What It Means:

Paxton has been sidelined for almost a month with a left forearm strain, so while he'll take the mound as a starter tonight, the Mariners will likely keep a close eye on his pitch-count.

Paxton was off to an excellent start to 2017 before the injury, with a 1.43 ERA, 3.19 SIERA, 30.0 percent strikeout rate, 7.3 percent walk rate and 0.98 WHIP through six starts (37 2/3 innings pitched).