PEORIA, Ariz — There were two outs in the ninth inning of a spring training game his team led 7-0 — about as meaningless as professional sports can get.
But facing a 2-2 count on Chris Carter of the Angels on Saturday, Mariner reliever David Phelps didn’t care that the result didn’t matter, his spot on the team long-since secure.
“I told myself ‘I can’t just lay a fastball in there,’’’ he said. “I tried to step on it a little bit more. But I didn’t throw it any different than I had ever thrown a fastball.