With their grip on a division title getting weaker with every loss, Bobby Livingston tossed the Tacoma Rainiers a life ring on Friday.
The left-handed pitcher struck out 14 and shut down Sacramento in a 6-1 victory that halted a three-game Rainiers losing streak.
It gave the Rainiers a 78-63 record and reduced their magic number to two to win the Pacific Coast League Pacific North Division over second-place Salt Lake. They have two games remaining.
Outfielder T.J. Bohn was batting .329 in the 19 games since he was promoted from Class AA San Antonio. Abraham Nunez had 17 home runs and 85 RBI, both team highs.
Left-hander Damian Moss was 9-7 with a 3.73 ERA in 24 starts.
Right-hander Felix Hernandez, promoted to the Mariners on Aug. 4, was named the PCL’s rookie of the year and pitcher of the year last week. He went 9-4 with a 2.25 ERA, with 100 strikeouts in 88 innings for the Rainiers.
Elsewhere around the Mariners’ minor league system:
Class AA San Antonio Missions: The Missions entered Saturday’s game at Corpus Christi needing one victory to clinch their fourth postseason playoff berth in the past five seasons.
They were 38-30 and tied for first with Midland in the Texas League West Division, but holds the tiebreaker edge of Midland in the event the both finish with the same record. The season finale is today.
Outfielder Jaime Bubela entered Saturday with a .293 average and a 13-game hitting streak, and infielders Luis Oliveros and Adam Jones were hitting .295
Left-handed pitcher Thomas Oldham was 13-7 with a 3.67 ERA.
Two players who started the season with the Missions but were promoted to Class AAA Tacoma – outfielder T.J. Bohn and pitcher Bobby Livingston – were named to the league’s postseason All-Star team.
Class A Inland Empire 66ers: The team will finish the season in last place of the California League South, but a few players are on season-ending hot streaks.
Outfielder Wladimir Balentien had hit safely in 27 of 30 games, entering Saturday, with a .356 average, nine home runs and 34 RBI in that stretch. For the season, Balentien had 25 homers and 90 RBI.
Shortstop Michael Garciaparra has batted .363 since July 22, pulling his season average from .247 to .300.
Right-hander Jason Mackintosh’s 141 strikeouts were third in the league. Left-hander Ryan Feierabend is 8-7 with a 3.74 ERA.
Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: The Rattlers’ already had qualified for the postseason by winning the Midwest League Western Division first-half title, but they’re fighting to the finish attempting to win the second half. Entering Saturday, they were a -game behind Quad Cities with three games remaining.
Catcher Jeff Clement hit his sixth home run Friday in his 27th game since being promoted from the Everett AquaSox. He was batting .347 since coming to Wisconsin, and was named the league’s player of the week last week.
Shortstop Matt Tuiasosopo, back in the lineup after cutting his wrist in a clubhouse accident in late August, was named to the league postseason all-star team. He entered Saturday with a .278 average, six home runs and 45 RBI.
Outfielder Brent Johnson was batting .315.
Rookie-level Peoria Mariners: The Mariners finished 27-28 after going 10-17 in the first half of the season.
First baseman Andy Hargrove and pitcher Harold Williams were named to the Arizona League’s postseason all-star team.
Hargrove, son of Mariners manager Mike Hargrove, finished second in the league with a .464 on-base percentage and 10th in batting with a .314 batting average. Williams, who finished the season with the Everett AquaSox, was second in the Arizona League with a 2.30 ERA.
Outfielder Juan Guzman finished with a .320 average, seventh in the league.
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