Meet Mike Parisi

Lake Grove's Mike Parisi, 28, spent the first seven seasons of his professional career in the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs organizations.

A 2001 graduate of Sachem North High School, he was drafted in the ninth round of the 2004 amateur draft after a successful college career at Manhattan.

In 2008, Parisi reached the majors with the Cardinals, going 0-4 with an 8.22 ERA before having Tommy John surgery that August.

In 11 starts with the Ducks, he is 5-3 with a 3.84 ERA. On June 15 against Lancaster, he threw a four-hit shutout with nine strikeouts.

You spent seven seasons playing mostly in the Midwest. How does it feel returning to Long Island?"It feels great to have my family around, coming to the games and cheering me on. During the offseason, I work on the Island giving pitching lessons [at Play Like a Pro in Hauppauge], so the kids I've been teaching for six, seven years can come out and watch me pitch."

As a Sachem North alum, talk about your time as a Flaming Arrow.

"It was a great place for me. When I was in ninth and 10th grades, I was an outfielder, and by my junior year, I was predominantly a pitcher. Bill Batewell was my manager at the time, and I learned a lot from him."

You had Tommy John surgery in 2008 and elbow surgery to repair bone chips in 2010. Are you back to full strength?

"Absolutely. In Lancaster, I threw nine innings, and in the ninth inning, I was throwing 92-94. Before I was hurt, in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, those were my innings where I would put up zeros for the team. After the second surgery, I hadn't really gotten to go deep into games because I was always rehabbing or on a pitch count."

Talk about your time with the Cardinals in 2008.

"The big leagues were unbelievable. You fly on private planes and stay at Ritz Carltons. The fields are unbelievable, the guys were all really nice . . . It had always been a dream of mine to get there. To get a few innings there, it was definitely a dream come true. I actually never came out of the bullpen until my major-league debut in Colorado [May 5, 2008]."

What was Tony La Russa like as a manager?"He was really great. My first couple of outings, he really didn't say much to me. He just kind of let me go about my business, but when I got into a little bit of pitching trouble, he was a great manager. He sees everything and is a manager who loves to preach the fundamentals. And that wins ballgames.''

THE WEEK AHEAD

Today: at York, 6:30 p.m.

Tomorrow: at York, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday: at York, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday: off.

Friday: vs. Somerset, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday: vs. Somerset, 7:05 p.m.

Sunday: vs. Somerset, 5:05 p.m.