Seattle Mariners Redux

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August 12th 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- Spoke with Mariners owner Bob Vaughn yesterday. The search process for front office positions is ongoing. Vaughn is really hoping to make a splash with a big name to run the baseball operations side of the organization. He was mum on the actual candidates that were set to interview.

- Had a tour of the Kingdome Tuesday. The Mariners certainly won't lack for modern facilities. The field was configured for football for the upcoming Seahawks exhibition game.

- The Mariners are looking for bat/ball boys and girls for the 1977 season. Anyone interested should contact Mariners Public Relations at 206-555-3993 or drop by 201 S. King Street between 9:00am and 4:00pm.

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October 21st, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- Surprising move by Bob Vaughn hiring Iain Craige as Mariners GM yesterday. Not the big name he was hinting at. Craige served as an assistant to John McHale in Montreal before throwing his hat in the ring for the M's job. Young and considered to be an up and comer in the front office ranks. But I don't know if this is what an expansion team needs right now.

- One good thing that Craige brings, though, is a great working relationship with Quebec Metros manager Brendan Priddy. The former Mexican League star is one of the hottest managerial prospects in baseball. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the M's dugout in some capacity.

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October 23rd, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- Had a chance to sit down and talk baseball with Iain Craige after this afternoon's introductory press conference. He's optimistic about the Mariners' outlook in the long-term, but admits that there will surely be some growing pains in the coming year. He has already been setting up interviews for the M's managerial postion.

- Know your away around a rake? The Mariners are accepting applications for Kingdome grounds crew. Contact Dan Lambert at 206-555-3971.

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October 26th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- Not surprised that the M's have opted to go with Brendan Priddy as their first-ever manager. GM Iain Craige had spoke glowingly of his skills as a game manager. And I couldn't find anyone with anything other than praise from within the Expos organization on the hire.

- Also not surprised to hear the news that long-time Mexican League pitcher Andy Hampton had been named Mariners' pitching coach. I was always surprised that he never really got a serious shot to stick in the majors.

- Sticking with the Mexican League theme, Tejaro-native Julio Rodriguez joins the staff as hitting coach. Will be interesting to see how this former slap-hitting batting champs style meshes with the new Mariners hitters.

- Count me a fan of the hiring of former big league journeyman Garrett Brown to serve as Priddy's bench coach. Don't let the Ozark drawl fool you. Brown is one smart cookie.

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Meet the 1977 Mariners Coaching Staff (Left to Right): Manager Brendan Priddy, Bench Coach Garrett Brown, Pitching Coach Andy Hampton and Hitting Coach Julio Rodriguez.

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November 2nd, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- The Mariners participated in their 1st Amateur Draft yesterday. There were seven rounds of eligible freshman talent. Here are the M's draftees:

1st Round (2nd overall) - 1B Eddie Murray Switch-hitting, middle of the order type. Has all-around offensive talent. Only 20 years old, but already a major-league caliber player.

2nd Round (28th pick) - P Lary Sorensen 21 year old sinkerballing workhorse. GM Iain Craige says that he expects Sorensen to make the rotation out of Spring Training. Not blessed with a particularly good fastball. But it does have very good movement. Will pound the zone and make you beat him by swinging the bat.

3rd Round (54th pick) - P Willie Hernandez 22 year old Puerto Rican southpaw with a screwball that one scout referred to as "about as filthy of a pitch that I've seen at any level." Has great shot of breaking camp with the big club.

4th Round (80th pick) - SS Rafael Landestoy 23 year old from the Dominican Republic. Decent defender. Good speed. Contact hitter with no power. May be given the opportunity to fight for the shortstop job or a utility role. If not, expect Landestoy to earn a ticket to AAA.

5th Round (106th pick) - 3B Taylor Duncan 23 year old with a quick bat. Put up solid numbers in amateur ball. Some scouts have expressed a concern about Duncan's ability to transition over to using wood bats after his performance in summer leagues.

6th Round (132nd pick) - OF Dan Norman Power hitting prospect out of Barstow College.

7th Round (158th pick) - OF Joe Cannon Excellent athlete out of Pensacola Junior College. Very good speed. Lack of baseball experience sometimes shows up in his decision making at the plate and on the basepaths.

