NewsSeattle dredges up memories for Bannister
Kansas City (49-78) at Seattle (66-62), 9:10 p.m. CT
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
08/28/09 2:45 AM ET
SEATTLE -- There's a touch of home for Brian Bannister when he pitches in Seattle. After all, this is where his father, Floyd Bannister, was an All-Star for the Mariners in 1982.That's when Brian was only 1 year old. Still . . .
"This city is very special to me," Bannister said. "My father played four years here. He grew up here. My grandfather is actually in the hospital right now and I got to see him today, so the timing is really a blessing. I got to spend quality time with him and he got to see his granddaughter Brynn for the first time. So it was just good timing coming here and I'm just looking forward to having a good outing."
Bannister said Grandpa Bannister is doing better now.
"He had to have a pacemaker put in but my dad was up here about five days ago because they rushed him to the hospital, so it's definitely a blessing that the road trip coincided with that so I got a chance to see him," he said.
This is just Bannister's second start at Safeco Field. The first came on April 29, 2007, when he was pitching just his second game for the Royals. He was breezing along in a 1-1 tie and had retired 14 straight Mariners going into the seventh. That's when the Mariners had runners at second and third with two outs and a 3-2 count on Willie Bloomquist, now a Bannister teammate.
Bloomquist tipped a pitch foul and catcher John Buck caught it -- everyone thought.
"It was one of the strangest rules in baseball and one that I wasn't actually familiar with until it happened. When a hitter fouls off a ball and it doesn't land in the catcher's mitt but the catcher catches with a piece of equipment it doesn't actually count as a strikeout," Bannister said.
"So Willie foul-tipped it and Bucky caught it, I believe, in his chest protector like this [in the armpit] and we all ran off the field. The umpire called us all back out and Willie hit one into center field to take the lead on the next pitch," he said.
Sure enough, Bloomquist belted a two-run double, Bannister was taken out and the Mariners won, 5-1.
"I've never seen it happen and I've watched 2,000 baseball games," he said of the odd play.
That was one of three losses Bannister took from the Mariners that year and, in his career, he's 1-3 with a 3.71 ERA against them. But he beat them earlier this year with six shutout innings.
"So they've found a way to beat me a couple times but I beat them this year," he said.
He gets another shot on Friday night, matched against right-hander Felix Hernandez, who is 12-5 with a 2.73 ERA.
"My approach all year has been just to give us a chance to win," Bannister said. "I was matched up with Cliff Lee quite a few times and it seems that I've matched up with the aces quite a bit this year. So really I just try to go deep into every game and give us a chance at the end."
Pitching matchupKC: RHP Brian Bannister (7-10, 4.50 ERA)
Bannister took the loss on Sunday against the Twins, giving up four runs in six-plus innings, but the good news was that he pitched much better than in his previous two outings. His stuff improved, he walked only one and he was getting a lot of ground balls -- although some found holes for hits. Bannister's biggest downfall was a curveball that Michael Cuddyer hit out of the park, but even that pitch was a good one, low and right at the catcher's mitt. This is his second go against the Mariners this year; on May 7, he shut them out for six innings of a 3-1 win. SEA: RHP Felix Hernandez (12-5, 2.73 ERA)
After winning seven consecutive starts between May 24 and July 22, Hernandez has lost two of three decisions despite surrendering three or fewer earned runs in each of his past five outings. Hernandez ranks among the league leaders in ERA, strikeouts and worst run support. He has 25 strikeouts and just five walks in his past three outings. This will be his first start against the Royals this season. He is 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA in his career against Kansas City. Crown points
Left fielder David DeJesus has a streak of 130 games without an error, including 121 this season. His last error came on Sept. 15, 2008, and was his only miscue of the season. So he now has 260 consecutive games with just one error in the outfield. ... Tony Pena Jr.'s progress as a pitcher continued with two hitless, scoreless innings in Class A Burlington's 2-1 victory over Wisconsin. He struck out three and walked one and now has four shutout innings after giving up four runs in his first 4 2/3 innings. ... Class A Wilmington's Mike Moustakas, the Royals' top Draft pick of 2007, is third in the Carolina League with 81 RBIs. Tickets
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• Saturday: Royals (Gil Meche, 6-9, 4.75) at Mariners (Ian Snell, 4-9, 5.37), 9:10 p.m. CT
• Sunday: Royals (Zack Greinke, 12-8, 2.43) at Mariners (Ryan Rowland-Smith, 2-1, 4.05), 3:10 p.m. CT
• Monday: Royals (Luke Hochevar, 6-7, 5.52) at Athletics (Gio Gonzalez, 4-5, 5.88), 9:05 p.m. CT
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
