Seattle's Pries allows one hit in PCL debut

The past five days have been a whirlwind for Jordan Pries.

While walking out of his hotel room in Knoxville on Wednesday, the Seattle prospect was stopped by Jackson manager Jim Horner. The Double-A skipper told the right-hander that he would be promoted to Tacoma.

"My mind was racing -- lots of emotions, then calling family members, brightening their days," Pries said. "It was a surreal feeling, really exciting. But I'm not getting content. Nobody has a dream of being a Triple-A player and I am working towards the Majors."

While he was nervous Sunday, the 6-foot-1 California native didn't show it on the mound. He allowed a hit and two walks through six innings as Tacoma edged Sacramento, 1-0, in nine innings in the first game of a doubleheader.

"You just want to get the first out out of way; it was a little more anxious than nerves," Pries said. "But it's still 60 feet, 6 inches and I just have to keep going after hitters, get ahead with fastball, get ground balls and let my defense work. That's my game plan."

The 24-year-old was promoted after yielding two runs on three hits over 12 innings in two starts for Jackson. Pries has pitched for six of the seven Seattle Minor League affiliates.

"I think there's a learning curve at every level, [but] you go up and make the adjustment," the Stanford product said. "I hear [the PCL] is hitter-friendly, but you just can't get caught up with that. ... I'm really looking forward to facing hitters that are more mature and the mind games of each at-bat."

Tacoma got relief from veterans Lucas Luetge, Stephen Pryor and Clay Rapada, who each chipped in a inning. Rapada (3-0) picked up the win after a 1-2-3 ninth.

In the bottom half of the frame, Ty Kelly and Jesus Sucre led off with singles and Endy Chavez picked up an intentional walk. Leury Bonilla followed with a walk-off single to left.

Sacramento's Sean Murphy didn't factor into the decision either following his seven scoreless innings. The starter gave up three hits and two walks while striking out four. Fernando Nieve (0-1) took the loss after yielding the game's lone run on five hits and a walk over two innings.

"It was exciting, especially when we got that winning run. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but we couldn't celebrate for too long because we had another game to play," Pries said.

Both team's offenses awoke in the nightcap, combining for 22 hits as Sacramento earned a split with an 8-3 victory.