Sports Briefs: St. Francis product Christian Bergman back in majors

Bergman back in bigs with Mariners

After being called up from triple-A Tacoma on Sunday, former St. Francis High baseball pitcher Christian Bergman flourished in his debut with the Seattle Mariners against the Texas Rangers.

Bergman, a former All-Area Baseball Player of the Year who previously spent seven seasons in the Colorado organization, came on in relief in Seattle’s 4-3 win Sunday. The right-hander yielded an earned run, one hit and one walk in 3 2/3 innings. Bergman struck out two.

“It was great to get in there and help out in whatever way I could,” Bergman told the Seattle Times.

Bergman went 5-0 with a 2.17 earned-run average (seven earned runs in 29 innings) with Tacoma. Bergman, 29, registered 24 strikeouts in five appearances.

The UC Irvine product inked a minor league contract with Seattle in December.

Estrada struggles, suffers loss

Former Glendale Community College and current Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada struggled in his last start and was pinned with a loss.

Estrada, a 33-year-old right-hander, was hit hard Saturday in a 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Estrada (1-2) allowed five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven in six innings en route to his second loss of the season.

“It’s one of those days —weird outing,” Estrada told MLB.com. “These guys have hit me pretty well lately. It’s just I’m not making pitches when I need to. They’re hitting the ball well. But I liked the way I felt out there. I liked the way I made pitches most of the game, so I’ll just remember that and move on to the next one.”

In seven games, all starts, Estrada has a 3.14 earned-run average and has given up 38 hits and 15 runs (all earned) while striking out 45 and walking 12. His strikeouts are tops on the club.

Crescenta Valley Athletic Hall of Fame upcoming

The Crescenta Valley High Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony will be held May 20.

The inductees are Jim Beckenhauer (former football coach/athletic director), Doug English (volleyball), Tom Gossard (former girls’ tennis coach), Allen Holmquist (basketball), Adam Jacobsen (basketball), Keith Kinsel (golf), Baillie Kirker (softball), Aaron McGuinness (baseball/football), Mike Norseth (football/basketball/baseball), Amanda Peek (softball), Kenny Pritchett (football) and the 1999 CIF Championship swim team.

An open house will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. at the school’s gymnasium, 2900 Community Drive, La Crescenta.

The ceremony will be held at Oakmont Country Club, 3100 Country Club Drive, Glendale. A social hour will start at 5, followed by a buffet dinner at 6 with the presentations to follow.

The cost is $60 per person. Seating is limited. No walk-ins and guests under 18 are limited to children of inductees.

For more information, contact Dennis Gossard at (818) 636-9218, gosscv99@aol.com or write to CV Hall of Fame: 2708 Foothill Blvd., #353, La Crescenta, Calif., 91214.