Alone in first place. How does that sound? The Tacoma Rainiers have sole possession of first place in the Triple-A West for the first time this season.
The Rainiers surged past Reno with a 9-7 comeback victory on Monday afternoon at Greater Nevada Field. The club has won three straight games here, after dropping the first two games of the series. The Rainiers have won nine of the last 11 games overall.
Sugar Land is now tied with Reno in second place, one game behind Tacoma. Thirteen games remain to determine the regular season champion.
The team’s hold on first place could be short-lived. Or, the lead could grow! It depends on the outcome of Tacoma’s final head-to-head game against Reno tonight at 6:35.
After tonight’s game the Rainiers have an off-day on Wednesday before starting their final home series of the regular season on Thursday, with Sacramento coming to town.
There will be no blog update on Wednesday, but on Thursday we’ll take a closer look at the down-the-stretch schedules for the contending teams.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: The Rainiers took sole possession of first place with a 9-7 win over Reno on Monday afternoon. Trailing 7-6 going to the ninth inning, the Rainiers scored three runs to take the lead. Kevin Padlo singled home the tying run with his fourth hit of the game, before Brian O’Keefe brought home the go-ahead run with a ground out. Jimmy Yacabonis pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save of the series.
TODAY: Tacoma (63-44) at Reno (61-44), 6:35.
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Arizona Diamondbacks.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Blake Lalli.
SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 13-10.
PITCHERS: RHP Ryan Weber (2-1, 3.51) at RHP Luis Frias (2-1, 4.50)
ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday the Rainiers added catcher Freuddy Batista from Low-A Modesto, and reliever Penn Murfee was placed on the injured list.
HOT HITTERS: Kevin Padlo is 8-for-10 with three homers, six runs, and six RBI over the last two games… Jantzen Witte had his streak of reaching base safely end at 24 straight games yesterday. He has gone 67-for-200 (.335) over his last 49 games… Donovan Walton has a seven-game hitting streak, and he has nine homers in his last 24 games… Jack Reinheimer has an 11-game hitting streak, and he has reached base in 24 straight games… Marcus Wilson has gone 15-for-39 with three homers and nine walks over his last 11 games.
OPPONENT NEWS: Reno just lost three of four games in a series against Sacramento in which two games were cancelled due to poor air quality… Cooper Hummel is 8-for-19 with two homers and eight RBI during the first five games of this series… the Diamondbacks recently promoted top prospect Alek Thomas to Reno, and he had back-to-back four-hit games on Sunday and Monday… Seth Beer has been hit by pitch a whopping 29 times this year… Ildemaro Vargas is Reno’s all-time hits leader with 499.
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 roughed up in Houston last night. They’ll try to even-up the three game series tonight.
- The M’s bullpen has been excellent.
- Two Double-A Arkansas players rank very high on this week’s edition of the Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet.
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