The Rainiers hung on for a tight 5-4 victory on Monday night, clinching a series victory at Las Vegas. Tacoma has won four of the first five games here, with the final game to be played tonight.
This makes three straight series wins for the Rainiers, with a split before that. The last series loss was over a month ago, when Reno took four of six from the Rainiers at Cheney. Tacoma gets a rematch with Reno on the second leg of the Nevada Desert road trip, which starts on Thursday.
Wednesday is an off day for travel. The team flies to Reno and will have the evening to relax in the Biggest Little City In The World. Dinner plans will be made, which is always nice. There will be no Two Weeks In The Desert Day Seven blog post – we’re going to jump directly to Day Eight on Thursday.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: The Rainiers scored five early runs off major league veteran Homer Bailey, building a 5-1 lead in the third inning and then holding on for a 5-4 win at Las Vegas on Monday night. Brian O’Keefe had two hits off Bailey and scored two runs, with Sam Travis also contributing a pair of hits. Tacoma clinched a road series win with one game left in Vegas.
TODAY: Tacoma (43-34) at Las Vegas (38-39), 7:05.
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Oakland A’s.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Fran Riordan.
SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 7-4.
PITCHERS: RHP Darren McCaughan (5-3, 3.97) at RHP Kyle Friedrichs (0-0, 0.00)
It’s a battle of former Long Beach State Dirtbags, with McCaughan the younger of the duo – they were teammates for one season in 2015. This is McCaughan’s first appearance for Tacoma since being sent down from the Mariners. Friedrichs has been pitching for Oakland’s Double-A affiliate in Midland, Texas all year.
ROSTER MOVES: Jantzen Witte is back from paternity leave, and new acquisition Marcus Wilson could arrive today.
HOT HITTERS: Jantzen Witte has gone 31-for-86 (.360) over his last 25 games… Taylor Trammell has an eight-game hitting streak… Jose Marmolejos is 8-for-14 during this series… Brian O’Keefe has hit safely in five straight games… Luis Liberato has a four-game hitting streak… Sam Travis has gone 12-for-35 over his last nine games.
OPPONENT NEWS: Las Vegas won on Tuesday to earn a 3-3 split of a six game road series at Salt Lake… Francisco Pena has an eight-game hitting streak, with three homers during it… Lake Tapps native Nate Mondou had his streak of reaching base safely in 26 straight games end on Saturday.
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:
- Chris Flexen had a strong start, Jake Fraley drove in a couple of runs, and the Mariners beat Tampa on Monday.
- Former Rainiers and Mariners infielder Taylor Motter, now with Albuquerque, was named the Triple-A West Player of the Week.
- Olympics Update: Rainiers reliever Zack Weiss will be returning soon, as Team Israel was knocked out by the Dominican Republic on a walk-off hit by Jose Bautista. Team USA and Eric Filia plays the Dominican Republic tonight with the winner advancing to the semifinals.
- A Mariners prospect who just became old enough to see an R-rated movie without a chaperone makes an appearance on this week’s edition of the Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet.
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