Tacoma (PCL) utility IF Scott Savastano ended an 18-inning, 5 hour, 32 minute marathon against Sacramento last with a home run giving the host Rainers a 2-1 victory. The Seattle Times’ Larry Stone points out, however, that Savastano “actually pitched the top of the 18th inning, retiring Sacramento 1-2-3.” So there you have it, Elias Koteas Sports Bureau ; a position player who earns the “W” while hitting a game-winning
“He’s a utility infielder who really hasn’t played much at all in the last month, since a couple of things happened,” Tacoma play-by-play announcer Mike Curto explained. “He went into May and early June playing every day. Then some guys got healthy, Nick Franklin came up, and it completely crushed his playing time. Now he’s getting in once or twice a week for a couple of at-bats.”
Savastano entered the game at first base in the 13th inning, and when the Rainiers finally ran out of pitching, manager Daren Brown put him on the mound. Savastano had actually pitched three times last year for Jackson, so he had a little bit of experience, and he got through the inning “with help from an unbelievable catch by Darren Ford in center field,” Curto said. “That would have been a double at least.
Sacramento also put in a position player to pitch, Shane Peterson.
“I’ve since found out he pitched in college at Long Beach State,” Curto said. “He was throwing 91, a left-hander. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s a (position player to pitching) conversion story down the road. Savastano goes deep and wins his own game. I haven’t seen that. Obviously, pitchers never hit in the PCL. That’s technically a pitcher hitting a game-winning home run.”