There wasn’t a dull moment in the last 36 hours of Erasmo Ramirez.
The right-hander was planning on starting today for the Double-A Jackson Generals. On Sunday night, he was informed he’d be starting for the Tacoma Rainiers on Monday in place of left-hander Anthony Vasquez.
Because of hectic travel arrangements, he didn’t arrive at Cheney Stadium until after 3 p.m. But the commotion didn’t faze him. The young right-hander went out and gave the Rainiers six solid innings in a 4-2 win over the Las Vegas 51s.
He gave up eight hits and walked three batters, and had runners on base in every inning. And yet, he gave up just one run in six innings of work.
“I thought he battled through and made some pitches when he needed to,” Rainers manager Daren Brown said. “For his start here, I thought he did a nice job.”
Naturally, Ramirez admitted to being a little nervous.
“Oh, my God, yes,” he said. “It’s a move up. It’s a different level. Better hitters. More experience.”
The only run he allowed came in the second. Back-to-back singles and a passed ball to start the inning led to Kevin Howard’s run-scoring ground ball.
“For me it is just (about) continuing to battle,” Brown said. “Especially in the PCL, you are going to give up hits … nothing really seemed to rattle him.”
Ramirez’s mindset was simple.
“Do what I know – throw strikes,” he said. “I tried to make it difficult for the other team. They had to hit me.”
SHORT HOPS
The Mariners made a couple of transactions before Monday’s game. To make room for the addition of the recently acquired Trayvon Robinson, Tacoma sent DH Luis Jimenez to Double-A Jackson. Also, first baseman Matt Mangini was placed on the temporarily inactive list.
ON TAP
The Rainiers will have a matinee game as they wrap up the four-game series with Las Vegas and close out the homestand. First pitch is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. Left-hander Nate Robertson (3-4, 7.50 ERA) will get the start for Tacoma, while Las Vegas will go with recently acquired right-hander P.J. Walters (7-4, 4.27 ERA).
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