Steve Kelley / Times staff columnist
Pineiro aces first exam of new era

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Every start becomes a little more important now for the futures of Joel Pineiro and the Seattle Mariners. Every inning is his audition. Every hitter is another chance to prove he belongs at the top of the rotation.

With Freddy Garcia gone to the White Sox, Pineiro becomes the Mariners' new ace-in-waiting. The ball and the future are in his hands. For now, Pineiro is Garcia without the All-Star credentials.

"We want him to take a bigger responsibility on the staff," manager Bob Melvin said. "He got off to a little bit of a slow start and sometimes those things have a way of snowballing on you. But the way he's pitched the last four or five times out, he's pitched like that guy we expect to be a top-of-the-rotation guy. You look at his stuff. You talk to the scouts and he's definitely one of those guys."

At times last night, Pineiro was brilliant. Three times he struck out Hank Blalock on hallucinogenic off-speed pitches. In the third and fourth innings, he struck out Blalock, Alfonso Soriano, Brad Fullmer and Herbert Perry in succession.

In seven innings, he gave up only five hits and two earned runs, struck out nine and walked two in the Mariners' 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers. It was Pineiro's third win in his last four starts.

"In the future, I would like to be known as the ace," Pineiro said. "I want to have that challenge of proving to them that I can be that guy. It would definitely be nice to be known as the ace."

These next three months will belong to him. Every fifth day will be his audition. He can be next year's Opening Day starter. It's his call.

"We think he's a No. 1 guy waiting to happen," Melvin said.

In spring training, Pineiro was promoted above Garcia, given the No. 2 spot in the rotation behind Jamie Moyer. He earned it, after winning a total of 30 games in the past two seasons and averaging more than 200 innings pitched.

But when the season started Pineiro, 25, stumbled. His mechanics were muddled. He was uncharacteristically wild. He didn't pitch inside. He became predictable and he got hit — hard.
 
He allowed 12 runs and 17 hits in his first two starts against Anaheim. He walked 11 in his first 16 innings and was 1-3 in April with an 8.26 earned-run average.

"In his first six or eight starts, his numbers took their lumps," pitching coach Bryan Price said. "But I think if you look at all (16) of his starts, I would say 60 percent have been quality starts. And right now, he's throwing the ball extremely well. And that he learned a big lesson early in this year and that's something he won't forget."

On June 8, he pitched against Houston and Roger Clemens and paid attention to every pitch the future Hall of Famer threw. Pineiro saw Clemens' belief in his fastball. Saw how Clemens moved the pitch up and down, inside and out. He watched as Clemens made sure none of the Mariners' hitters got comfortable at the plate.

Pineiro, who is 4-8 with a 4.63 ERA, pitched his own gem that night, allowing only three hits and losing to Clemens, 1-0. He lost, but he learned.

"Since that game he's taken a whole different attitude onto the mound with him as far as his demeanor goes," Melvin said. "He's a confident guy, but he's pitched behind Jamie and Freddy and kind of been that No. 3 guy.

"We're trying to move him up and because of that slow start, I think he started to doubt himself at times. But he's moved past that. You can see a different kind of confidence out on the mound now. It's just a matter of keeping on track with what he's been doing."

He's developed a mean streak. He's pushing hitters off the plate, then busting them up with breaking balls.

"He's gotten back to doing what he does best," Price said, "moving the fastball and using both sides of the plate. He's pitching inside to move the hitter off the plate, or to jam the hitter. He's elevating the ball, so maybe every now and then he gets a cheap strikeout. Just trying not to throw the same pitch in the same location.

"He got back to being an aggressor, and I think that's when things started to turn for him. I think the more pitchers pitch inside, the more sense of self-confidence they have. A little more intimidation, a little more aggression comes from pitching inside. It builds a sense of bravado, which I think pitchers need to have."

Against one of the best-hitting teams in baseball, in the first start of this new audition, Pineiro pitched like an ace last night. All the spoils of success are there for him to spend.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com

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