Relievers Thyago Vieira and Zac Curtis helped slam the door for the Arkansas Travelers on Saturday night against the Springfield Cardinals.
Vieira struck out five batters in two innings and Curtis pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts in the ninth inning as the Travelers defeated the Cardinals 6-4 in front of an announced crowd of 6,492 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
Vieira and Curtis -- who are both on the Mariners' 40-man roster -- were instrumental for Arkansas on Saturday.
The Travs led 5-4 entering the top of the eighth inning after Chuck Taylor's RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.
However, Vieira got into a jam in the eighth, walking Alex Mejia with one out and seeing Gabriel Lino reach on an error by Arkansas third baseman Jay Baum.
Vieira got Dickie Joe Thon to line out to third base for the second out, then struck out Oscar Mercado looking on a 1-2 pitch to stop the Cardinals' threat. Travs catcher Tyler Marlette and Vieira both pumped their fists on the way back to the dugout while Mercado slammed his batting helmet in front of home plate, arguing with home plate umpire Justin Robinson.
On Thursday against Springfield, Vieira allowed 2 runs and walked 2 in 1 inning in the Travs' 6-3 loss. So Saturday's outing was important for Vieira.
"Every time I go out there, I want to do my best for my team," said Vieira, a right-hander from Brazil.
Arkansas extended its lead to 6-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning with Kyle Waldrop's second home run of the season, a leadoff drive to right field.
Curtis, a left-hander, came on in the ninth inning and struck out his final two batters for his second save of the season.
Vieira (1-1) earned his first Class AA victory, striking out 5 while not allowing a hit in 2 innings.
Travs Manager Daren Brown said he doesn't have a closer but has three pitchers who can do the job -- Vieira, 23, Curtis, 24, and right-hander Blake Perry, 25.
"Putting them in pressure situations, whether it's the seventh, eighth or ninth, doesn't really matter. They need to pitch," Brown said. "The last two nights, our bullpen has stepped up and has done a nice job."
Seattle Mariners shortstop Jean Segura (hamstring), who was making his second rehabilitation appearance Saturday, went 1 for 3 with a single and a run scored for the Travs. Segura played six innings at shortstop Saturday and is expected to play a full game today before rejoining the Mariners on Tuesday in Detroit.
"He feels good," Brown said. "We'll hopefully get him nine innings [today] and we'll see where he's at. He feels good and that's the main thing."
Baum led Arkansas, going 3 for 4 with a two-run single in the first inning. Kyle Petty had two hits, including a first-inning two-run single that helped the Travs take a 4-0 lead.
Sports on 04/23/2017