Ryan Divish

The Seattle Times

Mike Zunino was out of the Mariners’ lineup for Thursday night’s series finale vs. the Angels. And he won’t be back in it for at least 10 days.

In what was supposed to be an off-day for him on Wednesday, Zunino came into the game as a pinch hitter and later injured his ankle while running the bases.

“He turned his ankle,” manager Scott Servais said in Thursday’s pregame media session. “He’s getting it checked out right now. We don’t quite know how bad it is yet. We’ll know more in a little bit. He’s going to see the doctor this afternoon.”

About an hour later, the team announced that Zunino had been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a bone bruise on his left ankle. David Freitas was recalled from Class AAA Tacoma to take Zunino’s place on the roster. Zunino will be eligible to return on July 15.

Servais wasn’t certain how or when Zunino exactly injured the ankle.

“I wasn’t aware of it until this morning,” Servais said. “He told the trainers last night when he left that he had rolled it. And when he woke up this morning, it was pretty stiff. Not good news, but things happen and hopefully he’s OK. I’m not even sure what play it happened on. In the ninth inning, he singled and went first to third on the double on Span, maybe that’s when it happened.”

The Mariners had hoped to avoid placing Zunino on the disabled list. If it were only a minor injury, they could have carried three catchers and optioned a reliever back to Tacoma.

“If we need to make a roster move, we’ll do it right before the game,” Servais said pregame. “But I want to talk to Mike myself when he gets here.”

What’s added to the frustration for Servais was the quality of at-bats he saw from Zunino just before the injury. Before Wednesday’s game, Zunino worked extensively in an early batting practice session with hitting coach Edgar Martinez and Mariners catching coordinator Mike Miccuci. They were trying to iron out some issues with Zunino’s set-up before the swing as well as some issues with his swing. It yielded positive results later in the game. Zunino drew a walk as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and then had a nice single in the ninth inning.

“His at-bats yesterday were outstanding,” Servais said. “He was seeing the ball and tracking the ball much better. He made a little adjustment in his set-up that quieted his head movement down. He got the walk and put a really good swing on a ball. It’s disappointing he may be out more than a couple of days.”

Also …

• After taking batting practice before Thursday’s game, Mitch Haniger was scratched from the Mariners’ starting lineup with a bruised right knee. Haniger collided with the wall on multiple occasions in Wednesday’s loss to the Angels.

• Felix Hernandez said the lower back stiffness he’s been dealing with for the last week wont’t be an issue when he makes his start on Friday night. Hernandez tweaked his back while working out on the previous East Coast road trip and had a difficult time getting the back to loosen up in his previous outing vs. the Royals.

“I’m fine,” he said. “I haven’t done much, but I did throw my bullpen between starts. I just threw nice and easy.”

• Erasmo Ramirez (right teres major strain) threw his second bullpen session on Wednesday and came out of it with no issues. He’ll throw another bullpen session and then graduate to at least two live batting practice sessions before going out on a rehab stint.