Mariners' Austin Nola: Expected to return Friday
Nola (knee) is expected to return for Friday's home opener against the Athletics, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports. "He had some tests run today and they came back pretty good," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "He's got some swelling in there, but nothing structural wrong with the knee at all, which is really good news. Anytime you are going to get an MRI on a catcher's knee, you get a little nervous."
If the timeframe holds, Nola will have missed three games after originally injuring the knee sliding into second base against the Astros on Monday. The 30-year-old was slashing .222/.417/.333 across 12 plate appearances before the injury, and his presence is particularly important with Tom Murphy (foot) still without a timetable to return.
