PEORIA, Ariz. — San Francisco pitcher Kevin Pucetas continued his spotless spring by retiring all nine Seattle hitters he faced and outfielder Andres Torres homered, doubled and scored three times for a Giants split squad that beat the Mariners 8-4 Saturday.
Pucetas has turned it around from last spring when he had an 8.04 ERA and allowed 41 base runners in 15-plus innings. He has back-to-back, three-inning scoreless starts and has allowed just three hits in seven scoreless innings this spring.
“A year in Triple-A really helped me develop and mature as a player,” Pucetas said. “I know what to expect now and I saw what it takes to be successful. I think I’m a calmer guy.”
Seattle starter Doug Fister needed 61 pitches to get through his three innings, allowing six hits, although one of three Seattle errors led to three unearned runs in the first inning.
“He started the game with two broken bats (for singles) and then an error, so that’s three runs,” Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu said. “The ground is so hard down here and it’s tough on the fielders. You’d like to play on a regular major league field instead of a tarmac.”
Torres homered off Fister in the second, walked and scored in the fourth and doubled home a run before scoring in the eighth.
It was a tough day for the Mariner regulars, who managed just five hits.
Jose Lopez got the first hit with a one-out double in the fourth. Reserve Michael Saunders had a two-run homer during a three-run Seattle ninth.
Chone Figgins, attempting to make the transition to second base with the Mariners, had two errors within a span of three batters in the eighth inning. Outfielder Eric Byrnes’ headfirst slide on a fifth-inning double came well short of the bag and left him with nasty scrapes on his chin and forearms.
“I just head-butted second base,” Byrnes said. “I took off (too) soon, but I hit the dirt out there and just stuck. The field is pretty hard out there. But it’s not the first time I’ve done something like that and I promise you it won’t be the last. I continue to amaze myself every time I take the baseball field.”
Reserve Michael Saunders had a two-run homer during a three-run Seattle ninth and Guillermo Quiroz had two hits, including an RBI double.
NOTES: Seattle pitcher Erik Bedard, on the comeback trail from bursa and labrum surgery on his left elbow last August, threw from 120 feet for an extended period Saturday and is on track for his first bullpen session in about a week. Bedard wasn’t expected back until midseason at the earliest but his progress has fueled optimism that he could return earlier. … “Some people are saying I’m ahead of schedule but I’m taking it day by day right now,” Bedard said. “We have to go through the progression — bullpens, simulated games — and everything has to stay on course.” … The Mariners reduced their spring roster to 51 by assigning infielders Tommy Everidge and Brad Nelson, and outfielders Greg Halman Michael Wilson to their minor league camp. Everidge had two hits in five at-bats this spring, including a grand slam. … Giants second baseman Juan Uribe forgot his game jersey, so he wore No. 81 instead of his normal No. 5. … Mariners ace Felix Hernandez will make his spring debut Sunday in Tucson against the Colorado Rockies and will be limited to 50 pitches.
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