June 12 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers at Round Rock Express
June 12, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TACOMA RAINIERS (35-29) @ ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (32-31)
Wednesday, June 12 - 5:15 PM PT - Dell Diamond - Round Rock, TX
RHP Casey Lawrence (4-4, 4.79) vs. RHP Jack Leiter (1-3, 4.63)
TONIGHT'S GAME: Tacoma and Round Rock are set to play game two of their six-game series, with the Rainiers currently leading 1-0. Casey Lawrence will take the ball for Tacoma, set to make his 12th start of the year. The right-hander is 4-4 with a 4.79 ERA entering play tonight, having allowed 36 earned runs on 78 hits and 17 walks over 67.2 innings. Over that time, he has struck out 44 batters, allowing opponents to hit .284 against him. Opposite Lawrence will be Jack Leiter taking the ball for the Express, pitching in his ninth game and eighth start. Leiter is 1-3 with a 4.63 ERA through those eight games, allowing 18 earned runs on 28 hits and 17 walks. He has fanned 47 batters in his 35.0 innings pitched, limiting opponents to just a .214 batting average against him.
CALLED UP: Outfielder Spencer Packard and right-handed pitcher Jason Ruffcorn made their Triple-A debuts last night in Round Rock. The two didn't take any time to adjust to the new level, looking right at home and helping Tacoma win the opener. Packard went 2-for-5 at the plate with two singles, scoring the tying run in the top of the fourth inning. Ruffcorn was called in for relief in the bottom of the sixth and spun two scoreless frames, allowing just one hit. The righty struck out a batter, earning his first Triple-A win to move to 1-0 on the year.
EIGHTH INNING RALLY: Trailing Round Rock 4-3 going into the top of the eighth, Tacoma rallied to come back and score five runs. Each batter made an appearance at the plate, with three hits, two walks, and an error by the Express. Aggressive on the base paths, the Rainiers took every chance they had to advance and score. Two balks by Yerry Rodriguez advanced Tacoma runners to second, which ended up working in their favor as both runners scored. Tacoma's pitching held off the Express to preserve the 8-4 lead and win the game. The late-inning comeback marked the first time Tacoma has won a game this year when trailing after seven innings, moving to 1-21 in that category.
TURNING IT AROUND: Isiah Gilliam has struggled in his limited playing time this year, hitting .227 in 32 games for Tacoma. Prior to Saturday, June 8, he was hitting just .195 (16-for-82) with six doubles, two home runs, eight runs batted in and 26 walks compared to 36 strikeouts. He has really turned it around in his last two games, on Saturday and in the opener last night, going 4-for-6 with two doubles and a home run over that span. In Saturday's win over Reno, the switch hitter went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a double, a home run, two runs batted in and a walk. He followed that up with another 2-for-3 performance last night, driving another double and RBI while taking one walk and one strikeout. His back-to-back multi-hit efforts give him five such games on the year.
KEEP 'EM COMING: Tacoma's roster has been in flux the last couple of days, primarily due to Seattle's rigorous schedule from the end of May through the middle of June. The Mariners are currently in a stretch in which they have just one off day from May 17 through June 16, with the off day coming back on June 3. That has meant that their pitchers have thrown a lot of innings without much rest, requiring them to rely on pitchers from Tacoma's roster to get through these games. It started on Sunday, Seattle added infielder Tyler Locklear and relief pitcher Matt Bowman, both of whom were on Tacoma's active roster. To make room for those two, they designated pitchers Eduardo Salazar and Levi Stoudt for assignment, taking two more pitchers off the Rainiers' roster. On Monday, they activated infielder Leo Rivas, followed by Eduard Bazardo and Jhonathan Diaz yesterday, all three from the Rainiers' roster. To make room for Bazardo and Diaz, they designated Bowman and Kirby Snead, sending them to waivers. After pitching last night, Seattle optioned Jhonathan Diaz to make room for reliever Brett de Geus, another reliever from Tacoma's roster. Since, Tacoma has lost six pitchers and two infielders, with six of the eight players going up to Seattle. To help fill the roster, Tacoma has added Brayan Perez from Modesto, Chris Jefferson, Jason Ruffcorn and Matt Tabor from Everett, Logan Gragg and Spencer Packard from Arkansas and Collin Snider from Seattle.
AGAINST ROUND ROCK: The Rainiers and Express will play game two of their six-game set tonight, with Tacoma currently leading the series 1-0. Last night's victory ended a four-game losing streak to Round Rock, dating back to the final four games of the 2023 season. It extended their all-time record over the Express to 15 games, at 55-40. They went just 2-4 at Dell Diamond at 4-11 overall last year against Round Rock, looking to improve on that with another win tonight.
SHORT HOPS: Jason Vosler's first inning home run grew his total on the year to 11, good for the team lead; the two-run blast also brought his RBI total to 43 on the season, also leading the team...eight out of the nine Tacoma starters recorded at least one hit last night, adding up to a team total of 12 hits...the late rally last night gave the Rainiers their first win of the season when trailing after seven innings, moving to 1-21 in that category.
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