Tacoma finally picked up it’s tenth win of the season last night, playing a good all-around clean game while beating the Reno Aces, 5-2.
It’s been a long road to ten wins – it took 33 games – but now that that’s out of the way, I’d like to see something else: back-to-back wins.
Yup, believe it or not, the Rainiers have not won two games in a row yet this season. They can take care of that little goal with a victory tonight. After that, we can worry about going on a winning streak. As was famously said in Major League, “it has happened before.”
Baby step, fans, baby steps.
One of the big reasons the Rainiers have struggled is the team has had roster churn above and beyond the usual amount for a Triple-A team. That’s going to continue today, with the Mariners making several moves to try to get things going at the major league level.
At some point the transactions will slow down and the Rainiers will have a more settled roster, the guys will get used to playing together, and the team will start reeling off wins.
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Rehabbing outfielder Kyle Lewis did not play yesterday because Mariners team officials decided not to risk it with wet field conditions. Hopefully he’ll be in there tonight.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: Good pitching, aggressive baserunning, and three homers all added up to a Tacoma win last night over Reno, 5-2. Zach Green, Erick Mejia, and Marcus Wilson each homered, and the team stole five bases. A quintet of left-handed pitchers led by starter Tommy Milone (3 IP, 0 runs) limited Reno to just two runs.
TODAY: Reno Aces (16-17) at Tacoma Rainiers (10-23), 7:05
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Arizona Diamondbacks.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Gil Velazquez.
SEASON SERIES: Reno leads, 2-1.
PITCHERS: RHP Drey Jameson (0-1, 16.88) at RHP Konner Wade (0-0, 0.00)
Jameson is one of the Diamondbacks top pitching prospects, and this is his third start since being promoted from Double-A.
ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday Tacoma added outfielder Miguel Perez from extended spring training. We’ll have more moves today.
HOT HITTERS: Mason McCoy has reached base in 15 straight games, hitting safely in 14 of them with a nine-game hitting streak… Zach Green has a six-game hitting streak, he has at least one hit in 14 of his last 15 games, and he has homered in four of his last five games… Steven Souza Jr. has reached base safely in 11 straight games, and in his last four games he is 8-for-18 with three homers and 11 RBI… Sam Haggerty has reached base safely in eight straight games.
OPPONENT NEWS: Reno won on Sunday against Round Rock, but still went 2-4 in the six-game series… the Aces have a decidedly different look from last year, with a new manager and few returning players… top prospect Alek Thomas was called up on Sunday, so the Rainiers will miss him… Jake McCarthy has a 13-game hitting streak… Yonny Hernandez has reached base in 15 straight games, collecting at least one hit in 14 of them… the Aces have former Rainiers Braden Bishop and Jake Hager.
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:
- It’s Seattle Mariners Farm System Day at Fangraphs, where you can find their latest comprehensive organization rankings, and an interview with Double-A outfielder Zach DeLoach.
- The Times has an off day story on Paul Sewald‘s strikeouts-related charity donation.
- With the Mariners visiting the Mets today, a lot of the New York media is reviewing the Robinson Cano–Edwin Diaz for Jarred Kelenic etc. trade and ruling in favor of the Mets. It’s still early – everything will depend upon if Kelenic learns to hit MLB pitching.
June 8, 2023