Schultz Finished at the Start

Mike Schultz was supposed to take center stage on opening night for the Lancaster JetHawks.

But it would be hard to doff a cap with a sore elbow, much less show the stuff that made the former Cleveland High and Loyola Marymount right-hander the Arizona Diamondbacks’ first selection in the 2000 draft.

Schultz’s biceps tendinitis forced his start to be scrapped on a night the JetHawks could have used quality pitching.

The JetHawks lost, 13-9, to the San Jose Giants on Thursday night before 2,017 at The Hanger.

A second-round selection, Schultz was looking forward to pitching in front of family and friends. Instead, his time on the field was limited to pregame running drills.

He will be pushed back at least one start and reevaluated, pitching coach Mike Parrott said.

“I’m a little bit upset,” Shultz said. “But I’m not worried about the first week of the season when there’s 140 games to go.”

Manager Scott Coolbaugh of the JetHawks certainly wasn’t taking any chances with the Diamondbacks’ prize, who received a $500,000 signing bonus.

“We don’t want to rush him,” Coolbaugh said. “You have to be careful and treat pitchers the same, regardless if he [signed as a] free agent or as a No. 1 pick.”

Schultz earned a reputation in college as a workhorse who regularly threw more than 100 pitches and exceeded 150 pitches in some starts.

Andrew Good, who missed last season after reconstructive elbow surgery, started for Lancaster and allowed six runs in the third. He was one of five JetHawk pitchers.

Catcher J.D. Closser had three doubles and four runs batted in for Lancaster.

Billy Martin, a 24-year-old designated hitter who hit 25 home runs last season at Class-A South Bend, hit the JetHawks’ first home run, a solo shot in the fifth.