Sunday means two things: a Tacoma Rainiers day game, and a Tacoma Rainiers Week in Review. Let’s get to it.
We started off with the big news in the Pacific Coast League: the robot umpires descended upon us, and Tuesday was their first day on the job.
The Rainiers won their first game officiated by a computer, and on Wednesday we shared some initial thoughts on it.
Two major league rehabbers and Jarred Kelenic gave the Rainiers lineup a big league look.
Friday’s post is about the end of Kyle Lewis’s rehabilitation assignment and the decision facing the Mariners.
Saturday we reveled in the aftermath of the Rainiers pitching back-to-back shutouts.
And hey, it continued – not the shutouts, but the winning! The Rainiers are on their first winning streak of the season, and it would be awesome to win the final game of the road trip and bring a streak into the homestand that starts on Tuesday. Our next blog post will come Tuesday morning prior to the 11:35 AM first pitch at home against Las Vegas.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: Tacoma beat Sacramento 10-6, and has won three straight game for the first time this season, while also clinching the team’s first series win of the year. Starting pitcher Daniel Ponce de Leon set a Tacoma franchise record by striking out nine consecutive batters to open the game. He pitched five shutout innings with 12 strikeouts – the most K’s by a Tacoma pitcher since Taijuan Walker struck out 13 Fresno Grizzlies on August 10, 2014. Mason McCoy hit two homers and drove in three runs for Tacoma, while both Jarred Kelenic and Joe Odom had three hits apiece.
TODAY: Tacoma Rainiers (15-26) at Sacramento River Cats (19-22), 1:05
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: San Francisco Giants.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Dave Brundage.
SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 4-1.
PITCHERS: LHP Justus Sheffield (0-2, 13.50) at RHP Sean Hjelle (2-2, 6.97)
This is a starting pitcher rematch of the series opener on Tuesday, which the Rainiers won 8-3.
ROSTER MOVES: The Mariners signed veteran catcher Andrew Knapp and assigned him to Tacoma. Knapp, who has over five years of MLB experience, was recently released by the Pirates. Pitcher Adrian Sampson was designated for assignment without having appeared in a game for Tacoma – the Mariners needed a 40-man roster spot for Justin Upton, who they signed yesterday. Today the Mariners called up infielder Sam Haggerty, who replaces the injured Abraham Toro. Outfielder Taylor Trammell was activated from Tacoma’s injured list and called up by Seattle, and Steven Souza Jr. was designated for assignment.
HOT HITTERS: Sam Haggerty has reached base safely in 14 straight games, and he has scored 12 runs over his last 11 games… Marcus Wilson has homered three times during his last seven games, and he has reached base in eight straight games… Joe Odom has a five-game hitting streak.
OPPONENT NEWS: Sacramento just split a six-game series at El Paso, 3-3… Austin Dean hit three solo homers last Sunday, tying a River Cats record… Isan Diaz hit four homers during the six games at El Paso… David Villar also homered four times at El Paso; he leads the league with 14 home runs, but only four have come in home games… former Rainiers from this season Donovan Walton, Kevin Padlo, and Stuart Fairchild have all played for Sacramento in this series.
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:
- Daniel Ponce de Leon was so impressive last night that he got a rare weekend recap on MiLB.com.
- The Mariners have signed four-time all-star Justin Upton – here’s an explanation.
- Seattle blew a 5-0 lead and lost to the Red Sox yesterday, 6-5.
March 24, 2023