Mariners' Steve Cishek: No setbacks in second day of throwing

Cishek (hip) indicated that everything went without a hitch in his second day of throwing Thursday, Owen Perkins of the Mariners' official site reports. "I'm playing catch every other day," said Cishek. "I expect to throw again in another two days and keep building up my hip strength."

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Cishek initially hoped to be ready for Opening Day, but now admits he will probably need to wait a bit longer before returning to regular-season action. The 30-year-old reliever has now changed his goals to simply pitching during spring training. "I'd like to be pitching in spring training games," Cishek said. "It'll take a little longer before I'm ready to pitch in regular-season games, but I'd like to get that far before the end of the Cactus League games." With Edwin Diaz now firmly entrenched as the team's closer heading into the season, Cishek will have to settle into either a seventh or eighth inning role for the Mariners. However, his experience as a closer keeps him in the mix for saves should Edwin Diaz suffer an injury or struggle.