Whether he’s in a big league uniform with the Seattle Mariners or making his debut with the Tacoma Rainiers in Triple-A, Hector Noesi’s struggles on the mound continue.
The 6-foor-3, 200-pound right-hander lasted just 3 innings in his first game with Tacoma since being optioned from Seattle on July 5, giving up seven runs – five earned – and five walks in a no-decision in Tacoma’s 16-9 win over Colorado Springs on Saturday night at Cheney Stadium.
As the Mariners’ fifth starter, Noesi went 2-11 with a 5.77 earned-run average in 17 starts. His last win came May 6, in a 5-2 decision over Minnesota.
On Saturday, Noesi became the 14th different pitcher to start a game for Tacoma this season and was roughed up from the start. Colorado scored one run in the first, three in the second and two in the third.
After Noesi’s issued his fifth walk, this time to Brendan Harris with one out in the fourth, manager Daren Brown pulled him after 87 pitches (48 strikes).
The Rainiers erased the Sky Sox’s early 6-1 lead with five runs of their own in the third, capped off by Carlos Triunfel’s three-run home run to left field that tied the game at 6. Triunfel, the No. 8 hitter, finished 4-for-5 with five RBI, and he scored again after singling to lead off the seventh and then coming home on three Sky Sox errors on the play. Colorado Springs committed six errors in the game.
It was a battle of the bullpens for both teams from the fourth inning on, after Colorado starter Edwar Cabrera left after the third. Both teams combined for 13 runs from that point on.
The Rainiers tallied 10 of their season-high 16 runs and 14 of their 19 hits off the Sky Sox’s bullpen. Mike Carp’s three-RBI double in the fifth gave Tacoma its first lead at 11-8.
Guillermo Quiroz added insurance runs in the eighth with a three-run home run to left field.
WILSON INJURED
The game was delayed five minutes in the fifth inning when right fielder Mike Wilson dove to his right in an attempt to catch a hard-hit ball by Charlie Blackmon, but the ball hit Wilson’s face and ricocheted to center field. Wilson left the game under his own power, holding towels to his face that were brought out from the bullpen and dugout. Wilson’s status for today’s game is unknown.
ON TAP
The Rainiers and Sky Sox conclude their four-game series today at 1:35 p.m. Tacoma will send right-hander Andrew Carraway (3-4, 4.17 ERA) to the mound against Colorado Springs right-hander Rob Scahill (7-9, 5.60).
mwochnick@theolympian.com
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