The Tacoma Rainiers are back in town, opening up a six-game homestand this evening against the El Paso Chihuahuas. First pitch is set for 6:05 at Cheney Stadium.
El Paso has been one of the big stories in the Pacific Coast League so far this season, simply because they have had major league superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. on the roster. Alas, Tatis is no longer with the Chihuahuas. His rehabilitation assignment has ended, and he is working out with the Padres today and tomorrow before they activate him on Thursday.
Tatis went absolutely bonkers at the plate in the PCL. He hit seven home runs in eight games, batting .515 and driving in 15 runs. The Tacoma Rainiers pitching staff is perfectly fine with the fact that he is not here in town.
Interestingly, El Paso is not off to a good start as a team despite that influx of offense. The Chihuahuas are just 6-9 on the season, and they just lost four of six at home to Albuquerque with Tatis in the lineup for four of the games. El Paso’s team earned run average of 6.48 is pretty clearly the culprit here.
As for the Rainiers, the team is also coming off a 2-4 series, on the road at Round Rock. Tacoma is still looking to stabilize the pitching staff that was shaken up when the Mariners had numerous issues with their staff during the last road trip, and had to lean heavily on the Rainiers for replacements.
Tacoma’s bats did spring into life the final two games of the Round Rock series, scoring 14 runs on 24 hits over the two contests. Hopefully that will carry over into the homestand that begins tonight.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: The whole league was off yesterday. On Sunday the Rainiers were fighting for a chance to split the series at Round Rock, but they dropped a 5-4 decision. Tacoma did collect ten hits, with Zach DeLoach going 3-for-5 and Jake Scheiner ripping a two-run dinger, but Round Rock’s Elier Hernandez singled home the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh and it proved to be the game winner.
TODAY: El Paso Chihuahuas (6-9) at Tacoma Rainiers (7-7), 6:05.
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: San Diego Padres.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Phillip Wellman.
SEASON SERIES: 0-0.
PITCHERS: RHP Pedro Avila (1-1, 11.74) at RHP Easton McGee (1-0, 3.12)
McGee gets bumped up in the rotation order, but is still pitching on a proper fifth day since his last start on Thursday.
ROSTER MOVES: Recently designated for assignment by the Mariners, lefthander Brennan Bernardino was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox. Also claimed off waivers; reliever JB Bukauskas is now a Milwaukee Brewer. There are going to be many more roster moves before tonight’s game.
HOT HITTERS: Brian O’Keefe has hit safely in ten of his first 11 games of the season… Mason McCoy reached base safely in 13 of the 14 games he has played in… Zach DeLoach has a four-game hitting streak, and he has hit safely in eight of his last nine games.
OPPONENT NEWS: Despite having Fernando Tatis Jr. in the lineup, the Chihuahuas just lost four of six home games to Albuquerque… infielder Taylor Kohlwey, who is a career .301 hitter in the PCL, is on a seven-game hitting streak… catcher Yorman Rodriguez has hit safely in six straight… the Chee-Wahs are loaded with ex-Rainiers. Ray Kerr, Domingo Tapia, Tim Lopes, Jantzen Witte, and Luis Liberato have all played for Tacoma, and their trainer Josh Diloreto was also once with Tacoma.
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 four-game win streak ended with a loss to the Brewers last night.
- Jarred Kelenic has emerged as the pride of Wisconsin amateur baseball.
- El Paso has a 33-year-old reliever in Jake Sanchez who has a similar story to former Rainiers lefty Brennan Bernardino.
June 1, 2023