A's Anderson gets another start vs. rebuilding Mariners
Tanner Anderson's first major league start went so well, he's getting another chance. The Oakland Athletics right-hander is scheduled to face the visiting Seattle Mariners on Sunday afternoon in the finale of a three-game series. Pitching just a few miles from where he grew up, the 26-year-old made his A's debut last Monday at Tampa Bay, limiting the hot-hitting Rays to two runs on three hits over 5 2/3 innings in a game the A's eventually lost 6-2. Anderson walked two and struck out five. That was just supposed to be a spot start in his hometown, but the A's have kept him around. "I thought he did great," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "Obviously some pressure here being at (Anderson's) home. I'm sure he's got a lot of people here, and he performed past our expectations. "He went through a really good lineup with a lot of left-handers who were swinging the bat really well at the time. Didn't look like there was any trepidation. He deserves a second start." Anderson opened with 5 1/3 scoreless innings before allowing a two-run homer to Tampa Bay's Brandon Lowe in the sixth. "Composure-wise, he looked like he'd been pitching and starting all year for us," Melvin said. Anderson made his major league debut last season, going 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA in six relief appearances for the Pittsburgh Pirates. "My first dream was to play at this level, and that was awesome -- that happened last year," Anderson told MLB.com. "My second dream was to pitch in Tropicana (Field). So it was awesome -- a dream come true." Anderson won't have to worry about facing the American League's home run leader, as the Mariners traded Edwin Encarnacion to the New York Yankees on Saturday night in exchange for minor league right-hander Juan Then, with both teams contributing to the remainder of Encarnacion's contract. "Edwin did great things here for us," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "I really think a lot of him, how he went about his business here, knowing that this could probably happen. It's hard to go out and produce the way he did. He did everything we could ask of him." After dealing away Encarnacion and veteran slugger Jay Bruce, the Mariners' rebuild is in full effect. "We'll look at a lot of different guys as we continue to move down the road and do this rebuild thing," Servais said Saturday after Seattle's 11-2 loss to Oakland. "You see every night, even tonight, some really exciting players out there. It's just the consistency of it all. "But you have to give guys opportunities. They have to get the experiences out there, and then through the whole process, you evaluate who's going to be able to make the grade going forward and who isn't." The Mariners are scheduled to send veteran right-hander Mike Leake (5-6, 4.26 ERA) to the mound. Leake is 2-3 with a 4.45 ERA in 10 career starts against Oakland, including two starts this season. On May 14 in Seattle, Leake got the victory by allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits in 6 2/3 innings of a 4-3 game. He walked one and struck out six. On May 26 in Oakland, Leake allowed only three hits in 6 2/3 innings, but two of those were home runs. He surrendered five runs, walked three and struck out four in a 7-1 defeat. --Field Level Media |