Doug Fister produces strong outing when Mariners need one

Nothing like shutting down one of baseball's most feared attacks to get your employer to believe in you.

The Mariners talk a good game when it comes to their belief in Doug Fister, the 6-foot-8 giant from Class AAA who's become somewhat of a giant-killer in the majors. But some doubts had to have crept in after his last outing, a homer-plagued affair in which Fister looked every bit the rookie whose bubble was about to burst.

Instead, his 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night helped reinforce some of the good feelings held by those who profess to truly believe he can be an effective starter in 2010. As for this year, his latest toppling of a playoff-bound opponent, just two weeks after beating the New York Yankees, will likely guarantee him more September starts despite a rotation that will become increasingly crowded as September rosters expand.

"Ten starts is what it takes to really take a look at a guy," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. "But it's hard to argue with who he's facing. You've got to give a young pitcher some leeway on some games. And we'll continue to watch him. But at least he's proven he can get some awfully good hitters out and that's a heck of a starting point."

A crowd of 18,542 at Safeco Field saw Fister battle the Angels to a 1-1 draw through the first seven innings he worked. Jose Lopez then doubled to the right-field corner with two out in the bottom of the seventh to bring home Franklin Gutierrez and give Fister the lead he had been looking for.

Wakamatsu had so much faith in Fister that he sent him back out, his pitch count already at 102, to start the eighth inning.

"His poise, his presence, everything on the mound looked great," Wakamatsu said.

But the confidence shown nearly backfired when Maicer Izturis led off the eighth inning with a double. Fister then got perhaps his biggest out of the game when Erick Aybar popped a foul ball down the left-field line that was caught, with Izturis forced to hold at second. Mark Lowe came on from there and got a deep fly out to left on Jeff Mathis, then a fly ball to center by Chone Figgins to end the threat.

David Aardsma yielded a leadoff single in the ninth, before closing things out.

Fister's latest fine effort, in which he retired 13 of 14 at one point, could not have come at a better time. The Mariners already added starter Jason Vargas to their ranks — he'll work bullpen duty for now — while Brandon Morrow and possibly Garrett Olson will also be called up from Class AAA shortly to swell the ranks of the rotation even more.

Fister knows that "it's a business" in the majors and he's expected to generate results better than the three home runs he allowed to the Royals in a loss last week. He focused hard on keeping his pitches down through his between-starts bullpen sessions and that concentration stayed with him in this start.

"Coming into the game, there was a focus on getting the ball down and focusing on location," he said. "I spent quite a bit of time [on Monday] watching. I watched the whole game, picking little things out here and there. But just making sure I kept the ball down, that was the main focus."

That approach paid off in the fourth inning when, after a leadoff single, Fister got feared slugger Vladimir Guerrero to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. He'd secured another key double-play in the first inning when, after a leadoff walk, he threw a full-count change-up to Bobby Abreu and struck him out with runner Figgins on the move.

Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima promptly threw a strike to second and nailed Figgins.

"He's pretty nasty," said Mariners second baseman Lopez. "Especially to the second batter, Abreu, he threw him a 3-2 changeup. He's a good hitter. He made him look bad because he was expecting a fastball and he threw him a changeup and got a double play."

Lopez said he feels confident with Fister on the mound because he knows he'll get plenty of playable ground balls. And Fister appreciates the words of support, both from the guys behind him and those calling the shots from above.

"It's a team here," Fister said. "And having the confidence that the team is behind you is a great feeling and allows you to do your job."

And doing his job this way will allow him to stay on this team no matter how crowded the rotation gets.