ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — At last, attention will turn to the mound.
Alex Cobb, out since sustaining a mild concussion June 15, will make his return to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday against the Seattle Mariners at Tropicana Field. The return is long-anticipated for the right-hander, who became one of his team's most consistent arms while earning a 6-2 record with a 3.01 ERA in 13 starts before being placed on the disabled list June 16.
"I never really had it in my mind that it wasn't going to get back to normal," Cobb said Tuesday. "The ease that the doctors gave me in letting me know that everything was going to be all right pretty much the first night, we kind of knew that after there was no skull fracture and there was no bleeding in the brain, we realized that it was going to be a slow, steady recovery process. Once that was over, it would be back to normal."
The path back has been a lengthy one for Cobb. He dealt with vertigo in the weeks after a line drive off the bat of the Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer struck him on the right ear. Then in his first rehab start with the Class A Charlotte Stone Crabs on July 23, a blister on his right index finger limited him to two pitches.
Cobb, 25, made three rehab starts with Charlotte and threw a combined 8 1/3 innings, allowing four runs and eight hits while striking out eight. He became the second pitcher at Tropicana Field to be struck by a line drive this season, following an incident involving Toronto Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ on May 7 in which Happ sustained a sprained right knee and a skull fracture after being struck behind his left ear.
Cobb said Tuesday that he has exchanged texts with Happ, and each pitcher shared their experiences. Happ is scheduled to start Saturday at Tropicana Field in the second of a three-game series between the Rays and Blue Jays.
Rays manager Joe Maddon said Cobb will be limited to about 90 pitches Thursday. On Wednesday, Maddon referenced the return of left-hander David Price from the disabled list July 2 against the Houston Astros, after recovery from a strained left triceps, as a hopeful result for Cobb.
"We'll see how it all works out," Maddon said. "Last time we went through this was with David. The same thing, and he went 70 (pitches) in seven (innings). So hopefully that will happen again tomorrow."
After almost two months of questions about his progress, Cobb is eager to see discussion turn to his performance. A scary incident is behind him, and he anticipates moving forward.
"I'm tired of hearing it," Cobb said. "I'm tired of seeing it. So hopefully on Thursday, we'll get it all behind me."
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
