What a road trip!
The Rainiers went 9-3 on the trip through Las Vegas and Reno, including the team’s best-ever showing at Reno, and enters tonight’s homestand opener a season-best 12 games over .500 and just one game out of first place.
Winning five of the six games in Reno is unprecedented in franchise history. The team had won only one series ever in that ballpark, which opened in 2009. Tacoma didn’t just win the series. The Rainiers got in to the true spirit of Reno baseball, scoring 58 runs over the six games there while blasting 16 homers. In the process, the Rainiers nearly erased Reno’s lead in the division, which shrunk from five games to one.
Now we’ll see if the team can keep it going at home. Las Vegas visits town for the first time this year – the Rainiers just faced the Aviators at their place two weeks go, winning four of the six games.
Be ready for the heat at the ballpark these next couple days!
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: The team was off yesterday. On Tuesday the Rainiers won one of the most thrilling games of the year, an 8-7 decision at Reno that involved five ties and six lead changes. Donovan Walton homered in the eighth inning to tie the game, 7-7, and Brian O’Keefe hit a go-ahead dinger in the ninth. Jose Godoy homered and drove in three runs to continue his tear at the plate (details below).
TODAY: Las Vegas (43-41) at Tacoma (48-36), 7:05.
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Oakland A’s.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Fran Riordan.
SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 7-5.
PITCHERS: RHP Homer Bailey (1-2, 5.23) at RHP Ryan Weber (1-0, 0.87)
Weber draws the start on his 31st birthday – he won the league’s Pitcher of the Week award for his six shutout innings at Reno last Thursday. And yes, that is the Homer Bailey starting for Vegas.
ROSTER MOVES: The Mariners announced they have called up reliever Yohan Ramirez from Tacoma, but he’s actually been travelling with Seattle on their taxi squad for the last two weeks. We expect several more moves prior to tonight’s game.
HOT HITTERS: Jose Godoy is 15-for-29 with 15 RBI during a six-game hitting streak. All 15 RBI occurred during the five games that he played in the Reno series… Jantzen Witte has gone 38-for-110 (.345) over his last 29 games… Luis Liberato has a nine-game hitting streak… Sam Travis has gone 19-for-57 (.333) over his last 14 games… Jack Reinheimer has a ten-game hitting streak… Jose Marmolejos is 21-for-40 over his last ten games, and he leads the league with a .377 batting average.
OPPONENT NEWS: Las Vegas has won its last three games and beat Salt Lake in a six-game series, 4-2… Austin Allen has a nine-game hitting streak, going 21-for-38 with five home runs… Nate Mondou (Charles Wright Academy, Class of 2013) returns home and will play his first games at Cheney Stadium as a professional… Pete Kozma has drilled five doubles during a four-game hitting streak.
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 got back on track with a 2-1 win over Texas last night.
- An Edgar Martinez statue was unveiled outside T-Mobile Park.
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.