- Two weeks until the expansion draft. Lots of talk of legitimate, albeit expensive, talent that might come available. I can only imagine what Reds GM Dick Wagner is going through right now when trying to construct his protected list.

[Big T]

I like so far... Was a huge Mariners fan while in lived in Vancouver BC, had a chance to see the Kingdome and Griffey Jr, Buhner, Martinez and Johnson play the game.

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November 16th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- The M's participated in the Expansion Draft along with the Toronto Blue Jays in New York yesterday. The Mariners won the coin toss to pick 1st. Here's what the Mariners chose in order (35 players overall):

SS Dave Concepcion
2B Frank White
P Jim Lonborg
SS Frank Taveras
3B Enos Cabell
3B Sal Bando
C Bob Boone
P Randy Moffitt
P Fred Norman
P Jim Bibby
3B Doug Rader
OF Ollie Brown
OF Jose Rodriguez
SS Enzo Hernandez
2B Dave Cash
C Alan Ashby
P Bob Moose
P Rick Wise
C Steve Yeager
P Vic Albury
SS Mike Phillips
P Erik Wright
SS Dave Chalk
P Fred Holdsworth
P Joe Bennett
P Tomas Fabian
2B Joseph Anderson
C Jim Essian
SS Bert Campaneris
P Angelo Ferguson
2B Miguel Herrera
P Liam Garrison
SS Floyd Piper
P Mike Proly
P Jim Willoughby

- Unless GM Iain Craige is looking to corner the market on left-side infielders, there has to be some trades forthcoming. Perhaps there was a handshake deal (or two) to flip some of these players back to the team they came from in exchange for prospects.

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November 24th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- As was anticipated, GM Iain Craige has pulled the trigger on the first trades in franchise history. Here's a breakdown of the deals:

• Traded 3B Doug Rader, IF Dave Chalk, minor leaguers OF Joe Cannon and P Joe Coleman to the Texas Rangers for OF/1B Mike Hargrove.
• Traded 2B Dave Cash and ML P Tyler Graves to the Philadelphia Phillies for P Dave Burns and ML P's Darren Mills, David Morales and Randy Lerch.
• Traded SS Bert Campaneris and ML IF's Antonio Campos and Taylor Duncan to the New York Yankees for P Jesus Cerda and ML OF Larry Zimmerman.

- An M's team source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that they were approached by the Phillies organization during the expansion draft. The Phils offered up a package to reacquire Cash, rumored to be targeted by the Blue Jays. Burns is a top prospect after handcuffing AAA batters last season (0.47 ERA). Mills is a curveball specialist who split last season between AA and AAA (6-4, 1.91, 11 saves). Morales is a 19 year old with a major league fastball, serving as the Phillies A-ball closer (3-2, 3.79, 16 saves). The 22 year old Lerch saved 26 games at AA with a scintillating 0.82 ERA.

- Rader and Chalk were certainly going to be odd men out for the M's. Texas Scouts are certainly higher on Cannon (the M's 7th round pick this season) and Coleman (an 18 year old junkballer) than the M's front office. Hargrove is an on-base machine, though it appears he'll be pencilled in in LF (as opposed to his more natural 1B) barring any other moves.

- Campaneris and his relatively lofty $220,000 contract will fit right in with the win-at-all-expense Yankees. Campos has yet to show any improvement in the minors. The 21 year-old was certainly viewed as expendable, especially when the Yanks dangled Cerda and Zimmerman. Cerda, 23, went 3-7, 4.35 during 12 second-half starts for the Yankees and will be fighting for a spot in the M's rotation. The 18 year old Zimmerman split last year between Rookie and A ball, hitting .245 with 2 HR's and 8 SB's in 72 games. A fantastic athlete who already can play Gold Glove calibre defense in CF.

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November 25th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- In a somewhat shocking development, the Mariners have signed former Royals closer Steve Mingori to a 3 year contract. The 32 year old southpaw saved 19 games for Kansas City last season and sports a career ERA of 2.85 over his 7 big league seasons. Exact terms of the contract weren't disclosed. Mingori will be flying in for a physical on Thursday.

