Moyer notches win in debut with Triple-A Las Vegas

TACOMA, Wash. -- Jamie Moyer wasn't ready to hang up the spikes; he was convinced he could still pitch in the Major Leagues.

On Thursday night, the 49-year-old left-hander took another step in proving that he could still produce at the highest level, winning his Triple-A debut with Las Vegas, the Blue Jays' affiliate. It is the third organization he has played for this season after opening with the Rockies and throwing three games with the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate.

It didn't start well, but Moyer settled down as the game wore and pitched the minimum five innings needed for a win in Las Vegas' 11-4 victory over Tacoma at Cheney Stadium.

Keeping batters off-balance with his usual mix of slow pitches, the southpaw struck out six, walked just one and allowed three runs on seven hits. It didn't look like Moyer would last five innings, though, as he labored through the first inning, facing seven batters and allowing two runs.

Moyer gave up a leadoff home run to start the second, but he hit his stride after that, setting down 10 of the last 12 batters he faced. The lefty kept his fastball around 80 mph and was clocked at 52 mph at one point by the stadium radar gun.

"I felt real good," he said. "I wasn't real sharp early on. I made a couple mistakes and I paid for it. But other than that, I felt like I threw the ball fairly decent. Got results."

With a large crowd already expected in Tacoma for Mariners top pitching prospect Danny Hultzen's Triple-A home debut, Cheney Stadium sold out with the added addition of Moyer on the mound. Moyer pitched 11 seasons up the road in Seattle and is the team's all-time wins leader with 145. He's still a local favorite and the charity he and his wife started is based out of Seattle.

"It's always fun to come back here," Moyer said. "This community has supported myself as a player, and greatly supported my wife and I with our foundation. We're indebted to this community and it was special."