August 9 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers at Reno Aces
August 9, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TACOMA RAINIERS (62-49) @ RENO ACES (55-55)
Friday, August 9 - 6:35 PM - Greater Nevada Field - Reno, NV
RHP Michael Mariot (6-5, 5.22) vs. LHP Konnor Pilkington (3-4, 6.32)
TONIGHT'S GAME: Tacoma and Reno will play game four of their six-game series tonight, with the Rainiers leading the series two games to one. Michael Mariot will take the mound for the Rainiers tonight, set to pitch in his 21st game of the year. Through 20 games (17 starts) this season, Mariot is 6-5 with a 5.22 ERA, allowing 52 earned runs on 85 hits and 21 walks. He has struck out 77 batters over 89.2 innings, limiting opponents to a .250 batting average against him. In four games against Reno this year, the right-hander is 1-1 with an 11.77 ERA, allowing 18 runs (17 earned) on 20 hits and two walks. Five of his 20 hits allowed have left the yard, as Reno is hitting .351 against Mariot. He has struck out 10 over 13.0 innings. Opposite Mariot will be Konnor Pilkington toeing the rubber for the Aces, set to pitch in his 27th game (17th start) of the year. Pilkington is 3-4 with a 6.32 ERA, allowing 44 earned runs on 78 hits and 40 walks while striking out 61 batters over 62.2 innings pitched. In three games (one start) against the Rainiers this year, the southpaw is 0-0 with a 4.70 ERA. He has allowed four earned runs on nine hits and six walks while striking out seven over 7.2 innings.
LEADING IT OFF: Rhylan Thomas was Tacoma's leadoff man last night for the first time this season in his ninth game with the Rainiers. Thomas was acquired from the New York Mets in exchange for Ryne Stanek on July 26, and since joining Tacoma, has done nothing but hit. In nine games with the Rainiers, the outfielder is hitting .438 (14-for-32) with five runs scored, a double and seven runs batted in. He has not taken a walk but has struck out just twice in his 33 plate appearances. He has at least one hit in all nine games with Tacoma, including multiple hits in three of the nine games. The longest hitting streak from a Rainiers player this year was when Jason Vosler recorded a hit in 13 straight games from June 25 - July 10.
GET ONE MORE: After stealing a base in the first inning of last night's loss, Tacoma now has 229 swiped bags this year. Their 229 stolen bases tie their all-time franchise record, tying the 1982 team. With one stolen base tonight, they will have set a new franchise record, with 39 games left to play this year. Tacoma's 229 stolen bases are not only a franchise record, but they are also the most in Triple-A this year. They have stolen 60 more bases than the next closest team, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, who come into tonight with 169 swiped bags on the year. 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 - 35) are three of the top five base stealers among qualified Triple-A players. They have combined to steal more bases (115) than 15 Triple-A teams have had in 2024.
GET PAST IT: Last night's loss was the worst loss of the season for Tacoma, allowing a season-high 22 runs. Their previous season high allowed in a single game was 20, back on June 23 against Las Vegas. They allowed 22 hits in both games, the most they have allowed in a single game all year. Despite the 18-run loss, Tacoma still leads the series two games to one and will look to earn a series split with a victory tonight.
CAN'T GET FIVE: Tacoma entered last night's game on a four-game winning streak, tying their season long. It marked the sixth time this year they have won four consecutive games, but with last night's loss, have yet to get five victories in a row once. In their first two attempts at winning five games in a row, the Rainiers lost each game by one run, but since, it has not been as close. They lost their third attempt by four runs on June 18, by 10 runs on June 23, nine runs on July 24 and now 18 runs in last night's game. In their six attempts and getting a fifth straight win, they have now lost by a combined 43 runs.
OLD FRIEND: Michael Perez was acquired by Seattle along with reliever Mike Baumann in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles on May 22 in exchange for catcher Blake Hunt. Perez was assigned to Tacoma and activated four days later. He played in 16 games with the Rainiers, hitting .176 (9-for-51) with eight runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and 13 runs batted in. He was released on July 9 and signed by Arizona on the 31, getting assigned to Reno on August 2. Last night, against his former team, the 32-year-old catcher went 5-for-6 with two runs scored, two doubles and five runs batted in. He now has the most hits for any single player in a game against Tacoma this season, tying the most doubles and one shy of the most runs batted in.
AGAINST RENO: Tacoma and Reno will play game four of their six-game series tonight, with the Rainiers leading the series two games to one. The Rainiers have already won the season series, leading 16-8 with three games left to play. They went 12-3 in 15 games at home and are now 4-5 here at Greater Nevada Field after last night's loss. Despite leading the season series, the Rainiers trail the all-time series to Reno by 34 games, at 117-151.
SHORT HOPS: Cade Marlowe is expected to rejoin Tacoma's roster tonight; the outfielder still leads the Rainiers in walks (55) and stolen bases (43) entering play tonight...Nick Solak collected two more hits for Tacoma last night, raising his average to .313 (57-for-182) in 57 games with Tacoma this year...Carlos Vargas was Tacoma's only pitcher to not allow a run last night among eight different players.
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