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November 27th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- The M's held an afternoon press conference, officially announcing the signing of closer Steve Mingori. The sinkerballer was all smiles on the podium. "I have to admit it wasn't easy leaving the Royals," he said. "It was a real privilege to play in my hometown. I know a lot of guys don't get the chance to do that. It was pretty special helping those guys build a winner. I know what it takes to be part of a newer franchise. I'm definitely looking forward to try and bring some of that success up here to Seattle."

- At the end of the presser, GM Iain Craige announced that the Mariners had just completed a deal that morning, swapping SS Enzo Hernandez and P Jim Bibby to the Dodgers for three minor leaguers: OF Dan Jenkins and P's Angel "Madman" Rocha and Rick Sutcliffe. Hernandez and Bibby were expansion picks who were caught in a logjam at their positions and will certainly provide the Dodgers with quality depth. More on the M's pick ups tomorrow.

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November 28th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- Here's one AL Scout's take on the prospects that the Mariners picked up from the Dodgers yesterday after shipping Enzo Hernandez and Jim Bibby to Los Angeles:

• OF Dan Jenkins - "I love this kid. Excellent speed, but best suited to the corner OF spots. Good arm. Moved up the ladder quick after killing A ball pitching. Could be a .300 hitter with 20 HR in a few years." Hit .274 with 16 HR's and 15 SB's in 107 ML games between A, AA and AAA.
• P Angel Rocha - "His nickname 'Madman' is an inside joke. A really friendly, positive clubhouse kid. Southpaw with a big league calibre fastball and slider. San Antonio is a tough place to pitch. Did a good job as their closer. This kid could develop into a really good starter if the M's want to go that route." The 23 year old went 5-3, 3.19, 18 saves between San Antonio and Albuquerque.
• P Rick Sutcliffe - "A real project. 6'7" righty with a good fastball, but no real feel for where it's going. Has a decent assortment of pitches. Another guy who Seattle might want to stretch out to see if he can hack it as a starter. Very coachable. Only 20 years old, so worth the gamble." Sutcliffe went 4-6, 2.62 with 25 saves between the Dodgers' AA and AAA farm teams.

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November 29th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- Seattle GM Iain Craige was at it again over the weekend. After some relative silence from the M's front office, this late fall has turned the Mariners' roster into a revolving door. Here's what happened:

• Traded 3B Sal Bando, C Bob Boone and ML P Chris Thomas to the Orioles for P Pat Wells and ML P's Enrique Lara and Earl Smith.
• Traded two minor leaguers (2B Chase Hayes and 1B Fernando Mejia) to the Expos for C Gary Carter.
• Trade C Steve Yeager, P Rick Wise, ML P Morgan Hughes and cash considerations to the Tigers for 1B Jason Thompson, P Brian Myers and ML 1B Fernando Mejia (who was flipped to Montreal in the Carter deal).
• Signed the following free agents to 1 year deals: C Ray Fosse, P Carlos Mojica and P Carl Harris.

- I had a chance to speak with another veteran scout on his breakdown of the players involved in the M's deals. His thoughts:

• On the Orioles deal: Bando looked old and slow last season. He lost his starting job and was barely above the Mendoza Line. Boone's a Gold Glove candidate and mashes lefties. Calls a great game. I would've liked to see the M's keep him and trade Ashby instead. Thomas has potential. Only 19 years old. Fastball/curveball guy. Throws his fastball too flat for my liking. Wells is a depth guy. He's bounced around. Finally got a shot with the Tigers last season, pitched OK. (3-0, 4.58). Lara's a young kid (21) who has a mid to high 90's fastball that moves. Did OK at AAA Rochester as their closer (2-6, 3.86, 24 saves). Needs to throw more strikes to make it to the next level. Smith is a horse. Lefty with a good slider, keeps the ball down. Free and easy motion, eats up a lot of innings (234 IP, 9-18, 4.56 between AA and AAA). Could develop into a back-of-the-rotation guy.
• On the Expos deal: Hayes chose baseball over football. We'll see how that works out. Very fast, very young (18). Terrible arm makes him sloppy on the DP. Really hard to project. Mejia is probably even better at 3B than 1B. Runs well, but sometimes looks lost on the basepaths. Hit .226 with 8 HR's at A ball, but I think he'll develop into a serviceable guy down the road. I still like Carter. He took a big step backward last year (.210/6/37 from .270/17/68). But I think he'll bounce back. This could be a steal for Seattle.
• On the Tigers deal: You get what you see with Yeager. Good defense, the occasional homer and not much else. Wise was horrible in Boston last year, but they kept running him out there every 4th day hoping he could figure it out (15-21, 5.46 over 277 ininngs). The M's are lucky to be out from under his contract. Hughes is 22 and is a huge (6'6") lefty. Total project guy. I just don't see why the Tigers felt the need to deal Thompson. 31 HR's as a 22 year old rookie? Why deal him? Very slow and not particularly good at 1B. Might be better suited to DHing. Myers is another head scratcher. He pitched very well at Toledo (2-2, 2.30, 26 saves). Has been a starter, and might be again.
• On the free agent signings: Fosse's a good gamble as a player. He can still hit (.319 at AAA, .273 for the Indians in limited duty). Avergae catcher. But will he play with Carter and Ashby in front him? The Dodgers used Mojica everywhere last year (4-3, 4.90, 2 saves, 2 starts). Lots of movement. Could be a utility pitcher for Seattle. Harris is a wily Canadian kid. 26 years old, pitched well at AAA last year (1-3, 2.91, 12 saves). Might do OK in the bigs. Has earned his dues.

