PRO BASEBALL / JEFF FLETCHER : Skeels Brothers Reunited at Home Away From Home

Mark Skeels was crouched behind the plate for the California League’s High Desert Mavericks, trying not to think of the oh-fer he was enduring with the bat that day, when he heard a comforting voice.

“Hang in there,” the voice said. “There’s a lot of game left.”

The voice belonged to his brother, Andy Skeels, who happened to be batting for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

“It was something you’d hear from a brother, not a guy on the other team,” Mark said. “Even though he’s on the other team, he’s still pulling for me.”

When the San Diego Padres signed Andy, 28, earlier this season and assigned him to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, it was the first time the brothers from Thousand Oaks High had played in the same league at any level.

Mark, 23, was the 18th-round selection of the Florida Marlins last June after catching at Stanford. He was assigned to short-season Erie, Pa., last year and has played all of 1993 at High Desert.

So far, the brothers have only started one game against each other, earlier this month at Rancho Cucamonga. Although Andy, who is batting .364 in 26 games, did give Mark comforting advice during the game, he got in his shots, too.

“He was kind of poking fun at me,” Mark said. “I went oh for four and he had a couple of hits.”

Mark said Andy’s professional experience--he’s been in the minors since being drafted out of Arkansas in 1987--is a valuable resource.

“I talk to him all the time,” said Mark, who is batting .280 with 25 extra-base hits and 55 runs batted in in 289 at-bats. “I’d give him calls and just let him know the struggles I am facing daily. My pitching coach might chew me out and tell me I had to do this or that, and that night I’d call Andy up and expect him to say, ‘He’s full of beans.’

“But he’d usually agree with the coach.”

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It’s Showtime: Former Chatsworth standout Rich Aude appears on the verge of making the majors.

Tom Treece, an administrative assistant in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league department, said that General Manager Cam Bonifay is planning to call up Aude when major league rosters expand to 40 in September.

Aude, who had a three-week stint in triple A earlier this season, is batting .290 with 17 home runs and 67 RBIs at Carolina of the double-A Southern League.

“I guess anybody with a good year would have to be excited about things, especially in the Pirate organization,” Aude said. “They’ve been making a lot of moves. I think the way they want to do it is with the youth movement.”

The Pirates’ starting lineup includes rookies Carlos Garcia, Kevin Young and Al Martin.

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Salkeld update: Roger Salkeld, whose once-promising career was interrupted for a season and a half because of shoulder problems, is close to finally making his major league debut with the Mariners.

Salkeld, who has been pitching at double-A Jacksonville, Fla., since late June, threw seven strong innings, his longest outing of the season, on Monday. A first-round draft pick out of Saugus High in 1989, Salkeld is 4-3 with a 3.41 earned-run average at Jacksonville. Throwing his fastball between 87 and 92 m.p.h., Salkeld has allowed 61 hits in 66 innings.

Because Salkeld is already on the Mariners’ 40-man roster, he is likely to be promoted when major league rosters expand in September.

The Mariners play the Angels in Anaheim Sept. 13-15.

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Spell it E-g-g-e-r-t: Left-hander David Eggert seems to have adjusted well to moving to the bullpen in the Expos’ organization after starting at Cal State Northridge.

“Every time he goes to the mound he doesn’t fool around,” said Burlington, N.Y., pitching coach Jeff Fischer. “He goes at the hitters hard. He pitches in, moves hitters around, then when he uses his curve, he can get strikeouts.”

Eggert had 75 strikeouts in his first 52 2/3 innings. He also has six saves.

“To be honest, I don’t really notice if I’m striking out a lot of people,” he said.

Eggert, who did some relief pitching at Ventura College, said he doesn’t mind pitching in the bullpen.

“There are things I like about starting and things I like about relieving,” he said. “To me, (earning a save and earning a victory) are actually the same thing, because the team wins.”

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Life in the almost-big city: Former Providence and USC standout Jeff Cirillo was promoted from double-A El Paso, Tex., to triple-A New Orleans in late June. He then hit safely in 31 of his first 41 games with the Zephyrs.

“I wouldn’t say the pitchers’ stuff is that much better (than in double A),” said Cirillo, who was drafted by the Brewers in 1991.

“But the guys have been around a little longer and know what they are doing. I’m facing guys who used to be in the majors. I’ve heard of some of these guys.”