Rainier's Report

PHOTO BY JEFF LACHER

SWEET SWING. Dustin Ackley came through with a game-winning pinch hit sacrifice fly.

RAINIERS MAINTAIN GOOD LEAD IN PCL

Once again it was a different Rainiers team that came home July 23 for another short four-game homestand. New faces were plentiful, and some familiar ones were missing, at least for one game.

Dustin Ackley made his Cheney Stadium debut in fine style. Last year’s first-round draft pick by the Mariners (second overall), Ackley was called up from Double-A West Tennessee on July 14. In 12 Rainier games, he’s batting .268 with a home run and nine RBI.

That home run came in Reno on July 15, when he hit out the second Triple-A pitch he saw.

He also accounted for the game-winning run on July 25.  Even though Ackley was not in the starting line-up, he lifted the team to victory with a ninth-inning pinch-hit fly ball to left that scored David Winfree from third. He was rewarded with a pile-on from his teammates at first base and a shaving-cream pie during a post-game interview. The final score was 3-2.

With that win and another on July 26, the Rainiers improved their record to 58-44 in the Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division, seven-and-a-half games ahead of Salt Lake City. The Rainiers currently have the best winning percentage of any PCL team.

Michael Pineda continues to impress with each start. Since being called up from West Tennessee on June 20, the right-hander is 3-1 in six starts, with an ERA of 3.71. He has 42 strikeouts while giving up only nine walks.

Rainiers manager Daren Brown said both these players have a chance to be really good major-league players.

“Pineda has outstanding stuff, and Ackley is taking to learning a new position really well. He just has to get used to seeing the pitchers in this league.”

Ackley is the Rainiers’ starting second baseman. He played mostly in the outfield during college.

Another new face on the roster was Mike Sweeney. Still rehabbing from a bad back, Sweeney DHed for the Rainiers in several games following the all-star break. He’s done pretty well, too. In seven games he made 27 plate appearances and batted .296.

LHP Chris Seddon was one of those missing from the team following the all-star break. Seddon was picked to replace another Rainier starter, Luke French, on the Triple-A all-star roster, when French was promoted to Seattle for one game on July 9. But then just before the Triple-A game on July 14, Seddon was also promoted to the Mariners and was not eligible to pitch in the game in Lehigh Valley, Penn.

Seddon has been impressive since his call up to the Mariners’ bullpen. He has appeared in four games, pitching a total of 8.1 innings, going as many as three innings in a game. His record as of July 26 is 1-0, with a barely visible ERA of 1.08. The one run he gave up was a home run on July 21 to Aramis Ramirez of the Chicago White Sox. He has struck out six and has no walks.

Brown, who managed the Triple-A all-star game, said he enjoyed the experience, adding “It was fun, and I appreciated the opportunity to go.”

Brown was missing from the Rainiers’ game on July 24. He was serving a suspension he received for defending his pitcher Scott Patterson in Reno on July 19. Patterson was tossed for allegedly throwing at a batter, and Brown was ejected and suspended for arguing with the umpire over the pitcher’s ejection.

“It’s one of those things that’s going to happen at some point,” Brown said. It was his first suspension from a game.

The Rainiers are on the road in Fresno on July 27-30. They return for another four-game homestand, this one against Reno, July 31-Aug. 3. Games on July 31 and Aug. 2 begin at 7 p.m. On Aug. 1, the game starts at 1:30 p.m. There’s another 11:30 a.m. matinee game on August 3. All games can be heard on 850 AM. The game on July 31 can also be seen on Comcast channel 179.

– By Rick Walter

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