Rainiers Blast Past Space Cowboys
August 5, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
Tacoma Rainiers' Marcus Walden on the mound
(Tacoma Rainiers, Credit: Jeff Halstead)
Sugar Land, TX - The Tacoma Rainiers (55-52, 18-14) scored all of their runs in a big sixth inning on Saturday with a pair of homers by their two team leaders in that department, and beat the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (45-62, 12-20) by a 5-2 final. Tacoma leads the weeklong series 3-2 after consecutive victories, and will strive for a winning road trip on Sunday (10-7 on the road in second half).
Rainiers right-hander Marcus Walden allowed only an earned run (3 H) and did not walk a batter in five full innings of work, as Tacoma improved to 7-3 in his starts. Walden struck out three. Space Cowboys starter Misael Tamarez also went 5.0 IP (1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K).
The Rainiers lead all of Triple-A baseball with 84 home runs with runners on base, accomplishing the feat twice in the sixth. Brian O'Keefe pulled a three-run shot to left field, with Adam Engel (walk) and Sam Haggerty (single) on base. Two batters later, Jake Scheiner teed off to left as well, with Taylor Trammell on (walk).
It was O'Keefe's 22nd homer this season, his second three-run shot of the road trip and his sixth homer in nine games, a torrid stretch that dates to July 27. O'Keefe has 12 RBI in five games on this trip (3 HR), and is only two shy of his home run career-high, 24 in 2021 split between Tacoma and Double-A Arkansas. The blast was O'Keefe's 48th home run with the Rainiers since making his Triple-A debut on 7/11/21 (at Sugar Land), and he's tied Dusty Rhodes (1960-63 Tacoma Giants) and Danny Walton (1974-75 Tacoma Twins) for 15th all-time on the franchise home run list.
It was Scheiner's 26th home run this season, and he leads the Pacific Coast League. Scheiner, a PCL MVP candidate, also leads the league with 88 RBI. Scheiner also began Saturday with the circuit's second-most runs scored, extra-base hits, walks and total bases.
O'Keefe also has a nine-game hitting streak, two shy of his season-high. Haggerty extended his streak to eight games (season-high).
Sugar Land scored their runs on a Bligh Madris solo homer (12) in the first inning, and a J.J. Matijevic RBI single in the sixth.
RHP Casey Sadler, LHP Zach Muckenhirn and RHP Ryder Ryan each worked a scoreless inning to close it, Ryan's second save in as many chances. The trio combined to allow only one hit (1 BB), and struck out four.
The finale of this weeklong series will be on Sunday at Constellation Field, a 4:05 PT/6:05 CT first pitch. Southpaw Tommy Milone will make his second start of the trip for Tacoma, opposite Sugar Land RHP Brandon Bielak. Tacoma is 11-3 in Milone's 14 starts.
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
 Tacoma Rainiers' Marcus Walden on the mound (Jeff Halstead) |
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