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December 2nd, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- It was announced today that the Mariners have come to terms with free agent P Don Gullett. The young veteran southpaw is believed to have signed a 3 year deal with the M's. The signing of Gullett, who won 11 games for the Reds last season, sports a career record of 92-48 with a 3.10 ERA. The buzz over the signing was soon trumped by the news that the fellow expansionist Blue Jays had pulled the coup of the offseason by signing All Star flamethrower J.R. Richard.

- To make room on the 40-man roster for Gullett, the M's designated P Johnny Jones for assignment.

- The Major League Rule 5 draft was yesterday. Seattle chose not to draft any players. But they did lose one of their expansion draft choices, slick-fielding infielder Miguel Herrera. The 26 year old Herrera split last season between Detroit and AAA Toledo, hitting .258 for the big club. Herrera looked to be in line for a job with the M's, but GM Iain Craige chose not to protect him. The Braves selected Herrera (who was the M's 31st pick in the expansion draft) with the 5th overall pick.

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December 8th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- P Johnny Jones, who was designated for assignment earlier in the week to make room on the 40-man roster, was claimed by the Royals. Jones had been signed as a free agent 3 weeks ago.

- In what can only be described as a roster snafu, GM Iain Craige has taken advantage of the Mariners' low-team-on-the-totem-pole standing by claiming P Julian Gutierrez and 1B Luis Martinez off waivers from the Cardinals. The 18 year old Gutierrez is one of the better pitching prospects in the low minors, as evidenced by what an M's front office staffer described as "significant inquiries from other clubs." Martinez, a 6'5" 23 year old who hails from Nopalucan, Mexico, is a quality prospect. According to one scout who has seen him on numerous occasions, Martinez "has a beautiful swing with legitimate power, who also happens to be the slowest (and worst) baserunner I have ever seen in my 30 years in the game."

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December 14th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- It's been a busy past week for the Mariners as GM Iain Craige was at it again:

• Traded P's Carl Harris and Liam Garrison and ML's IF Ricardo Goena and OF Bill Burns to the Pirates for P Johnny Ray and cash considerations.
• Traded C Jim Essian to the Padres for ML's P Gary Nash, C Nick McKinney and cash.
• Traded P's Mike Proly, Fred Holdsworth and ML P Angel Cardoza to Oakland for P Terry Robinson.
• Signed FA P Jim Barr to a 3-year deal.
• Signed FA P Dave Roberts to a 1 year contract.

- We'll provide a breakdown of the deals tomorrow.

