Lueke, Wilhelmsen Debut in Same Game

In a game just completed in Oakland, former LumberKings’ right-handers Josh Lueke (’07-’08) and Tom Wilhelmsen (’10) each made their Major League debuts in Seattle’s 7-1 loss to the Athletics.

Lueke came on in relief of starter Doug Fister with two gone in the bottom of the sixth and stranded two runners with a swinging strikeout of Cliff Pennington on a 93 mph heater, but then was lit up for four runs while retiring just one batter in the seventh.  He loaded the bases on a double and two walks, then yielded a two-run single to Hideki Matsui.  David Pauley came on to replace him, but then issued a bases-loaded walk and gave up a Kevin Kouzmanoff sac fly to add two more runs to Lueke’s line.  Final line:  0.2 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K and a starting ERA of 54.00.  He’s the 225th former Clinton player to make a Major League debut, even if the outing was forgettable.  For further reading, check out this Mariners.com feature on Lueke as he prepared for his first big-league experience.

Wilhelmsen, #226, came on in relief of Pauley in the eighth and fared much better.  The 27-year-old delivered his first pitch at a level above low-A — a 96 mph fastball for ball one — but then retired Coco Crisp on a groundout to first-baseman Justin Smoak (’08), worked back from a 3-0 count to get Daric Barton to fly out and then froze David DeJesus looking at a curveball for strike three.  Final line:  1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K and a starting ERA of 0.00.

Special thanks to the revamped MLB Gameday feature, which I relied on heavily for this post.

-DL