The Rainiers have hit a speed bump in Las Vegas, losing three games in a row for the first time this season with an 11-6 defeat on Friday night.
The game itself was a home run festival, with the two teams combining to launch eight taters. Tacoma was out-homered, 5-3, and all three of the Rainiers were solo blasts while Vegas mixed in a three-run shot.
Tacoma’s home-road split is starting to get severe. The team is 9-2 at home, but just 4-9 when playing away from the friendly confines of Cheney Stadium. Maybe the club can turn things around and salvage a couple of wins this weekend, and get out of Las Vegas with a split.
Las Vegas Ballpark has been playing as even more of an extreme hitter’s park than I can recall in the past. The winning team in each game of this series has scored a minimum of nine runs. Last night’s Tacoma output of six runs on seven hits is not going to cut it – gotta plan on scoring 10+ right now.
Actually, let’s shoot for 20 runs in 20 hours. It’s a quick turnaround after tonight’s 7:05 game, with the traditional 12:05 Sunday start in Las Vegas. Lots of PCL baseball in a short period of time, coming your way!
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: Las Vegas hit five home runs and beat Tacoma, 11-6. The Rainiers were limited to seven hits, but made the most of them by scoring six runs. Kean Wong, Taylor Trammell, and Mike Ford hit solo shots. The Rainiers have lost three games in a row for the first time this season.
TODAY: Tacoma Rainiers (13-11) at Las Vegas Aviators (12-13), 7:05.
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Oakland A’s.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Fran Riordan.
SEASON SERIES: Las Vegas leads, 3-1.
PITCHERS: RHP Riley O’Brien (1-1, 0.96) at RHP Colton Eastman (0-3, 4.15)
The Rainiers got Triple-A’d today, as scheduled starting pitcher Easton McGee was called up by the Mariners, so it’s a bullpen game.
ROSTER MOVES: Seattle called up starting pitcher Easton McGee, and optioned reliever Diego Castillo to Tacoma. Reliever John Creel is re-joining the Rainiers from extended spring training.
HOT HITTERS: Zach DeLoach has reached base safely in 12 straight, and in 19 of his 20 games played… Taylor Trammell has an eight-game hitting streak… Kean Wong has a five-game hitting streak, going 7-for-14… Cade Marlowe has a four-game hitting streak… Jake Scheiner is 7-for-18 with two home runs and eight RBI during this series.
OPPONENT NEWS: After opening the season 2-10, Las Vegas has started playing better recently. They just won four-of-six on the road at Sugar Land… J.J. Belday has homered in four of his last five games, and he has reached base in 13 straight games… Tyler Soderstrom is the top prospect on the team, he was the A’s first round pick in 2020 and is just 21-years-old. His father Steve pitched in the PCL for Fresno in 1998 and 1999… the Aviators have one former Rainiers player, and it’s a blast from the past: pitcher Joe Wieland, the last Tacoma pitcher to win 14 games when he went 14-6 for the 2016 Rainiers.
BROADCAST: All games will be broadcast free on a live audio stream which is available right here.
Unfortunately, there is no traditional terrestrial radio station carrying the games at this time.
PCL SCOREBOARD: Follow all league games in real-time with links to broadcasts and Gameday screens right here.
Links:
- The Mariners dropped another one-run decision last night, this time a 3-2 loss in the series opener at Toronto.
- The Toronto series is a homecoming for Mariners outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.
June 9, 2023