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December 15th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- Here's one NL scout's take on the recent deals by the Mariners:

• On the Pirates trade: Harris and Garrison are pretty much the same guy. Both pitched very well at AAA last year but have question marks with their control. Goena is a big kid with great defensive instincts. Arm isn't great, so he's better suited to 2B. Not much of a hitter. I think time's pretty much running out on him being any kind of major leaguer. Burns is 100% athlete, 10% ballplayer. A longshot, but worth being thrown in for the Pirates. Tanner loves his track stars in Pittsburgh. Ray was pretty much buried in the Buc's bullpen, pitching in low-leverage situations. Might have a little more upside than Harris and Garrison, but not much. My guess is 4 years from now we won't remember any of these guys.
• On the Padres trade: Essian was more or less the Orioles starting catcher last year after being traded over from the White Sox. Good leader, but didn't hit and really is just an average catcher. His number was up in Seattle after they traded for Carter. Nash was dominant at AA last year. Only 23, he could develop into a piece fo the M's bullpen puzzle over the next couple of years. McKinney's got a little bit of pop in his bat and tries really hard. Might make a backup catcher somewhere someday.
• On the Oakland deal: Proly and Holdsworth both pitched fairly well in the majors last year. Cardoza is not a big prospect. Robinson has all the tools to be better than Proly or Holdsworth, but needs to put it together. Pitched a ton out of that Oakland bullpen last year. Maybe the change of scenery will get him jumpstarted.
• On the signings of Jim Barr and Dave Roberts: I like what the M's are doing here. Both of these guys have been workhorse starters before last year. Don't know why their teams were so keen on moving them to the bullpen. These guys could really give a boost to Seattle's rotation for not a lot of money.

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December 20th, 1976

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- It's come to the point where if the Mariners pull the trigger on only one trade during the week it seems like a slow news day. But GM Iain Craige has shipped SS Mike Phillips to Cincinnati for minor league pitcher Bud Snook. Phillips was said to be unhappy in his projected role of utility infielder. According to someone in the Phillips camp "If Mike can start for the Mets, he can certainly start for a first-year expansion team. He understands that Concepcion is the shortstop, but he has extensive experience at second base and feels that that job should be his." The 26 year old Phillips, who had a line of .252/4/53 for New York last season, is a career .243 hitter over four seasons with the Giants and Mets.

- One scouting report on Bud Snook: "Canadian kid. Has the nickname 'Bandsaw' because that's the machine he operates in the offseason at the area lumbermill back home. 22 year old righthanded reliever. Throws a punishing sinker with devastating movement. Unfortunately also throws it with too much movement. Needs to cut down on walks to make it to the bigs. Split last year between AA and AAA. Had trouble locating the strike zone after he was promoted. Pitched 11 scoreless innings at AA. Went 2-3, 4.34 with 11 saves in AAA. IF he can take the next step forward, you might see him at some point in the second half in '77."

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February 25th, 1977

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- It's been a quiet couple of months for the Mariners with no roster moves of note, mainly the signing of minor league free agents to bolster the farm system.

- The Mariners yesterday released their preliminary Spring Training roster. Here's a list of players you'll be seeing if you make the trip down to Diablo Sadium in Tempe, AZ:

Pitchers	   1976 Club	       W-L	Saves	ERA	
       Vic Albury	Minnesota (AL)	        5-3	   1	        5.33	
         Jim Barr	San Francisco (NL)	8-4	   5	        3.40	
     Joe Bennett	Los Angeles (NL)	        1-0	   1	        2.88	
	               Albuquerque (AAA)	0-0	   2	        1.08	
     Dave Burns	Philadelphia (NL)	        0-1	   0	       13.50	
	             Oklahoma City (AAA)	1-1	  15	        0.47	
     Jesus Cerda	 New York (AL)	        3-7	   0	        4.35	
	                Columbus (AAA)	        4-9	   0	        3.72	
    Tomas Fabian	Springfield (AAA)	        4-3	  16	        2.39	
Angelo Ferguson	   Montreal (NL)	        0-1	   0	        4.60	
	                  Denver (AAA)	        1-3	  12	        2.28	
	                    Boston (AL)	        2-3      2	        6.15	
      Don Gullett	   Cincinnati (NL)	       11-6	   0	        3.47	
  Preston Hanna	    Atlanta (NL)	        0-0	   0	        1.59	
	                 Richmond (AAA)	        2-2	   2	        5.76	
	                 Savannah (AA)	        1-4	   9	        2.51	
 Willie Hernandez	   1st Year Pro	          -	   -	          -	
     Jim Lonborg	 Philadelphia (NL)	      17-12	   0	        3.92	
   Steve Mingori	 Kansas City (AL)	        4-4	  19	        2.65	
   Randy Moffitt	San Francisco (NL)	3-4	   1	        4.89	
	                   New York (AL)	        1-0	   0	        4.91	
    Carlos Mojica	 Los Angeles (NL)	        4-3	   2	        4.90	
     Bob Moose	  Pittsburgh (NL)	        5-2	   1	        3.28	
    Brian Myers	  Evansville (AAA)	        2-2	  26	        2.30	
    Fred Norman	   Cincinnati (NL)	      13-12	   2	        3.30	
    Dave Quinn	Out of Organized Ball	  -	   -	          -	
    Johnny Ray	   Pittsburgh (NL)	        1-2	   0	        2.10	
	                   Portland (AAA)	        0-2	   1	        9.00	
   Dave Roberts	     Detroit (AL)	        4-4	   1	        3.59	
  Terry Robinson	    Oakland (AL)	        5-5	   3	        3.93	
	                 Vancouver (AAA)	        0-0	   1	        0.00	
   Lary Sorensen	    1st Year Pro	          -	   -	           -	
     Pat Wells	    Detroit (AL)	        3-0	   0	        4.58	
    Jim Willougby	    Boston (AL)	        0-1	   3	        4.63	
	                    Detroit (AL)	        6-3	   1	        4.39	
     Erik Wright	    Atlanta (NL)	        0-0	   0	        5.00	
	                 Richmond (AAA)	        6-3	  14	        3.24	
					
