Aviators outlast Rainiers in Vegas home run derby
Published on April 29, 2023 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
Mike Ford of the Tacoma Rainiers
(Tacoma Rainiers, Credit: Jeff Halstead)
Las Vegas, NV - Living up to its reputation as a launching pad, Las Vegas Ballpark played host to eight home runs on Friday, five of which belonged to the Las Vegas Aviators (12-13) in a 9-6 victory over the Tacoma Rainiers (13-11). Following their second four-game win streak this season, the Rainiers have dropped three straight for the first time in 2023. Tacoma is now 18-18 at Las Vegas since the new stadium opened in 2019.
Aviators third baseman Jonah Bride went yard twice, solo shots in the fourth and sixth innings. JJ Bleday (3rd inning) and Kyle McCann (5th inning) also added solo blasts. First baseman Tyler Soderstrom dealt the big blow in the fifth, a three-run rocket set up by a pair of walks.
Kean Wong and Taylor Trammell connected on the first back-to-back homers for the Rainiers this season in the third inning. Wong's solo shot to right was Tacoma's first homer from both the 9-hole and a second baseman. Of minor consolation to the Rainiers, Trammell's bomb was both the night's furthest-traveling ball and the hardest hit, with some eye-opening Statcast numbers. The second home run of his rehab assignment extended his hit streak to eight games, landed an estimated 454 feet from home plate, and was struck with an exit velocity of 111.5 mph (video above).
When Mike Ford yanked a homer to right to lead off the sixth, it was his second of the series and his eighth, renewing a three-way tie for the club lead with Brian O'Keefe and Jake Scheiner.
Ford (RBI double, 3rd inning) and Wong (2-run single, 6th inning) drove in the Rainiers' only non-homer runs. That honor for Vegas belonged exclusively to Cody Thomas, who stroked a pair of two-run doubles, in the first inning and again in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
The penultimate game of this weeklong series will be on Saturday night at Las Vegas Ballpark. RHP Easton McGee will start for Tacoma, against Las Vegas RHP Colton Eastman. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PT.
Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto will have full coverage on TacomaRainiers.com. All 2023 Rainiers games, home and away, can also be heard for free on the MiLB First Pitch app. HD video broadcasts of every home game can be viewed with a MiLB.TV subscription.
Images from this story
 Mike Ford of the Tacoma Rainiers (Jeff Halstead) |
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