August 24 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers vs. Sacramento River Cats
August 24, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TACOMA RAINIERS (72-52) vs. SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS (65-59)
Saturday, August 24 - 6:05 PM - Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA
LHP Jhonathan Diaz (9-2, 4.07) vs. RHP Carson Ragsdale (1-3, 6.08)
TONIGHT'S GAME: With the series even at two games apiece, Tacoma and Sacramento will play game five of six tonight. Tacoma will send Jhonathan Diaz to the mound, set to make his 21st start of the year in his 22nd game. The southpaw enters tonight's game with a 9-2 record and a 4.07 ERA, allowing 51 earned runs on 112 hits and 47 walks. He has struck out 113 batters over his 112.2 innings, limiting opponents to a batting average of .260. Opposite Diaz will be Carson Ragsdale taking the ball for the River Cats, making his ninth start of the season. Through eight starts with Sacramento, the right-hander is 1-3 with a 6.08 ERA, allowing 25 earned runs on 39 hits and 21 walks. He has struck out 42 batters over 37.0 innings, while opponents are hitting .279 against him. Tonight will be Ragsdale's first career appearance against the Rainiers, while Diaz will be facing the River Cats for the third time this year and 11th in his career.
BACK IN ACTION: Shortstop J.P. Crawford is expected to join Tacoma's roster on Major League rehab for the second time this season. Crawford suffered a right oblique strain back on April 25 and played in two games with Tacoma. He hit .200 (1-for-5 with a run scored, a walk and two strikeouts. He was activated by Seattle on May 20 and played with the Mariners for just over a month before being placed on the 10-day IL again on July 23 with a right hand fracture. Tonight will be his first action since getting hit in the hand on July 22 against the Angels.
LOCKED IN: Luis Urias was dialed in at the plate last night, going a perfect 5-for-5 with five runs scored, a double, a home run and five runs batted in. He recorded five hits for the second time this year and the third time overall for Tacoma, coming one RBI shy of tying the single game record this season set by Brian Anderson back on May 23 against Las Vegas. His five runs scored were the most for Tacoma in a single game since Mike Freeman scored five on Aug. 4, 2016, at El Paso.
TIE HIS TEAMMATE: Jhonathan Diaz will take the ball for the Rainiers tonight, set to pitch in his 22nd game of the year. Diaz has led both Tacoma and the Pacific Coast League virtually all year long in wins until last night. His teammate, Casey Lawrence, earned his 10th win of the season with his quality start last night, surpassing Diaz for the league lead. Diaz has a chance to get back in a tie for first with a win tonight in what would be his first win Since July 26 against Oklahoma City. The southpaw has allowed just three earned runs over his last 11.1 frames, giving up nine hits and four walks while striking out 13 over that span. In two starts against Sacramento this year, he is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA entering play tonight. He has allowed two earned runs on nine hits and four walks, striking out 12 in 11.1 innings against the River Cats.
HEATING UP: Jake Slaughter is heating up at the right time for Tacoma's offense, going 2-for-5 with three runs batted in last night. It marked his third straight game with a hit and third game of his last five with multiple hits. Over that stretch, dating back to Aug. 15, Slaughter is hitting .350 (7-for-20) with a double, a home run and five runs batted in. Since joining Tacoma on May 15, Slaughter is hitting .254 (61-for-240) with 11 doubles and seven home runs. On the season overall between Triple-A Iowa and the Rainiers, the infielder has 17 doubles and 12 home runs, hitting .268 in 94 games.
TWO THROUGH FOUR: Tacoma's middle of the lineup provided all the offense they needed in last night's 15-4 victory. Samad Taylor, Luis Urias and Jason Vosler combined to go 11-for-15 with 10 runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and seven runs batted in last night. Taylor went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a double out of the two-hole, extending his hitting streak to eight games. Urias was 5-for-5 with five runs scored, a double, a home run and five runs batted in out of the three-hole, his second five-hit game of the season. Vosler went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run and two runs batted in, hitting his team-leading 25th home run of the season.
AGAINST SACRAMENTO: With last night's win, Tacoma ended their two-loss skid, evening the current series against the River Cats at two games apiece. Despite the current series being even, Tacoma still trails the season series against Sacramento by four games, at 10-6. They also are 11 games back in the all-time series, trailing 258-247 all-time against the River Cats.
SHORT HOPS: Tacoma kept pace with Reno in the second half standings with their win last night, as the Aces beat Las Vegas by a score of 8-5; the Rainiers trail the Aces by half of a game entering play tonight...Tacoma moved to 15-5 in the month of August with their win last night, tying the most wins of any month this year with seven games still to play; they won 15 games in April (15-10) and June (15-11).
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