The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is set for tonight at Coors Field (Fox, 4:30 Pacific), and there are four former Tacoma Rainiers players on the active rosters for the game.
Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Chris Taylor played for Tacoma from 2014 to 2016. He’s hitting .277 with ten homers and 46 RBI for the Dodgers this year, while posting a .382 OBP.
New York Mets pitcher Taijuan Walker made 28 starts for Tacoma between 2013 and 2016. In his first season with the Mets this year, Walker has gone 7-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 16 starts.
Taylor and Walker will play for the National League All-Stars. Two former Rainiers are going to suit up for the American League All-Stars, and they will both represent the Tampa Bay Rays.
Catcher Mike Zunino played for Tacoma in 2013, and at least part of the season every year from 2015 to 2018. Zunino is batting just .198 for the Rays, but he has belted 19 home runs and has an OPS over .800.
Rays reliever Andrew Kittredge was just added to the all-star team yesterday, replacing Mariners representative Yusei Kikuchi on the active roster. Kittredge, who is from Spokane and played college ball at Washington, pitched for Tacoma in 2013, 2015, and 2016. He’s 6-1 with a 1.47 ERA in 32 games for Tampa this year.
The four former Rainiers all played together at times for Tacoma. It would be awesome to have a picture of the four of them from the All-Star Game, but I’m not sure how we can make that happen.
I guess we have to note that it is unusual and, well, less than ideal that there are four former Rainiers in the All-Star Game and not one of them is a Seattle Mariner. Surely this hasn’t happened since the Rainiers affiliated with the Mariners in 1995 – right?
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Tonight is the last game of the Sugar Land series and the final game of the road trip. The Rainiers are off tomorrow before opening a long homestand on Thursday. There will be two makeup doubleheaders during the homestand, so it will be 14 games in 13 days at Cheney Stadium. It all starts with a twinbill on Thursday against Salt Lake at 6:05.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: The Rainiers took Monday’s game at Sugar Land, 6-4, giving them an opportunity to win the series on the road tonight. Jose Marmolejos hit a three-run homer in the first inning and a two-run shot in the third – at that point he had homered in three straight at-bats, going back to Sunday. Pitching in front of a large contingent of family and friends, Tacoma starter Logan Verrett carried a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning.
TODAY: Tacoma (31-26) at Sugar Land (33-25), 5:05 PT.
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Houston Astros.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Mickey Storey.
SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 3-2.
PITCHERS: LHP David Huff (1-2, 5.87) at RHP Peter Solomon (2-0, 5.95)
ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday the Mariners optioned Donovan Walton back to Tacoma. He’ll report when the Rainiers get home on Thursday.
HOT HITTERS: Jose Marmolejos is 13-for-21 during a six-game hitting streak… Marmolejos has hit four home runs with 12 RBI over his past five 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: Bryan De La Cruz is 4-for-18 in this series, right after a torrid five-game hitting streak in which he was 13-for-21 with four homers and 11 RBI… Jake Meyers has an eight-game hitting streak, and he has hit safely in 21 of his last 22 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:
- The Mariners lone All-Star, Yusei Kikuchi is in Denver for the festivities but pulled out of the game.
- The Times has an article on Kikuchi’s career turnaround.
- Day Two of the draft was yesterday, and the Mariners selected two more high school talents with top picks.
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 25, 2023