August 6 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers at Reno Aces
August 6, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TACOMA RAINIERS (60-48) @ RENO ACES (54-53)
Tuesday, August 6 - 6:35 PM - Greater Nevada Field - Reno, NV
RHP Casey Lawrence (6-8, 6.28) vs. LHP Dylan File (0-1, 5.79)
TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: Tacoma and Reno will begin their final six-game series of the season tonight, with Tacoma having already won the season series. Casey Lawrence will take the ball for the Rainiers, set to make his 21st start of the season and sixth of the season against the Aces. Through his first 20 starts, the right-hander is 6-8 with a 6.28 ERA, allowing 81 earned runs on 144 hits and 36 walks. He has struck out 81 batters, as opponents are hitting .299 against him over his league-leading 116.0 innings pitched. Opposite Lawrence will be Dylan File toeing the rubber for the Aces, set to make just his second start for Reno. He lost his first game back on July 31 against Sacramento, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits including two home runs. He allowed one walk while striking out two over his 4.2 innings, throwing 48 of his 80 pitches for strikes. File has pitched in 36 Triple-A games over his career, making nine starts for Nashville in 2021 and pitching in 26 games (19 starts) for the Sounds in 2022.
NEW FACES: Although Tacoma and Reno have played each other 21 times entering this six-game series, there will be some new faces on both sides of the matchup this series. For Reno, Andres Chaparro, Deyvison De Los Santos and Adrian Del Castillo were a three-headed monster against Tacoma and all three of them are no longer on their active roster. In 21 games against Tacoma, Chaparro hit .297 (22-for-74) with five doubles and six home runs, driving in 19 runs while also drawing 11 walks. He was traded to the Washington Nationals on July 30 in return for RHP Dylan Floro. De Los Santos was part of a package sent to Miami for LHP A.J. Puk on July 25. The 21-year-old hit .324 (11-for-34) in nine games with Reno against Tacoma, clubbing two doubles and three home runs, drawing three walks compared to just five strikeouts. Maybe the biggest loss of all to the Aces was catcher Adrian Del Castillo, who just had his contract selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks today. That is a welcome sight for Rainiers' pitchers, as the 24-year-old hit .368 (28-for-76) with nine doubles, two triples and four home runs. He drove in 14 runs and drew six walks compared to 10 strikeouts, raising his on-base percentage against Tacoma to .429.
STAY HOT: Dominic Canzone has played in seven total games on Major League rehab with Tacoma this year, including four on his current stint. Canzone has recorded at least one hit in all seven games with the Rainiers, hitting .440 (11-for-25) overall. In his first rehabilitation stint from May 11-14, he was recovering from a left AC joint sprain suffered from jumping into the wall to make a catch. He was active with Seattle from May 15 - June 10 before getting placed on the IL again with a right adductor strain. In his four games on this second rehab stint from August 1-4 with Tacoma, the 26-year-old is hitting .500 (7-for-14). He has one double and two home runs including one in back-to-back games entering play tonight. Canzone had driven in three and taken one walk compared to one strikeout over the four-game span, playing left field twice, right field once and designated hitter once. The outfielder was originally drafted by Arizona in the eighth round of the 2019 draft, playing against the team that he played 88 games with in 2022 and 71 games with last season.
EARNED A SPLIT: Tacoma ran into a red-hot Salt Lake Bees team last week, as the Bees came into the series having won 10 straight games. Salt Lake took each of the first two games, matching the longest winning streak of any team this season, at 12 straight games. Tacoma snapped both their four-game losing streak and Salt Lake's 12-game winning streak with a one-run win on Thursday, but then lost Friday night to go down in the series 3-1. They were in danger of losing their first home series all year long, as Tacoma has dominated at Cheney Stadium this year. With their backs against the wall, they earned wins in each of the final two games of the series, earning a series split. They are now 34-17 at home this year, going 8-2-0 in their first 10 series of the year.
OUT OF THE ORDINARY: Tacoma got a quality start from Blas Castano in the series finale against Salt Lake on Sunday, as the right-hander allowed just two earned runs on three hits over 7.0 innings. Castano had it all working, as the 25-year-old struck out a career-high 12 batters while walking none. His 12 strikeouts marked not only a career high, but also a season high for any Tacoma pitcher this year. He was followed by Chris Devenski (3) and Joey Krehbiel (2) who combined to strikeout five of the six batters they retired. 17 team strikeouts also set a season high, as the previous high mark for a single game was 13, done back on April 21 at Las Vegas. The Rainiers have not been a high strikeout team this year, as they are last among Pacific Coast League teams in strikeouts this year, with 834. Castano's 12-strikeout game was the first for a Tacoma pitcher since Daniel Ponce de Leon did so on May 21, 2022, at Sacramento.
HISTORY IN SIGHT: Tacoma stole four bases in Thursday's game against Salt Lake, putting them at 226 stolen bases on the season. They stole just one more base over their next three games, entering play tonight with 227 swiped bags this season, leading all Triple-A teams, with the next closest (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) coming in with 169 stolen bases this year. Tacoma's 227 stolen bases give them the most for a Triple-A team in a single season dating back to at least 1988. The Omaha Storm Chasers, Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, had 223 last season, but the Rainiers have now surpassed that. In franchise history, Tacoma's 1982 team stole 229 bases, so they are just two from tying and three away from setting a team record as well. The modern Pacific Coast League record of 281, set by the 1981 Albuquerque Dukes, is also in sight if the Rainiers keep their current pace. Three Tacoma players (Cade Marlowe - 43, Samad Taylor - 37 and Ryan Bliss - 34) are three of the top five base stealers among qualified Triple-A players. They have combined to steal more bases (114) than 15 Triple-A teams have had in 2024. Jonatan Clase (26) and Leo Rivas (24) were also in the top-10 among Pacific Coast League base stealers, giving the Rainiers five of the top-10 runners in the league.
STARTING TO CLICK: Over their last two games, Tacoma's relievers have not allowed a single hit over 5.0 inning pitched. In Saturday's 8-5 win over Salt Lake, Kirby Snead, Gabe Speier and Carlos Vargas spun three scoreless frames. The three pitchers allowed just one walk while striking out one over the nine batters faced. In an 8-2 win on Sunday, Chris Devenski and Joey Krehbiel struck out five of the six batters they retired, combining to walk two over two scoreless frames.
AGAINST RENO: Tacoma and Reno will play their 22nd game of the season tonight, with the Rainiers having already won the season series entering their final six games this week. Tacoma leads the season series 14-7, having gone 12-3 at home and just 2-4 here at Greater Nevada Field. Despite leading the season series, the Rainiers trail the all-time series to Reno by 35 games, at 115-150. Tacoma has won three straight games over the Aces, sweeping them at home in the first three games out of the All-Star break.
SHORT HOPS: Blas Castano's 12-strikeout game in the finale on Sunday was the first for a Tacoma pitcher since Daniel Ponce de Leon did so on May 21, 2022, at Sacramento...Tacoma earned their 60th win of the season on Sunday, becoming the fifth team in Triple-A to win 60 and just the second in the PCL...Luis Urias hit his sixth home run of the season on Sunday and second of the series against Reid Detmers, as his fifth of the year came on Tuesday against the Southpaw...the three highest strikeout games for an individual Rainiers' pitcher this season have all come against Salt Lake - as Diaz and Lawrence struck out 10 (April 4, May 18) and Castano struck out 12 on Sunday.
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