Surprise callup doesn't faze Rainiers' Bannister

Nathan Bannister went to bed on Friday night like he usually does on the eve of a start. The 23-year-old still made his scheduled appearance, but he did so in another uniform, in another league at another level, all with just a few hours' notice.
And that was fine by him. 
After only five professional starts with Class A Advanced Modesto, Bannister was promoted to Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday and turned in the best start of his career, tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the Rainiers' 1-0, 10-inning loss to New Orleans at Cheney Stadium.

Box score
Regardless of the result, it was a day Bannister will never forget.
"I went to bed [Friday night], thinking I'd be starting for Modesto," the right-hander said. "But at 2 a.m., the phone rang. I didn't hear it or the other six times it rang. My roommate finally woke me up and told me to check my phone and I heard the news. So I packed my bags, got ready for an early flight and flew out of Sacramento into Seattle and got in around 12:30 this afternoon. I went straight to the yard and started preparing for my start."
Bannister showed no butterflies or ill effects of his wild day, striking out the first Triple-A batter he faced to kick off a superlative outing. The Arizona native retired the first 14 Baby Cakes before Isaac Galloway singled with two outs in the fifth. Bannister took a one-hitter into the seventh, when he surrendered a pair of singles before he was removed after throwing 81 pitches -- 54 for strikes.
The lack of preparation was anything but a negative for the 2016 28th-round pick. In fact, he viewed it as a positive.
"It was nice to sort of just go all in right away and not even have time to think about the hitters, the fans or the outside factors," said Bannister, who struck out six without issuing a walk. "I trust in the preparation I put in and at the end of the day, it's just baseball. I executed my plan and working with [catcher Steve] Baron today was great. We clicked and he called a great game. 
"It all happened so quickly that I didn't have time to think about it all. I just got to the ballpark, went through my routine, hung out with the guys and then it was time to start getting ready for the game."
Considering the circumstances, Bannister didn't mind the middle-of-the-night wake-up call.
"I didn't know what to think," the University of Arizona product said. "It was time to pack and then time to rest as much as possible before getting to the airport. The way it all happened helped me not to overthink things and just worry about what I needed to do and where I needed to be.
"Even out on the mound, I didn't think much about it; I'm sure I will tonight, though. But in the end, it's baseball, whether it's [Class A Advanced] or Triple-A, it's 60 feet, six inches, making pitches and going after hitters."

The game remained scoreless until the 10th, when Peter Mooney's two-out RBI single off Casey Fien (0-1) scored Galloway with the only run.
Chris O'Grady (1-0) allowed one hit and two walks with three strikeouts in three innings to notch the win. Marlins No. 9 prospectDrew Steckenrider struck out two in a perfect 10th to earn his first save of the season.