Starting pitcher Taijuan Walker left Wednesday night's game early with right forearm tightness, not a good sign for a Phillies team already dealing with multiple injuries in the starting rotation.
Walker threw 68 pitches over four innings but it became clear something was up when Luis Ortiz was warming up in the bottom of the fourth. He took over for Walker, who allowed five runs, all of them in the second inning.
After the game, manager Rob Thomson referred to it as precautionary but said Walker will be reevaluated Thursday.
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"Talking to (head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit), he doesn't have any major concerns with it, more precautionary than anything," Thomson said. "He'll see the doctor tomorrow and we'll reevaluate him then.
"It was after the second inning. Really, at that point, we didn't have any concerns. Then it lingered and we said that's enough, let's be smart about this and take him out."
Walker's night began with promise as he retired the Mariners in order in the first inning, needing just 10 pitches and striking out Julio Rodriguez and Jarred Kelenic in his first career start against the team that drafted him in 2010. But after Nick Castellanos put the Phils ahead with a two-run homer, Walker encountered two-out trouble in the second. He walked Cal Raleigh, allowed an infield single up the third base line to AJ Pollock, walked Kolten Wong and served up a first-pitch grand slam to former Phillie J.P. Crawford. The next batter, Rodriguez, also went deep.
Free passes have hurt Walker, who has walked 14 in 25⅓ innings.
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"That second inning, I just didn't really have command or know where (the ball) was going," Walker said. "After that, kind of loosened up a bit, still lingered the next two innings. Not concerned, just want to get ahead of it, probably could have kept going but we didn't want to make it worse."
The Phillies have played the first month of the season without Ranger Suarez and Andrew Painter, two projected members of their season-opening rotation who were sidelined early in spring training by elbow injuries. Suarez is set to begin a rehab assignment Thursday with Double A Reading and pitch two innings. He is expected to make three or four rehab starts before rejoining the Phillies in mid-May.
Painter began a throwing program about three weeks ago. The Phillies will build him back up slowly and carefully in hopes that he can contribute at the big-league level in the second half.
Walker was signed this offseason to a four-year, $72 million contract. He was wild his first two times out with the Phillies, then rebounded with two straight quality starts prior to Wednesday night. If he is forced to miss time, the next man up until Suarez returns would be left-hander Cristopher Sanchez, who started against the Rockies Saturday.
The Phils came back to win the game thanks to strong bullpen work and an eighth-inning rally that included four straight singles. Luis Ortiz, Seranthony Dominguez, Craig Kimbrel and Jose Alvarado combined four five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and no walks.
"The bullpen did a really good job of picking me up," Walker said. "They shut 'em down."