EVERETT — Everett AquaSox catcher Ray Guerrini only had to wait until his second professional start for his first chance to catch a major leaguer.
The undrafted free agent out of West Virginia University got the nod behind the plate for Seattle Mariners left-hander Wade Miley’s rehab start Friday at Everett.
“It was really fun, but honestly it was really simple and easy because whatever I called or wherever I sat he threw right to the glove,” Guerrini said. “It was kind of nice catching him because he kind of got his mindset on how to attack batters and what to throw in certain counts, so it was a great experience for me.”
Miley struck out seven in his four-inning rehab stint. Guerrini said Miley’s command was impeccable.
“We talked about it in the pitchers’ meeting — how effective he was — because he could throw every pitch for a strike,” Guerrini said. “You could go down 2-0 and instead of serving up a fastball he could throw a changeup or a breaking ball for a strike that they’re not going to be sitting on.”
Having a major leaguer throw four scoreless innings certainly helps, but the AquaSox pitching staff has been impressive so far this season. The overall team earned run average sits at 2.54, while the bullpen has an ERA of 1.83.
Tim Viehoff allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings of relief of Miley Friday and Brandon Miller followed with 3 ⅔ innings of one-run ball.
“Viehoff and Miller last night stepped up, followed Miley’s lead and they really competed well,” Everett manager Rob Mummau said. “Viehoff had a really good changeup working last night and got a lot of swings and misses, and Miller really pounded the fastball in the zone. It was good to see for both those guys.”
Prospects finding strokes
Top prospect Kyle Lewis, the Mariners’ first-round selection in the 2016 draft is hitting just .219 for the season, but has shown glimpses of his potential in recent games. In the three games prior to Saturday’s contest Lewis was 5-for-13 with with two doubles, two walks and three runs scored.
Similarly Bryson Brigman, Seattle’s third-round pick this year, is 7-for-14 with five runs in the past three games entering Saturday’s game to raise his average to .267.
“I was struggling a little bit at the beginning,” Brigman said. “Maybe things were moving a little bit quick for me and things like that, but yeah, I feel like I’m settling in pretty well now and seeing the ball pretty well and being able to put some good at-bats together and just help the team win, which is the ultimate goal.”
Getting reacclimated to seeing live pitching after a layoff following the end of the college season was also a factor, Brigman said.
“I didn’t even get to play in the exhibition game, so I kind of jumped right into it,” Brigman said. “I definitely had a little bit of rust that I had to knock off, but I feel like at this point it’s kind of the same game. Nothing has really changed too much and I think I’m settling in.”
Brito, Cowan off to strong starts
Sox first baseman Kristian Brito entered Saturday’s game third in the Northwest League in hitting with a .414 average and second in both on-base percentage (.481) and slugging (1.055). Teammate Jordan Cowan was fourth in hitting at .391 and third in on-base percentage at .469.
Brito began the season with a six-game hitting streak that was snapped in Friday’s 3-2 win over Boise, but ended the game with a walk-off walk for the game-winning RBI to keep his seven-game on-base streak intact.
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