Whalen (0-1) allowed two unearned runs on four hits, a walk, a wild pitch and a hit batsman over three innings in Thursday's 4-0 Cactus League loss to the Giants. He struck out three.
As his line implies, the 23-year-old undeniably had some location problems, but he also kept the strikeouts coming. Whalen is up to nine whiffs over eight spring innings, and one of the two unearned runs he allowed Thursday came on a double-play ball. Whalen's pair of exhibition starts have come as a result of Felix Hernandez's forearm injury, and with the latter beginning to ramp up his activity level in anticipation of a return, Thursday's turn may have been Whalen's last in the spring rotation. However, he's expected to continue getting a look out of the bullpen in anticipation of a potentially steady relief role with the big-league club at some point during the coming season.