Thrower gets call to put out fire in Stars’ infield

Steve Guiremand

Monday, May 24, 1999 | 10:02 a.m.

Jake Thrower had just finished playing a Southern League game in Mobile, Ala., on Saturday night against the Greenville (S.C.) Braves when he got the word.

Pack your bags, you're going to Las Vegas.

Not for a little rest and relaxation. But to try to help stop the bleeding in the middle infield for the injury-plagued Las Vegas Stars.

With shortstops Juan Melo (broken finger) and Rico Rossy (sprained ankle) probably sidelined for another week and third baseman/shortstop Carlos Garcia still unable to run because of a badly bruised ankle, the Stars had just one healthy middle infielder -- hot-hitting second baseman David Newhan -- available for Sunday afternoon's game against the high-flying Memphis Redbirds at Cashman Field.

So Thrower -- shouldn't a guy with that last name be a pitcher instead of a infielder? -- was up at 5 Sunday morning to catch a 7 a.m. flight from Mobile to Dallas and then a connecting flight to Las Vegas.

He arrived at Cashman Field just 30 minutes before the first pitch to find himself in the starting lineup at shortstop and batting second.

"It was a go-with-the-flow kind of thing," Thrower said following the Stars' 7-2 loss to Memphis. "You just have to go out there and do your best."

And Thrower, who had been playing second base at Mobile, did just that.

He handled his only fielding opportunity, a ninth-inning grounder by Redbirds first baseman Chris Haas, without a problem.

He also banged out one of the Stars' six hits, a ninth-inning single up the middle off of veteran major league reliever Heathcliff Slocumb.

"Any time you get to move up it's a thrill," Thrower said of his whirlwind cross-country journey. "I don't know how long I'll be here. It's just kind of a day-to-day thing. I'm sure it will be the same kind of thing as Saturday night where they'll come up and tell me after a game that it's time to go (back to double-A Mobile)."

Thrower, in his third year in the Padres chain after starring at shortstop at the University of Arizona with current injured Stars third baseman John Powers, was hitting .242 with three home runs, nine doubles and 26 RBIs in 40 games at Mobile. He is hoping that some friends and relatives from his hometown of Yuma, Ariz., might be able to make the long drive to Cashman the next two nights to see him play.

Thrower's best friend is another Yuma native, former University of Oregon quarterback Jason Maas, who recently signed with the Baltimore Ravens after backing up No. 3 NFL draft pick Akili Smith last season.

* INJURY UPDATE: Las Vegas manager Mike Ramsey said it's possible that Melo, who has resumed taking batting practice after being sidelined with a broken finger since April 17, could return to the lineup before Rossy, who sprained his ankle in a rundown on Saturday night.

"Juan could be back in four or five days," Ramsey said. "Rico could be out up to six or seven days."

The Stars also could be getting a couple of injured pitchers back soon.

Reliever Jeff Darwin, on the disabled list since May 16 with shoulder tendinitis, threw before Sunday's game without pain. He will throw again in a simulated game in the next couple of days and could be reactivated if he doesn't experience any pain.

And starter Brian Tollberg, on the disabled list since May 5th with a sore elbow, has resumed throwing and could return within a week.

* SAN DIEGO SHUTTLE: According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, right-hander Jose Mercedes is the next starter likely to get promoted to the Padres.

Mercedes, who is coming off rotator cuff surgery, didn't help his cause on Sunday, however, by allowing 10 hits and four earned runs in six innings in a 7-2 loss.

Mercedes saw his record fall to 1-3.

* ALMANZAR DEBUT: Reliever Carlos Almanzar, sent down to Las Vegas on Saturday on an injury rehab assignment for the Padres, pitched one inning of relief on Sunday and allowed a two-run homer to Memphis rightfielder Jason LaRiviere in the eighth.

Almanzar had been sidelined with a lower back strain.

* GAME RECAP: Memphis (27-13) showed why it has the best record in the Pacific Coast League by pounding out 13 hits, including home runs by LaRiviere, Ron Warner and Richard Clapp, to cruise to a 7-2 victory.

Dusty Allen and Mike Mitchell each had two hits for Las Vegas.

* UP NEXT: The Stars (21-22) continue their series with the Redbirds tonight at 7:05 p.m. at Cashman Field with right-hander Bryan Wolff (4-3, 3.55) starting for Las Vegas against Memphis lefty Kris Detmers (3-2, 4.93).