Nearly three years since his last professional victory, Denny Stark is a winner again.
Stark, out of baseball since 2005 because of injuries, pitched seven shutout innings Sunday to lead the Class AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx to a 7-6 victory over Mobile.
It was Stark’s first victory since June 7, 2005, when he pitched for the Colorado Springs SkySox — the Rockies’ Class AAA affiliate — and beat Tucson.
Since then, it’s been a journey of pain, two elbow surgeries and perseverance for the 33-year-old right-hander.
Elbow problems plagued Stark late in the 2005 season and he had Tommy John ligament surgery on Sept. 1 that year. One year and a day later, he underwent a second Tommy John surgery on the same elbow.
It appears to have worked this time, although Stark didn’t just pronounce himself healthy and start pitching again. He needed a team, and that’s where the Mariners come in.
The M’s drafted him in the fourth round in 1996, so he called them and asked if there was a place for him in the minor league system. They put him through a bullpen tryout at their facility in Peoria, Ariz., and saw that the arm seemed strong. The Mariners signed Stark and assigned him to their Southern League club at West Tennessee, where he has pitched well in three starts.
Sunday’s outing was by far his best. He held Mobile to two hits in seven innings and the Diamond Jaxx led 7-0 when he left the game. He’s 1-1 with a 3.63 earned run average.
Stark pitched his first big-league game with the Mariners in 1999 and stayed in the organization until 2001 when they traded him and pitcher Brian Fuentes to the Rockies for third baseman Jeff Cirillo.
Stark pitched three seasons for the Rockies, his best in 2004 when he went 11-4 with a 4.00 earned run average.
Elsewhere around the Mariners’ minor league system:
Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers: Eric O’Flaherty, who lost his job as the Mariners’ left-handed relief specialist and then struggled after being sent to the Rainiers, has been pitching well lately.
O’Flaherty hasn’t given up a run in his past four appearances, allowing four hits with no walks and eight strikeouts in five innings in those games.
Left-hander Ryan Feierabend’s great start to the 2008 season suffered a hiccup Sunday when he was knocked out in the third inning against Tucson. Feierabend is 4-1 with a 2.15 ERA.
Right-hander R.A. Dickey is 2-5 after a 4-2 loss to Tucson on Saturday.
Newly acquired outfielder Victor Diaz is hitting .304 with four home runs and 14 RBI in 31 games and first baseman Bryan LaHair has seven homers and 25 RBI. He’s batting .276.
Class A High Desert Mavericks: The Mariners have suspended highly regarded shortstop prospect Carlos Truinfel because of what the organization termed insubordination. He was sent to the Mariners’ extended spring training camp in Peoria, and the organization said there’s no timetable for his return.
Truinfel was batting .263 with five doubles, two triples, seven RBI and seven steals in 27 games before he was suspended. In nine games this month, he batted .405 and hadn’t made an error after committing eight errors in April.
Center fielder Greg Halman has hit five home runs in five games for the Mavericks. He is batting .270 with 11 homers and 29 RBI, but has 50 strikeouts in 163 at-bats.
Infielder Chris Minaker, of Edmonds-Woodway High School, is batting .270 with four homers and 20 RBI.
Right-hander Kyle Parker has a 4-0 record and a 3.29 ERA in nine starts, and he’s allowed only two home runs in 52 innings.
Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: Phillippe Aumont, the Mariners’ first-round draft pick last year, finally has an ERA. Aumont allowed his first run of the season on Sunday when he gave up an earned run on four hits in 42/3 innings. It was his second start of the season. Aumont is 2-2 with a 1.07 ERA.
Left-hander Donald Hume is 4-0, 2.02 and right-hander Michael Pineda is 3-0, 0.63 in seven games, four of them starts.
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