You see a lot of major league players on rehabilitation assignments in Triple-A, with pretty common results.
When it is a position player who is on the rehab assignment, he usually plays in somewhere between three and five games. The player will look rusty in his first game or two, then start to get a few hits in his third or fourth game. At that point the major league team activates him from the injured list, and we don’t see him again in Triple-A.
Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Josh Rojas took the whole rehabilitation assignment process to an extreme outcome this past weekend.
Out since July 21 with a dislocated finger, Rojas arrived in Reno to start his rehab assignment on Friday. He struck out in his first two at-bats and went 0-for-3 in the game – standard stuff, looked a little rusty in his first game back. In his second game on Saturday, he was 0-for-3, but he sharpened his eye and drew two walks, and also lined out once. Clear progress, again pretty standard stuff for a second rehab game.
Then in his third rehab game yesterday, Rojas blasted three home runs.
He led off the first inning with a homer to the right field corner. In the third inning he connected for a long one to right field. And in the eighth inning he went to the opposite field, driving a solo shot to left. Reno won the game, 10-6.
It certainly appears that Rojas is ready to return to Arizona. In the major leagues he is batting .268 with ten home runs in 93 games and 317 at-bats this season, while posting a .358 on-base percentage.
Hopefully he won’t be in the lineup for Reno tonight.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: Reno stopped it’s longest losing a streak of the season at five by beating Tacoma on Sunday afternoon, 10-6. Rehabilitating Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Josh Rojas hit three home runs, driving in four, and Henry Ramos had four hits. Tacoma was held under ten runs for the first time in the series. Brian O’Keefe doubled, homered, and drove in four runs to lead the Rainiers offense.
TODAY: Tacoma (46-36) at Reno (49-33), 6:35.
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Arizona Diamondbacks.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Blake Lalli.
SEASON SERIES: Tied, 8-8.
PITCHERS: RHP Logan Verrett (6-2, 5.06) at RHP Humberto Mejia (4-3, 5.84)
Mejia was originally listed as yesterday’s starting pitcher, but we are now being told he is throwing today.
HOT HITTERS: Jose Godoy is 10-for-19 with ten RBI during a four-game hitting streak… Jantzen Witte has gone 36-for-100 (.360) over his last 28 games… Luis Liberato has an eight-game hitting streak… Sam Travis has gone 17-for-53 (.321) over his last 13 games… Jack Reinheimer has an eight-game hitting streak… Jose Marmolejos is 16-for-30 over his last eight games, and he also made two nice defensive plays at first base last night.
OPPONENT NEWS: Reno lost the final two games of its six-game series at Sacramento, settling for a split. The Aces have not lost a series this season… speedster Nick Heath has an eight-game hitting streak… Ildemaro Vargas has a six-game hitting streak… newly acquired Cooper Hummel hit for the cycle in his second game after being traded to Arizona/Reno, Saturday at Sacramento… Seth Beer is 10-for-21 over the last five games, so cheers to him.
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:
- The Mariners stopped the bleeding by shutting out the Yankees yesterday, 2-0. The team if off today and starts a homestand tomorrow.
- Seattle got into a bind when Jarred Kelenic was ejected yesterday.
- The News Tribune has its weekly Mariners Takeaways.
- Baseball America has an updated Top 100 Prospects list and the Mariners have three players in the top 11, including No. 2 Julio Rodriguez.
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.
April 1, 2023