Menu
Curto, Tacoma Rainiers

Two Straight: Wilson Walks ‘Em Off

The Rainiers have won back-to-back games for the first time this season, after taking Friday night’s game in thrilling fashion.

With the score tied 6-6 and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Sam Haggerty drew a walk to bring Marcus Wilson to the plate. Despite Wilson having homered earlier in the game, much of the drama at the moment surrounded Haggerty attempting to steal second base.

Wilson made that a moot point by unloading on a Ryan Meisinger fastball and blasting this game-winning home run:

That makes two straight wins for the Rainiers, and one more is a winning streak, you guys. It has happened before.

Tacoma also has not yet split (or won) a six-game series this year. That would change with just one more win this weekend against the Aces.

—

Looking at the big picture, the Mariners made a bunch of roster moves yesterday that are going to impact the Rainiers. Most notably, outfielder Jarred Kelenic was optioned to Tacoma, and Steven Souza Jr. was called up to replace him.

Kelenic hit well for the Rainiers last year, and getting some Triple-A at-bats will hopefully improve his confidence and get him pointed in the right direction. It is my understanding that the organization wanted him to take a day or two off to clear his head, which means he isn’t likely to join the team until Tuesday in Sacramento (note that this could change – since the Rainiers are at home right now, he may decide to arrive earlier).

As for Kyle Lewis, he’s still with the Rainiers and was seen on the field pregame yesterday doing knee-strengthening workouts, but he has not been in the lineup since Tuesday. Looks like it could be a longer process for his return, as was stated by Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto from the start.

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: Marcus Wilson homered twice: a three-run shot in the fourth inning, and the game-ending two-run blast in the ninth that gave Tacoma an 8-6 win over the Reno Aces on Friday night. Miguel Perez started the scoring for the Rainiers, drilling his first Triple-A home run with two men aboard in the third inning. Tacoma had some excellent relief pitching over the final three innings from Patrick Weigel and Matt Koch.

TODAY: Reno Aces (16-18) at Tacoma Rainiers (11-23), 5:05

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Arizona Diamondbacks.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Gil Velazquez.

SEASON SERIES: Tied, 2-2.

PITCHERS: RHP Dan Straily (1-2, 6.43) at RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon (3-1, 4.50)

ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday the Mariners optioned outfielder Jarred Kelenic and pitcher Danny Young to Tacoma, and they called up outfielder Steven Souza Jr. Seattle added the re-acquired Mike Ford to the big league roster, and activated Sergio Romo from the IL. Outfielder Stuart Fairchild and pitcher Yohan Ramirez were designated for assignment. Also, the team claimed pitcher Adrian Sampson off waivers from the Cubs and announced he will be joining Tacoma.

HOT HITTERS: Mason McCoy has reached base in 15 straight games, hitting safely in 14 of them with a nine-game hitting streak… Zach Green had his six-game hitting streak end last night. Green has homered in four of his last six games… Sam Haggerty has reached base safely in nine straight games.

OPPONENT NEWS: Reno won on Sunday against Round Rock, but still went 2-4 in the six-game series… the Aces have a decidedly different look from last year, with a new manager and few returning players… top prospect Alek Thomas was called up on Sunday, so the Rainiers will miss him… Jake McCarthy had his 13-game hitting streak end last night; he did walk and has reached base in 16 straight games… Yonny Hernandez had a streak of reaching base in 15 straight games end last night… Grayson Greiner has an eight-game hitting streak… the Aces have former Rainiers Braden Bishop and Jake Hager.

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:

  • Larry Stone has the Jarred Kelenic situation covered here.
  • Here’s the recap of all of the roster moves from Ryan Divish.
  • After all that, the Mariners went out and beat the Mets in a game that Max Scherzer started.
  • Mike Ford has a good attitude about his travels.
  • In the PCL, the Reno newspaper has an explanation of the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS), or robo-umpire, that will be implemented in this league starting on Tuesday.

Related Articles