The time to impress the major league club is winding down quickly, and with Seattle Mariners execs in attendance Sunday – and a sudden need for outfielders – the Tacoma Rainiers put on a show.
Coming from behind with a four-run eighth inning, the Rainiers beat the Fresno Grizzlies, 7-5, allowing a Cheney Stadium crowd of 7,215 to celebrate after the next-to-last game of Tacoma’s season.
Meanwhile, as the Mariners were losing to the Athletics in Oakland, they lost outfielders Franklin Gutierrez and Casper Wells to injury.
A pair of candidates – outfielders Carlos Peguero and Greg Halman – put together marvelous auditions.
With Mariners scout Greg Hunter and executives Tom McNamara and Hide Sueyoshi watching, center fielder Halman had a pair of doubles and raised his average to .291.
And Peguero? The big right fielder with the violent swing tripled, singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and threw two runners out at the plate.
“We had five guys with two hits and we did some damage with them,” manager Daren Brown said. “And Erasmo Ramirez gave up two first inning runs and then held them to two hits through the seventh inning.
“You get a 21-year-old pitcher doing that, it’s kind of exciting.”
As for those two young outfielders?
“Peguero is still a work in progress,” Brown said. “He came off the disabled list last week and hit a home run off the scoreboard, then had a four-strikeout game. He needs at-bats, and lots of them, but he’s coming. He’s working hard.
“Halman has a lot of things he can do to help you win a game – he got a couple of hits and stole a couple bases the other night, had the two doubles today. But the issue is the same for him – consistency.
“There’s a reason they’re here. They’re close, but there’s work to be done.”
And if Eric Wedge called and asked him which outfielder was closest?
“That,” Brown said, winking, “would be between Mr. Wedge and me.”
For as wild a finish as the two teams strung together, this was a 2-1 Fresno lead through six innings, with Grizzlies starter Shaun Loux working around a handful of hits until the seventh inning.
Then Mike Wilson, a hot-hitting outfielder (.335) who was the designated hitter Sunday, doubled – and first baseman Johan Limonta lined his 14th home run of the season just over the wall in the right field corner for a 3-2 lead.
From that point, both teams seemed to realize this was the Pacific Coast League, where offense dominates. Fresno scored twice against Forrest Snow in its half of the eighth inning to take a 4-3 lead.
Then the Rainiers made a five-hit charge that was the difference.
Halman doubled and Alex Liddi picked up his 101st RBI with a single to tie it, taking second base on an error. Peguero singled Liddi home to put Tacoma ahead, 5-4, Wilson doubled Peguero home and shortstop Carlos Triunfel capped it with an RBI single.
Scott Patterson worked the ninth inning, giving up a run and allowing the potential tying run to get to the plate, but got the final two outs on outfield fly balls to get his ninth save.
That leaves the Rainiers with a 70-73 record going into today’s finale, which may or may not find them one outfielder short. Should the Mariners call, they’ll have almost a handful of candidates – from Peguero and Halman to Wilson and Michael Saunders, who’s batting .290.
ON TAP
Tacoma hosts the Fresno Grizzlies in the final Rainiers game of the season, a 1:35 p.m. start today. Probable starting pitchers: Fresno’s Matt Yourkin (9-8, 4.58 ERA) vs. Nate Robertson (6-6, 6.52).
larry.larue@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners
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