OGDEN — So, what's he going to do for an encore?
When the Milwaukee Brewers gave Prince Fielder a $2 million-plus signing bonus Monday, the cash was a down payment for future services. Fielder, the No. 7 pick in the baseball draft two weeks ago, paid big dividends the first night in an Ogden Raptors uniform.
The 6-foot, 255-pound Fielder belted an opposite-field grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to knot the score at 9-9, and Mario Mendez followed with a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to lead the Raptors to the 12-9 come-from-behind victory Wednesday night over Idaho Falls in the Raptors' home opener.
"You hope by getting a guy you draft No. 1 that he's going to be an impact player," Ogden manager Tim Blackwell said. "Well, based on what happened tonight, he certainly made an impact."
Fielder, the son of former slugger Cecil Fielder, was 1-for-3 with a strikeout and walk before stepping to the plate in the ninth.
"I was a little anxious and nervous (to start the game), then coach told me to try and hit it to center field," Fielder said. "I was just hoping to hit the ball hard somewhere. This is a dream come true right here."
Kennard Bibbs, Callix Crabbe and Mendez set the table for Fielder with singles of reliever Luis Pena. Idaho Falls changed pitchers before Fielder stepped to the plate. He ripped the 1-1 offering from Eudy Morel over the scoreboard in left field.
Bibbs and Crabbe were also aboard on Mendez's walk-off homer.
Mendez has hit safely in all three games this year and has three homers and 10 RBIs.
The game wasn't decided without a little controversy, however.
In the top of the 10th, Idaho Falls base runner Peter Ramos collided with Ogden third baseman Jeff Eure when he was trying to field a routine grounder. The original call was a no-call, and all runners were declared safe. Ogden manager Tim Blackwell argued the call for five minutes and it was eventually overturned, with the runner at third called out for the second out of the inning.
An Idaho Falls pitcher on the bench was tossed for improper comments, and manager Don Werner was ejected for his arguments.
When the dust settled, Ogden reliever Melvin Perez fanned David Olson for the third out.
The Padres appeared to have the upper hand when they sent 12 hitters to the plate and scored seven runs to take a 9-4 lead in the seventh. In that inning, the Padres took advantage of a walk, a wild pitch, a hit batter, three Ogden errors and six base hits — including five straight that led to five runs.
The Raptors answered with a run in the eighth before Fielder's blast over the scoreboard in the ninth.
"When you have that many give-aways, you don't get the opportunity to amend for them," Blackwell said. "It was nice that we had that chance. You have to give them credit. They continued to battle back."
With the victory, the Raptors are still unbeaten and lead the Pioneer League South Division with a 3-0 record. The Padres fall to 0-3, with all three losses to the Raptors.
The Raptors opened the season with 10-5 and 6-5 victories over the Padres in Idaho Falls.
Ogden jumped out to the early 3-0 lead as the first five hitters in the top of the first inning reached base. Crabbe, Mendez and Fielder all had singles and the hits by Mendez and Fielder drove in runs. Jonah McClanahan also had an RBI ground out.
Ogden (2-1) scored a run on a wild pitch in the second inning and then were held scoreless until the bottom of the eighth, when they scored another run on a wild pitch.
The Raptors out-hit the Padres 11 to 10 but committed five errors.
Mendez finished with three hits; Crabbe, Fielder and McClanahan had two hits each for Ogden. Carlos Baez, Rashad Smith and Paul McAnulty had two hits each for the Padres.
DINO NOTES: The Raptors wore special jerseys with a red, white and blue theme and special red hats . . . Before the game, the Raptors retired jersey No. 40 in honor of former player Mark Hindy, who died in the World Trade Center attacks . . . The two-game series continues Thursday at 7 p.m. with the Padres . . . Attendance was 4,846, immediately placing the Raptors atop the Pioneer League attendance chart . . . For the second time in three games, the Raptors committed three errors or more . . . The Raptors open a three-game set with the Provo Angels on Friday.
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com