His Suspension Served, Valera to Join JetHawks

Ramon Valera, who led the Seattle Mariner organization with 52 stolen bases last season at Class-A Wisconsin, is scheduled to make his debut with the Lancaster JetHawks today at Visalia.

Valera, a shortstop coming off a season in which he batted .298, was suspended for three games at the end of last season by the Midwest League, a ban that carried over into the JetHawks’ opening series at Bakersfield.

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The Mariners recalled former JetHawk Ken Cloude from Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.

Cloude, 8-10 with a 6.37 ERA last season at Seattle, took the roster spot of all-star shortstop Alex Rodriguez, who underwent surgery on his left knee Thursday.

Cloude was expected to begin the season with the Mariners, but struggled during spring training, going 0-3 with a 12.67 ERA.

Denny Stark, another former JetHawk pitcher, threw five scoreless innings Friday night against Norwich in his double-A debut for New Haven.

Stark missed most of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery.

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The JetHawks scored an unearned run in the first inning and for the second consecutive night the Lancaster pitchers shut out host Bakersfield to win, 1-0. Brandon Parker pitched six innings and struck out nine to earn the victory for the JetHawks (2-1).

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Next game: today at Visalia.

Home opener: Wednesday, vs. San Bernardino.

AROUND THE LEAGUES

Shawn Barton (Saugus High, Canyons), pitching coach last season at Bakersfield, has moved to the San Francisco Giants’ other California League affiliate in San Jose.

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Scanning Friday’s box scores:

Triple A--Adam Kennedy (Cal State Northridge) singled and homered for Memphis (Cardinals) in a 6-5 victory over Calgary.

Double A--Pete Paciorek (Glendale College) hit an RBI double for Mobile (Padres) in a 3-1 loss to Birmingham. . . . Kurt Airoso (Northridge) hit two home runs and two singles for Jacksonville (Tigers) in a 13-11 loss to Huntsville.

CLASS A--Fernando Rios (Glendale High) was three for three, including two doubles and two RBIs, for Rockford (Reds) in a 5-3 victory over Kane County. . . . Shawn McCorkle had four hits for Lancaster in an 8-0 victory over Bakersfield. . . . Mike Glendenning (Crespi, Pierce) had two RBIs for San Jose (Giants) and Wayne Nix (Monroe High) struck out two in one inning for Modesto (Athletics) in San Jose’s 9-6 victory.