The Rainiers close out their second-to-last homestand of the season today, so it’s time for another Week In Review.
We opened things up on Tuesday with a look at the PCL pennant races, and a preview of the Sacramento series.
Wednesday’s post was about Tacoma’s Justus Sheffield and his remarkable in-game recovery in the series-opening win.
Evan White had a big game, so we took a look at how he’s been progressing in his return from injury.
Friday was the Tacoma Rainiers first-ever game using the “Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System,” so we explained it in this post. The system will be used for today’s game, too.
Yesterday we celebrated Mason McCoy’s game-winning grand slam and the great season that he has had so far.
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Today’s game wraps up the homestand. The team embarks upon a two-week road trip, flying most of the day Monday to Oklahoma City in advance of Tuesday night’s 5:05 (Pacific) game against the Dodgers. There will be six games in Oklahoma City, followed by six games in Las Vegas, before the Rainiers return to Tacoma for the final homestand of the season September 20-25. We’ll have all the broadcasts for you on the live stream, and the next blog post will come mid-day on Tuesday straight outta downtown Oklahoma City.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: Tacoma hit four home runs in the first two innings and rolled to a 10-5 victory over Sacramento on Saturday evening. Kyle Lewis, Brian O’Keefe, Evan White, and Jarred Kelenic each went deep as the Rainiers built an 8-0 lead. Austin Warner started and pitched into the seventh inning, earning the win. Tacoma leads the six-game series, 3-2, and will try for the series win today.
TODAY: Sacramento River Cats (57-71) at Tacoma Rainiers (60-68), 1:35.
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: San Francisco Giants.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Dave Brundage
SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 14-9.
PITCHERS: RHP Sean Hjelle (6-8, 5.02) at RHP Darren McCaughan (8-6, 4.41)
ROSTER MOVES: None today as of posting time.
HOT HITTERS: Erick Mejia has hit safely in 18 of his last 20 games… Mason McCoy has reached base safely in 11 straight games, and he has homered seven times over his last 18 games… Kyle Lewis has a seven-game hitting streak… Brian O’Keefe has a five-game hitting streak.
OPPONENT NEWS: Sacramento came into the series hot, winning five of six in a home series against first place Reno… Sacramento pitched really well in that series, holding Reno to three runs or fewer in all five of the River Cats wins… Sacramento has one former Rainiers reliever in Aaron Fletcher, and former Rainiers infielder Donovan Walton is on the injured list…. River Cats manager Dave Brundage managed Tacoma back in 2006.
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 won their sixth straight game as Robbie Ray was rolling in Cleveland.
- Ryan Divish’s Mariners Notebook includes a look at the wealth of starting pitching the Mariners have at Double-A Arkansas. We’ll find out next spring if the Mariners Player Development Department will dare to challenge any of these young pitchers with a Triple-A assignment.
- Fangraph’s Sunday Notes – always a fun read – has a section on former Rainiers first baseman Ji-Man Choi, now with Tampa Bay, and the possibility of returning to Korea to play at the end of his career.
March 16, 2023