PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Rainiers Can't Dodge Late Homers

August 12, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


Tacoma Rainiers' Kyle Hart on the mound
Tacoma Rainiers' Kyle Hart on the mound
(Tacoma Rainiers, Credit: Bryce Carithers)

Tacoma, WA - The Tacoma Rainiers (59-53, 22-15) dropped their first game since August 3, falling to the Oklahoma City Dodgers (73-37, 23-14) 5-2 on Friday night at Cheney Stadium. The Dodgers scored all of their runs with solo homers, with two apiece in the seventh and eighth innings. After taking the first three games of this six-game set against OKC, Tacoma still leads the season series 4-3. It was the first Rainiers loss at Cheney Stadium since July 25, having won their last eight at home.

Taylor Trammell put the Rainiers on the board in impressive fashion with a 450-foot home run, his third blast in four games, to give Tacoma a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Trammell has 15 four baggers with Tacoma this season, which is already a career high in MiLB for the outfielder.

The Dodgers quickly tied it up as Justin Yurchak knocked a solo shot over the right field wall in the third inning. Yurchak had been homerless since July 2 before hitting the slider out of the park.

It was not tied for long as Trammell drove in Zach DeLoach (BB) with a bloop single into right field, giving the Rainiers a 2-1 advantage. Trammell continued a strong series, batting .467 (7-for-15, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 4 SB before game) through four games of a six-game set.

LHP Kyle Hart, in his first start after coming off the paternity list, had another strong outing for the Rainiers, tossing five frames of one-run ball (3 H, 5 K). Across his last two starts, Hart has a 0.82 ERA (11.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 9 K) and it was his sixth start giving up two earned runs or fewer with Tacoma. The lefty has been sharp at home, pitching to a 3.86 ERA when he's on the mound at Cheney (35.0 IP, 35 H, 15 ER, 10 BB, 35 K).

On the other end of the pitcher's duel, RHP Gavin Stone recorded his third quality start of the season (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 7 K) with two of them coming in August. The righty retired the last seven Rainiers batters he saw as he kept his side in it.

OKC gained their first lead of the game in the seventh inning as Ryan Ward and Bryson Brigman hit back-to-back solo jacks to give Oklahoma City a 3-2 lead. The Dodgers have hit homers in consecutive at-bats six times this season and Ward, who has 17 round trippers on the year, has been involved in four of the instances. Michael Busch and David Freitas hit solo shots of their own in the eighth inning to give OKC a three-run lead.

The Rainiers continue their series against the Triple-A Dodgers on Saturday, with first pitched scheduled for ^:05 PT. LHP Tommy Milone will be on the mound for Tacoma, while RHP Landon Knack is scheduled to start for Oklahoma City.

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.

Check out the Tacoma Rainiers Statistics




Images from this story

Tacoma Rainiers' Kyle Hart on the mound
Tacoma Rainiers' Kyle Hart on the mound
(Bryce Carithers)		   



Pacific Coast League Stories from August 12, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central