2 - 1 3 - 0
Night 2-0 1-0
Grass 2-1 3-0
Current Streak L1 W3
Last 10 2-1 3-0
Pitching Matchup
Seattle Texas
Erik Bedard
0-0, 0.00 ERA
Derek Holland
0-0, 0.00 ERA
WATCH Seattle Mariners vs Texas Rangers NOW
Injury Report
Seattle
* David Aardsma RP - Apr 2: 15-Day DL
* Franklin Gutierrez CF - Apr 1: 15-Day DL
Texas
* Scott Feldman SP - Apr 2: 15-Day DL
* Brandon Webb SP - Apr 1: 15-Day DL
Gameday Line
FAVORITE OPEN CUR UNDERDOG O/U
@Texas N/A 170 Seattle 9
After enduring two surgeries on his pitching shoulder and sitting out the 2010 season, Erik Bedard is just happy to be healthy.
The Seattle Mariners left-hander is expected to make his first start since July 25, 2009, on Monday night against the Texas Rangers, who are seeking their first 4-0 start in 15 years.
The Mariners seemed to get a prized starter in February 2008 when they acquired Bedard from Baltimore in a six-player deal, months after he finished 13-5 and third in the AL with 221 strikeouts.
Bedard, though, has made just 30 starts during his injury-plagued tenure with Seattle. He went on the disabled list twice in 2008, with shoulder surgery ending his season in July.
He developed inflammation in the same shoulder in the middle of the next season and underwent a procedure to repair a torn labrum on Aug. 14, 2009. The following August, he needed to have bone spurs removed.
"He was one of the best left-handers in the league when he was at his best in Baltimore," manager Eric Wedge told the league's website during spring training. "He feels good, and we're hoping he can stay there."
Bedard seems to have emerged a better pitcher from that trying time as he was 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in his first five starts this spring. In his final one at Dodger Stadium last Wednesday, he gave up five runs and seven hits over four innings.
"It's been a long couple of years," Bedard said after that game. "I worked hard in the offseason to get where I'm at, and it paid off. Here I am."
The Mariners are hoping an effective Bedard can help them build on a solid start. Seattle (2-1) won its first two games in Oakland this weekend but got only Ryan Langerhans' home run in a 7-1 loss Sunday.
"You want to come out of the gates strong," Langerhans said. "You've seen it tons of times where teams that weren't predicted to be in the thick of things get some (early) momentum and are able to keep it rolling. That's something we have to do."
The Mariners might have a difficult time keeping things rolling against the defending AL champions, who completed their home sweep of Boston with a 5-1 win Sunday. The Rangers (3-0) totaled 26 runs and 34 hits over the three games.
"It just makes a statement that we're here to try to duplicate last year, that we can do it against anybody," outfielder David Murphy said. "We did it against a great team."
Texas hasn't won its first four games since a 7-0 start in 1996, and left-hander Derek Holland will try to help his team pull off that feat.
The Rangers were originally scheduled to give Alexi Ogando his first major league start in this game but moved him to Tuesday.
"The other guys have more experience (starting)," manager Ron Washington told the league's website. "We can adjust as we go along."
Holland is coming off a season in which he had to deal with a rotator cuff inflammation and being shuffled between the majors and minors. The left-hander was 3-4 with a 4.08 ERA in 14 appearances -- 10 starts -- in 2010.
