Rainiers Drop Season Finale to Playoff-Bound Round Rock
September 24, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
Tacoma, WA - The Tacoma Rainiers (77-73) polished off a well-attended season at Cheney Stadium on Sunday, despite an 11-6 loss to the playoff bound Round Rock Express (89-60). The 384,498 fans who attended Rainiers games this season surpassed the 378,518 who patronized Cheney in 2011, the first season of the venerable ballpark's current remodeled configuration. 18,965 fans Friday through Sunday pushed the total number to the new benchmark, highlighted by a capacity crowd of 7,166 on Saturday evening.
Round Rock (45-30) hit five home runs on Sunday in their second-half-clinching victory, finishing one game in front of the Reno Aces for the Pacific Coast League's second playoff spot. Round Rock will travel to Oklahoma City for the PCL Championship Series, which begins Tuesday.
Blaine Crim (22, 2-R), Davis Wendzel (30, solo), David Huff (17, 2-R), and Dustin Harris (9- 2 HR, 3 RBI) each went yard for the visitors during the regular season finale; Wendzel's 30th homer tied him with Tacoma's Jake Scheiner and Salt Lake's Trey Cabbage for the 2023 PCL home run crown.
Scheiner (30 HR), Brian O'Keefe (23 HR), Zach DeLoach (23 HR) and Taylor Trammell (21 HR) became the first quartet of teammates to hit 20-plus home runs in the same season in Tacoma's Triple-A history (since 1960).
Tacoma's Riley Unroe hit his third homer in two games (solo) to finish the season with a flourish, joined by Ryan Bliss and Isiah Gilliam solo shots, as the clubs combined for eight home runs for a second straight day. Bliss joined Gilliam with multiple hits on Sunday, Trammell's season ended with a pair of RBI.
Strong Rainiers right-handed relief pitching, a staple of the club all year, finished as expected. Ryder Ryan (2 K), Diego Castillo (K) and Stephen Kolek each worked a scoreless inning on Sunday.
Tacoma was 40-35 in the second half, and went 43-32 in their 75 home games at Cheney Stadium this season, drawing 5,267 fans per game over 73 official openings (two doubleheaders).
Pacific Coast League Stories from September 24, 2023
- Rainiers Drop Season Finale to Playoff-Bound Round Rock - Tacoma Rainiers
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- Aces Playoff Hopes Fall Short in 6-5 Defeat by Aviators - Reno Aces
- Sacramento Stays Close but Bees Grab Finale - Sacramento River Cats
- Bees End 2023 Season on High Note - Salt Lake Bees
- Chihuahuas Score 10 in Season Finale Win - El Paso Chihuahuas
- OKC Dodgers Game Notes - September 24, 2023 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: vs. Round Rock (1:35 PT) - Tacoma Rainiers
- Round Rock Bats Explode For 12-10 Win Over Tacoma - Round Rock Express
- Reno Reduces Magic Number to One with Seventh Straight Win - Reno Aces
- Cats Come Back to Capture Victory Over Bees, 4-3 - Sacramento River Cats
- Isotopes Secure PCL Attendance Crown, Rally Late for 6-4 Triumph - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Isotopes Take Down Dodgers, 6-4 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Bees Fall in Penultimate Game of 2023 - Salt Lake Bees
- Blanco Delivers Outstanding Final Start, Helps Space Cowboys to Sixth Straight Win - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
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