Left-hander Mike Mason, recalled from Triple-A Iowa Tuesday along with right-handed reliever Jay Baller when the Cubs released reliever Ron Davis and sent pitcher Greg Maddux to Iowa, hopes to make the most of his opportunity.
”I feel a lot better,” said Mason, who will take Maddux`s spot in the starting rotation. ”I got some things straightened out that I needed to get straightened out in Triple A.”
”I was throwing the ball like I need to in order to win up here. I knew when I got sent down that I really wasn`t throwing like I should. There were reasons for that. I changed my delivery. It`s not that drastic, but I feel like I have a little more pop now.”
Mason, acquired in a deal with the Texas Rangers on May 17, has also worked on his pickoff move to first and a quicker delivery to the plate.
”Now I get rid of the ball between 1.1 and 1.25 seconds. That gives anybody a chance to throw them out,” said Mason.
Mason was 4-2 with a 3.50 earned-run average at Iowa. He worked 54 innings, allowing 53 hits with 27 walks and had 41 strikeouts.
”I had nine starts at Iowa. I`d rather be a starter, but I`d just like to pitch,” said Mason. ”I had a great opportunity coming over here from Texas. Now after going down to the minors, another opportunity has come up.” Probables for the Mets series: Thursday, Les Lancaster (3-1) vs. Terry Leach
(9-0); Friday, Rick Sutcliffe (15-4) vs. Ron Darling (7-7); Saturday, Mason
(3-1) vs. undecided; Sunday, Scott Sanderson (4-6) vs. Dwight Gooden (8-3).
Paul Noce entered Tuesday`s game with one hit in his last 31 at-bats.
Ryne Sandberg is batting .351 (26-for-74) since being activated from the disabled list on July 11. ”Being out for so long with the ankle injury may have freshened up the rest of his body,” said manager Gene Michael.
Drew Hall (6-3) was the winner in relief as Iowa beat Indianapolis 4-3 Monday night. Hall is 5-0 in his last 12 games, allowing two earned runs in 16 innings.
Right-hander Dean Wilkins, acquired in the Steve Trout trade with the Yankees, made his first appearance at Class-A Winston-Salem and he pitched a three-hit complete game in a 10-1 victory over Lynchburg.
Center-fielder Jerome Walton was 3 for 6 to improve his average to .327 as Class-A Peoria edged Quad City 9-8.
