Diaz Throws Fifth Quality Start of the Season in 3-2 Loss
June 14, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TACOMA, WA - Jhonathan Díaz threw his fifth quality start of the season, but the Tacoma Rainiers (31-36) offense was held to two runs on eight hits and went down on strikes 13 times in a 3-2 loss to the Sacramento River Cats (33-34) on Friday night.
The first runs of the game were scored in the bottom of the fourth inning when Sacramento broke through. Grant McCray led off with his second home run of the series and eighth of the season to give the River Cats a 1-0 advantage. After Bryce Eldridge flied out, Marco Luciano doubled off the center field wall and stole third base with Devin Mann at the plate. Mann then singled to left field, scoring Luciano, and extending the Sacramento lead to 2-0. Drew Ellis was able to work a walk to put runners on first and second, but Díaz induced a ground ball from Sergio Alcantara that the Rainiers turned for an inning-ending double play.
Sacramento starter Carson Seymour shut out the Rainiers until the sixth inning when Tacoma tied the game. Rhylan Thomas began the frame with a double to left field. Following a Harry Ford strikeout, Spencer Packard worked a walk to put runners at first and second base. Tyler Locklear then doubled off of the center field wall, scoring both runners and tying the game at two. Seymour induced a ground out from Leo Rivas, at which point Antonio Jimenez took over in relief and struck out Austin Shenton to end the frame.
Díaz's start was unblemished outside of the fourth inning, as he posted his fourth quality start in his last five outings, going 6.0 innings with two strikeouts and two earned runs on seven hits. Seymour completed 5.2 innings for Sacramento, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out nine.
Sacramento took the lead back in the seventh inning. Hagen Danner came on in relief of Díaz and was met with a leadoff single from Alcantara. Zach Morgan moved Alcantara into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, and he moved up to third on a ground out to second base from Wade Meckler. Luis Matos then knocked a two-out RBI single through the left side to give Sacramento a 3-2 lead.
After Sacramento reliever Kai-Wei Teng recorded a scoreless eighth inning, he would stay on to attempt to close the game in the ninth. He retired Rivas to begin the frame before Shenton reached on an error. Leody Taveras notched his second hit of the night on a single to right field to put the tying run in scoring position, but Teng struck out Blake Hunt and Samad Taylor to end the game with a final score of 3-2.
Antonio Jimenez got the win for Sacramento with 1.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in relief of Seymour. Teng earned his second save of the season, and Danner took the loss after giving up the game-winning run in the seventh inning.
Postgame Notes:
With his quality start on Friday night, Jonathan Díaz became just the third pitcher in the PCL to reach five quality starts on the season. The other two starters with five or more quality outings are both River Cats; Trevor McDonald also has 5 quality starts, the fifth of which came last night in the Sacramento victory, and Carson Whisenhunt leads the PCL with six quality starts.
Spencer Packard reached base in 3 of 4 plate appearances on Friday night, extending his on-base streak to 19 games, which is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the PCL. Packard continues to lead all of Triple-A with an OBP of .525 since the Rainers' 4-week homestand began on May 27. On top of that, his OPS of 1.168 in that span ranks fifth in the PCL.
Tyler Locklear went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Friday's loss, his 12th game with multiple RBI this season, the most on the Rainiers' roster. Locklear has also logged six extra-base hits in 11 June games, surpassing the three extra-base hits he tallied in 26 May games.
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