Minor League Baseball / Gary Klein : Salkeld Swoops Through 1st Appearance With a Winning Pitch

The scenery has changed but Roger Salkeld still appears to be his same dominating self on the pitcher’s mound.

Salkeld, the former Saugus High standout who was the third player selected overall in last month’s draft, is pitching for Bellingham (Wash.), the Seattle Mariners’ affiliate in the Northwest Rookie League.

“It’s pretty country--a change from Saugus,” Salkeld said. “There’s trees, not dirt and weeds.”

Last week, in Salkeld’s first outing, the 6-foot-5 right-hander pitched three innings in relief during a 7-3 victory over Spokane and earned his first professional win.

“I came down like a vulture on that one,” said Salkeld, who allowed just one hit. “My slider worked real well and my fastball had a lot of movement.”

The Mariners had intended to ease Salkeld into the rotation. However, Tom List was promoted to Wausau, Wis., of the Class-A Midwest League earlier this week and Salkeld was scheduled to make his first start Saturday against Bend, Ore.

“I’m looking forward to it because I haven’t started a game in a long time,” Salkeld said. “The adjustment hasn’t been that tough because I played winter ball with the scouting league teams and we faced college hitters.

“That’s basically who I’m facing here, so I’m lucky I played that.”

Penned in: Scott Radinsky spent so much time in the bullpen last season rehabilitating from shoulder surgery that it is no wonder he’s found stunning success as a reliever this season. Radinsky, a 21-year old left-hander from Simi Valley, has 22 saves and is 5-3 with a 1.35 earned-run average for South Bend, Ind., the Chicago White Sox affiliate in the Class-A Midwest League.

“The starting role never fit me, it wasn’t my makeup,” said Radinsky, who has appeared in 38 games, allowing 22 hits while striking out 60 in 46 2/3 innings. “They stuck me as a closer at the end of spring training and I like it. It’s me.”

Radinsky blew out his left shoulder two weeks into Instructional League during the winter of 1987, but he did not undergo surgery until the first week of January in 1988. He joined the White Sox’s Gulf Coast League affiliate in Sarasota last June and began the long road to recovery.

Radinsky participated again in Instructional League last winter, then spent the off-season strengthening his entire body.

“I’ve never seen a guy work as hard as he did to get back,” said Steve Noworyta, the White Sox assistant director of scouting and player development. “It’s paid off. He’s back to being the guy we drafted.”

Spot relief: Steve Sharts isn’t a pitcher who indulges in unrealistic expectations.

So the former Simi Valley High and Cal State Northridge left-hander is content as a set-up man for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, the Philadelphia Phillies’ triple-A affiliate.

Sharts, 24, specializes in late-inning appearances against left-handed batters. He has five saves and is 0-1 with a 2.32 ERA since being promoted from double-A Reading, Penn., in May.

“I could see myself doing this job in the big leagues,” Sharts said. “This is my first year in triple-A so I don’t want to rush things.

“I’ve been pitching well here. I’m just trying to get left-handers out as much as possible and hopefully, in September, I’ll get a look.”

Matador moves: Jim Vatcher, a former Cal State Northridge outfielder in the Phillies’ system, was promoted Thursday from Class-A Clearwater in the Florida State League to double-A Reading of the Eastern League.

Vatcher was batting .301 with four home runs and 46 runs batted in and had a league-leading 30 doubles at Clearwater.

Last add Northridge: Jim Walker, a right-handed pitcher who helped Northridge to the 1984 Division II national championship, is recovering from elbow surgery and is on the disabled list at Calgary, the Seattle Mariners’ triple-A affiliate.

Walker, 27, was 2-5 with a 5.56 ERA last season for Calgary.

Aloha: The California Cubs, a semipro team based in Moorpark, are competing this weekend in the Hawaii Invitational baseball tournament in Honolulu.

In addition to the Cubs, the six-team field includes teams from Fairbanks, Alaska; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Lake Tahoe, Nev.; Pullman, Wash.; and Hawaii.