After a two-game stint with the Seattle Mariners earlier this month, former Florida standout Mike Zunino was called up from Triple-A Tacoma again on Wednesday.
The catcher was quick to make his presence felt in his first game back, homering off Zach Duke of the Chicago White Sox to pull the Mariners within a run. Seattle was able to scrape across one more in the eighth on an Adam Lind homer, tying the game 5-5 and leading to extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th, Leonys Martin hit a walk-off home run to propel the Mariners to a win.
It was the second time Zunino entered with a bang this season. Back in his first MLB game of the season in early July, Zunino hit two homers before going 0-3 two days later and being sent back down to the minors.
In Triple-A, Zunino was hitting .286 with 17 home runs, tied for the fourth most in the Pacific Coast League this season, before being called up the second time.
Martin Struggling
Former Florida shortstop Richie Martin has had trouble hitting since he began his professional career, and his struggles have been especially pronounced as of late.
Even in college, Martin wasn’t known for his bat. He hit .284 in his three-year Gainesville career. But his defense was superb.
That’s the main reason the Oakland Athletics took Martin with the 20th-overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft.
Still, it’s likely that the A’s expected his hitting would progress, and so far, it hasn’t. Even in Single-A and below, his bat has been suspect. He’s hitting .230 with 19 walks and 39 strikeouts this season. And in his last 10 games, he’s hitting .175.
Gators in Triple-A
Florida’s 2016 home run leader is picking up right where he left off.
Former first baseman Peter Alonso has two home runs and seven RBIs through 11 games with the Brooklyn Cyclones, including a two-hit, two-RBI performance on Monday.
Alonso has the team’s second-highest batting average (.286) and will get a chance to continue his solid play in the minors when Brooklyn faces the Aberdeen IronBirds on Thursday.
Former UF outfielder Buddy Reed has also been productive through the first 13 games of his minor-league career, racking up 14 hits, six stolen bases and three RBIs.
Reed’s best performance came in a 4-3 loss to the Eugene Emeralds on Saturday, where he belted three hits and scored two runs in four at-bats.
The Astros demoted Preston Tucker to Triple-A in May after he batted .176 through 33 games.
The left fielder has improved with the Fresno Grizzlies.
Through 51 minor-league games, the 26-year-old has 60 hits, eight home runs and a .297 batting average.
Tucker has been particularly effective in his last four games, compiling six hits and three RBIs over that span.
Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino walks to the mound after the the Mariners defeated the Baltimore Orioles 12-6 in a baseball game Saturday, July 2, 2016, in Seattle.
