For the first half of the season http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-manny-machado-jersey , Marco Gonzales was a pain in the neck for opposing batters.But recently, it’s a pain in his neck that’s kept Gonzales sidelined.The left-hander has missed his past two starts but threw a 35-pitch session off the mound last Friday and is expected to come off the disabled list Tuesday to start the series opener against the San Diego Padres at Safeco Field.Article continues below ...“I was dealing with some fatigue, some neck aches, some things I was battling through and trying to push through, hoping it would get better,” Gonzales told MLB.com. “So, putting that aside, I think there’s not going to be anything stopping me from returning to what I was doing before.”Gonzales was 12-5 with a 3.37 ERA through his first 21 starts this season. But in August he was 0-4 with a 10.35 ERA in four appearances.“I want to see the same guy we saw in June and July,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He was cruising. He does feel fine physically and is throwing all his pitches in the bullpen. He probably won’t go as long. First time out, you’re probably looking at 75 pitches or something like that. Again, we just want to see him healthy Chris Davis Jersey , executing pitches and feeling good about things.”Gonzales admitted being on the DL for the past 10 days while his teammates have tried to stay in the American League playoff race has been frustrating. The Mariners have dropped 7 1 /2 games behind Oakland in the chase for the league’s second and final wild-card berth.“Those are obviously very important starts,” he told MLB.com. “The opponents are very important that we’re going to be facing, so I won’t take it lightly. I’ve been anxious and champing at the bit the past couple weeks as I’ve been waiting to get back out there.”The Padres are scheduled to start right-hander Bryan Mitchell (1-3, 6.58 ERA) in the opener of the two-game series. Mitchell will be making his second start since missing three months with a right elbow impingement. In his first appearance off the DL on Sept. 3, Mitchell allowed one run and two hits in five innings of a 6-2 victory against Arizona.“I’m just trying to take things one start at a time,” Mitchell told MLB.com. “I know nothing’s guaranteed at this point. But it’s definitely a good stepping stone moving forward. (The Arizona game) felt really good after the way the season’s gone for me. I needed that one.”With off days and a six-man rotation, Mitchell has had plenty of rest since his last start.“If they have six or seven days off in between, it’s not going to hurt them at this point in the season,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “I don’t think we have a huge plan to alter this rotation. (Mitchell) did a solid job (against Arizona), and we want him to continue to build off it.”Neither Mitchell nor Gonzales (12-9, 4.32) has ever faced Tuesday’s opponent before.The Padres swept a two-game series between the teams in late August in San Diego http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-brooks-robinson-jersey , winning 2-1 and 8-3. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Bobby Evans was fired Monday as the San Francisco Giants‘ general manager.The team said Evans will be reassigned, with responsibilities to be determined.The move came as the Giants began the final week of the season at 72-84, their second straight losing record.“I made the decision, really,” CEO Larry Baer said. “At this point, we needed to take a fresh approach to baseball operations.”The club will start a search for a new head of baseball operations.“We’re looking for someone that sort of is the ‘next gen’ general manager, if you will,” Baer said.“People will say ‘new school versus old school,’ people will say ‘analytics versus scouting,’ and I think that the new, next-generation general manager is able to do both Cal Ripken Jersey , and will bring both to the mix.”Evans was hired by the Giants in 1994, became vice president of baseball operations in 2009 under general manager Brian Sabean and was promoted to GM in April 2015 when Sabean became executive vice president of baseball operations.“He’s a big part of our family tree,” Sabean said. “I came into the organization in ’93 and I believe Bobby shortly thereafter in ’94. We’ve not only grown together in endeavors professionally with the Giants, we’ve grown together as people and it’s a big part of your lifetime.”The Giants won World Series championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014. They made the playoffs again in 2016, but are 166-224 since taking a major league-best 57-33 record into the All-Star break that year.Baer said the team is open to female candidates.“Sure,” he responded. “I haven’t considered anybody yet, since we’re just making this announcement now, but we would consider, of course, females.”Baer deflected the notion that the Giants were blaming Evans for their recent struggles.“Brian Sabean and Bobby Evans at the helm over 26 years http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-dylan-bundy-jersey , I would match their record with pretty much anybody in the sport and even beyond the sport,” Baer said. “So when we start talking about blame and start talking about that kind of thing, I mean I understand the question . you want to blame the last year and this year to some extent, but I don’t step back and think of this in terms of blame, I think of this in terms of it’s been an incredible run, an incredible journey, but it is time now to create the next — to create the blueprint of the future.”