The Rainiers begin their longest homestand of the season tonight, a 13-day stint that will feature 14 games because of two make-up doubleheaders.
The first doubleheader is tonight at 6:05, when Tacoma plays two seven-inning games against the Salt Lake Bees.
Salt Lake has been a problem for the Rainiers this season. The Bees have won seven of the 11 games that the two teams have played, despite having a worse overall record. The Rainiers will try to turn that around during the seven-game series that opens tonight.
Tacoma should have a different look to the lineup tonight, which is good because it got kind of thin there at the end of the Sugar Land series. Taylor Trammell and Donovan Walton are expected to be in there tonight, as both were optioned to Tacoma within the last couple days but didn’t report until the club returned home.
Trammell, you may recall, lit up Salt Lake pitching when he was previously optioned to Tacoma in May. He had 15 hits including four homers and 14 RBI during a six-game series at Smith’s Ballpark. It will be interesting to see if he gets right back into a groove again now that he’s with Tacoma.
After the Salt Lake series, the Rainiers have Wednesday off before welcoming the Sacramento River Cats to town. That will also be a six-day, seven-game series which includes a makeup doubleheader that will be played on July 25.
All told, we’ve got a lot of baseball in store for us at Cheney Stadium, and it all starts with what will surely be an extended night at the ballpark tonight.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: The league was off yesterday. On Tuesday the team lost at Sugar Land, 3-1, as Skeeters starter Peter Solomon carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Jake Hager broke it up with a long double. The Rainiers settled for a split of the six-game series, 3-3, and Tacoma is 15-15 for the year in away games.
TODAY: Salt Lake (29-30) at Tacoma (31-27), DOUBLEHEADER, 6:05.
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Lou Marson.
SEASON SERIES: Salt Lake leads, 7-4.
PITCHERS:
G1: RHP Jaime Barria (2-1, 4.19) at RHP Penn Murfee (0-0, 0.00)
G2: LHP Dillon Peters (2-2, 4.35) at TBA
Murfee is up from Double-A Arkansas, where he went 5-2, 4.13 in ten starts. This will be his first Triple-A start, although he did pitch in five games from Tacoma’s bullpen in 2019. Tacoma will have a bullpen game in the nightcap – the starter will be someone who didn’t pitch in the first game.
ROSTER MOVES: The Rainiers have received pitcher Penn Murfee from Double-A Arkansas, and reliever Shane Carle was released. Recently optioned outfielder Taylor Trammell and infielder Donovan Walton are expected to report today, but we’re probably losing Jarred Kelenic (in the stories below).
HOT HITTERS: Jose Marmolejos is 14-for-25 (.560) during a seven-game hitting streak… Marmolejos has hit four home runs with 12 RBI over his past six games… despite being a left-handed batter, Marmolejos is hitting .556 with five homers in 27 at-bats against left-handed pitchers… Jarred Kelenic has hit safely in three straight, and eight of his last nine games.
OPPONENT NEWS: Salt Lake lost three straight games to close its series against Sacramento, but was hot before that winning nine of 11 games… Jo Adell has a ten-game hitting streak… longtime major league outfielder Jon Jay has an eight-game hitting streak, but he hasn’t played since Friday… top prospect Brandon Marsh recently came off the injured list and has a five-game hitting streak… Matt Thaiss has hit safely in five straight games.
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.
TRIPLE-A WEST SCOREBOARD: Follow all league games in real-time with links to Gameday screens right here.
STORIES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
- Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto announced during a radio interview that Jarred Kelenic will be called up from Tacoma on Friday.
- MLB officially announced the ten-game extension to the Triple-A season, and they are billing it as a “tournament” called the Triple-A Final Stretch. Tacoma will play at Round Rock and then home against Salt Lake – five games each.
- Ryan Divish tries to answer the question, how are the Mariners five games over .500?
- Here’s the Seattle Times wrap-up of the Mariners draft that concluded on Tuesday.
- MLB.com has a closer look at Mariners third round pick Michael Morales.
- Reporting from Denver, Larry Stone writes that the All-Star Game was a baseball celebration.
- Here’s the story of the unlikeliest all-star, former Rainiers reliever Andrew Kittredge.
Listen to every home and away Tacoma Rainiers game for free HERE. You can also download the MiLB First Pitch app for a free and easy one-click listening experience at home, work or in your car. Watch an HD video broadcast of every game with an MiLB.TV subscription. Use code: RAINIERS to save $10 on an annual subscription.
About the Tacoma Rainiers
The Tacoma Rainiers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The Rainiers are a member of the Triple-A West. Tacoma has been a Mariners affiliate since establishing the Rainiers moniker in 1995.
Find more information and purchase single game tickets here. Questions regarding season tickets can be directed to Tickets@WeRTacoma.com.
The most up-to-date news and notes about the Tacoma Rainiers and Cheney Stadium can be found at WeRTacoma.com, or by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand), Instagram (@tacomarainiers) and liking the team on Facebook.
March 16, 2023