The Tacoma Rainiers longest homestand of the season continues tonight, as the Sacramento River Cats arrive in town for a seven-game, six-day series (there is a day/night split doubleheader on Sunday).
The Rainiers won the series against Salt Lake, and are 4-3 so far on the homestand. Tacoma moved five games over .500 (35-30) at the exact midpoint of what is now going to be a 130 game season.
Tacoma has played Sacramento previously this season, a five-game series June 10-15 (it was scheduled for six games, one game was rained out). Tacoma won four of those five games.
Good pitching was key in the Salt Lake series, with Tacoma holding the Bees to four or fewer runs in six of the seven games. We’ll see if they can keep that going against Sacramento.
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It was great to see Darren McCaughan not only get a chance to pitch for the Mariners, but to have success in his Major League debut yesterday at Coors Field.
McCaughan’s pitching line: five innings, three walks, no strikeouts – is not a typical mixture for success at high elevation, but it worked. He got all kinds of soft contact, like we have seen when he is on his game for the Rainiers, and it led to no hits allowed, and one run. Unfortunately the Mariners were down 5-1 before he entered the game, and ended up losing. Hopefully he’ll get a chance to make a proper start next week when they face the Houston Astros.
In all, it’s awesome to see him get a chance and perform well. A former 12th round draft pick who went 0-6 with a 8.06 ERA for Tacoma in 2019, and opened this season in Double-A, McCaughan has taken some huge strides forward this year.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: The whole league was off yesterday. On Tuesday, Tacoma beat Salt Lake 4-1 to win the seven-game series against the Bees, four games to three. Ryan Weber pitched 4.1 innings in is 2021 Tacoma debut, allowing one run. Five relievers followed Weber, combining to pitch 4.2 shutout innings. Alen Hanson led the Tacoma offense with a double and a triple, scoring one run and driving in another.
TODAY: Sacramento (27-38) at Tacoma (35-30), 7:05.
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: San Francisco Giants.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Dave Brundage.
SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 4-1.
PITCHERS: RHP Aaron Sanchez (0-1, 7.50) at RHP Penn Murfee (0-0, 0.00)
This will be Murfee’s second start for Tacoma; he pitched four scoreless innings against Salt Lake last Thursday.
ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday the Seattle Mariners called up pitcher Darren McCaughan, and optioned outfielder Dillon Thomas to Tacoma. The team announced that infielder Wyatt Mathisen cleared waivers and was outrighted to Tacoma.
HOT HITTERS: Jantzen Witte has a seven-game hitting streak, and he has gone 26-for-69 (.377) over his last 20 games… Jose Marmolejos is batting .418 in July, and he has hit seven home runs over his last ten games… Jake Hager has had ten of his last 13 hits go for extra bases (six doubles and four homers)… Brian O’Keefe has a four-game hitting streak.
OPPONENT NEWS: Sacramento just lost five-of-six in a home series against Round Rock… former Rainiers outfielder Braden Bishop is on a 15-game hitting streak, and he has reached base safely in 24 straight games… Arismendy Alcantara has a four-game hitting streak… Alcantara homered in five of six games during a series at Salt Lake, July 8-13… Sacramento manager Dave Brundage was the manager of the Rainiers in 2006… catcher Joey Bart is considered one of the top prospects in the league… there are online reports that Giants 2017 first round pick Heliot Ramos is joining Sacramento today.
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:
- Darren McCaughan made his MLB debut for the Mariners yesterday, but he didn’t come in until the team had already allowed five runs. Ryan Divish explains.
- On Tuesday, Cal Raleigh had his first two major league hits in a Mariners win at Colorado.
- The Seattle Times story on covering the wide expanse of outfield grass at Coors Field also applies to many high-elevation ballparks that the Rainiers play in on the road, such as Albuquerque, Salt Lake, and Reno.
- The results of the next seven games – home against Oakland and Houston – are going to determine the Mariners trade deadline strategy.
- The Rainiers are chasing Reno in the West division standings. The Reno paper has a preview of the Aces series against Round Rock that starts tonight.
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