      Catchers	     1976 Club	 AVG    HR	 RBI	 SB
     Alan Ashby	  Cleveland (AL)	.286 	   5	 28	 0
     Gary Carter	  Montreal (NL)	.210	   6	 37	 0
  Parker Crawford	  1st Year Pro	   -	   -	 -	 -
     Ray Fosse	  Cleveland (AL)	.273	   0	  2	 0
	                   Toledo (AAA)	.319	   6	 66	 3
  Nick McKinney	   Hawaii (AAA)	.263	   5	 33	 0
	                   Amarillo (AA)	.274	   5	 18	 0
					
      Infielders	     1976 Club	 AVG	  HR	 RBI	 SB
    Enos Cabell	   Houston (NL)	.279	   3	 52	 46
Dave Concepcion	  Cincinnati (NL)	.243	   7	 76	 27
Rafael Landestoy	   1st Year Pro	   -	   -	  -	  -
  Eddie Murray	   1st Year Pro	   -	   -	  -	  -
   Floyd Piper	 Evansville (AAA)	.226	   8	 54	 11
Jason Thompson	   Detroit (AL)	.247	  31	 89	  1
  Frank White	Kansas City (AL)	.228	   3	 33	 24
					
   Outfielders	     1976 Club	 AVG	  HR	 RBI	 SB
   Ollie Brown	 Philadelphia (NL)	.320	   6	 46	  0
	            Oklahoma City (AAA)	.125	   1	  3	  0
Edison Hammond	Out of Org. Ball	   -	   -	  -	  -
 Mike Hargrove	    Texas (AL)	.290	  10	 86	  1
  Dan Jenkins	Los Angeles (NL)	.209	   0	  2	  0
	              Albuquerque (AAA)	.216	   4	  7	  4
	               San Antonio (AA)	.231	   3	 15	  3
	                     Lodi (A) 	.314	   9	 28	  8
  Dan Norman	  1st Year Pro	   -	   -	  -	  -
Jose Rodriguez	  Oakland (AL)	.234	   5	 42	  9

Sorry about the formatting issues.

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March 8th, 1977

Mariners Minutes by Stan Dunn

- The Mariners played their inaugural Cactus League game at Diablo Stadium in Tempe yesterday, defeating the Cleveland Indians by the score of 4-3.

- Catcher Alan Ashby singled in his 1st at bat for the Mariners' first hit. Ashby later homered in the 7th for another Spring Training franchise first. Overall, Ashby, Ollie Brown and Gary Carter all notched two-hit games.

- Carter, playing RF in this matchup, was caught stealing twice.

- Rookie Lary Sorensen drew the start, going 4 shaky innings, allowing 7 hits and 2 walks. He worked out of a few jams, though, as he allowed only 2 runs.

- Terry Robinson was stellar in relief, hurling 4 innings of 1-hit ball. He allowed an unearned run in the 6th, courtesy of his own throwing error.

- Carlos Mojica pitched a perfect 9th for the save.