Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - at El Paso
May 23, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TODAY'S GAME - 5/23 at El Paso
FIRST PITCH - 5:35 PM (PT) at Southwest University Park - El Paso, TX
PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma LHP Austin Kitchen (1-1, 4.37) vs. El Paso RHP Ryan Bergert (0-1, 4.66)
ROSTER MOVES: The Tacoma Rainiers, in conjunction with the Seattle Mariners, have made the following roster move:
DEL RHP Blas Castaño - recalled by Seattle
BROADCAST - TV: Bally Live App/MiLB.TV RADIO - KIXI 880
Today's game notes, updated roster and starting lineups are attached.
THE RAINIERS: Held a 2-0 lead after four innings, but allowed five runs in the fifth inning and could not dig out of the hole in a 6-2 loss in El Paso on Thursday...Cole Young cashed in a two-run triple in the third inning, tying the league lead with his fifth of the season, putting the Rainiers up 2-0...William Fleming allowed just two hits over his first 4.0 innings of work, but ran into trouble in the fifth inning...six Chihuahuas reached base with two outs, capped off with a two-run double from Tim Locastro, putting El Paso up 5-2...the Rainiers had a pair of opportunities with the bases loaded, one in the fourth and one in the seventh, but could not scratch a run across...El Paso plated one more run in the seventh inning on a Trenton Brooks solo homer, as the Rainiers' bullpen allowed just three hits over the final 3.1 innings in the 6-2 loss.
COLE'S CATCHING FIRE: INF Cole Young is now on a 17-game on-base streak, the Rainiers' longest active streak and the third-longest of the season...over that time, he is hitting .394 (26x66) with seven doubles, three triples and four home runs, driving in 15 runs and scoring 22...he's logged multiple hits in nine of his last 17 games, sporting a 1.260 OPS in that span...Young also hit his fifth triple of the season, tied for the most in the PCL and the third-most in the minor leagues...Young's five triples are tied for the most for any Rainier through May since at least 2005 with Chris Taylor, who also hit five triples through May in 2014.
BULLPEN BITS: The Rainiers are going with a bullpen game today in El Paso...the Rainiers' bullpen has thrown 90.2 innings in May, the sixth-most in Triple-A...over their two-week road trip, the bullpen has thrown 44.1 innings, the third-most in the circuit, owning a 6.09 ERA (30 ER/44.1 IP), issuing 31 walks and striking out 31...the relievers have kept the ball in the yard in that time, allowing just two home runs, tied for the fewest in the PCL and fifth-fewest in Triple-A...on the season, Rainier relievers have given up just 15 home runs, the fewest in the league and tied for the third-fewest at Triple-A.
LÓPEZ IS LOCKED IN: UTL Jack López logged the fifth multi-hit effort of his last seven games on Thursday, continuing a hot stretch that dates back to April 24...over the 22-game span, he is hitting .341 (28x82) with four doubles and two home runs, collecting hits in 19 of the 22 games... López has been especially effective with runners in scoring position in that time, going 7-for-17 with a pair of long balls...since April 24, López ranks among PCL leaders in batting average (3rd, .341) and hits (T-6th, 28)... López has also been effective on the road this season, as his 28 road hits are tied for the third-most in the PCL, and his .346 road batting average is good for fifth in the league.
THOMAS TAKES NO K's: OF Rhylan Thomas has struck out only seven times in 150 plate appearances this season, the fewest among all qualified full-season minor leaguers...Thomas opened the season on a 14-game streak without striking out and has struck out twice in a game only once this year (April 22 against Sugar Land)...Thomas sees an average of 2.913 pitches per plate appearance, also the fewest among all qualified minor league hitters, with the next-closest being the 3.087 pitches per plate appearance that Carolina's Luis Peña sees...the next-closest Triple-A player is Memphis' Cesar Prieto, who sees 3.219 pitches on average.
MAY MASHING: The Rainiers' offense has taken off in May, ranking third in Triple-A with a .281 average and fifth a team .825 OPS...in May, the Rainiers have scored the third-most runs in the circuit with 119 in 19 games (6.3 runs/game) and their 28 May homers are tied for the second-most at the level...several Rainiers rank among the league leaders in several May offensive categories, listed below:
AVG
1 Ford, H TAC.396
2MacIver, W LV.386
3Avans, D LV.377
4 Ritter, R ABQ.361
5Hiura, K ABQ.351
6Young, C TAC.347 OBP
1Ford, H TAC.484
2MacIver, W LV.463
3Clarke, D LV.457
4 Avans, D LV.457
5Campusano, L ELP.442
6Johnson, B ELP.439
7Young, C TAC.437 SLG
1Ritter, R ABQ.803
2 Thomas, C LV.700
3 Canzone, D TAC.680
3Young, C TAC.680
5 Campusano, L ELP.674
6Alexander, C LV.629
7 Ford, H TAC.604 OPS
1 Ritter, R ABQ 1.238
2Young, C TAC1.117
3 Campusano, L ELP1.116
4Ford, H TAC1.088
5 Thomas, C LV1.064
6Alexander, C LV1.046
7Canzone, D TAC 1.030
HARRY'S BEEN HITTING: C Harry Ford has been on a tear in the month of May, picking up hits in 11 of his last 14 games and multiple hits in eight of those 14...in his last 10 games, Ford is hitting .459 (17x37) with three doubles and two home runs...Ford also ranks among PCL league leaders in: on-base percentage (5th - .430) and walks (T-8th - 29)...he ranks first among PCL catchers with his 29 walks, tied for the fifth-most among all minor-league backstops.
MARINERS UPDATE: The Mariners dropped their opening game in Houston, falling 9-2 to the Astros...George Kirby made his season debut with Seattle and allowed five runs on six hits over 3.2 innings, taking the loss...the Mariners scored their two runs in the first two innings, getting an RBI single from Rowdy Tellez in the first inning and a solo home run from Dylan Moore in the second inning.
Pacific Coast League Stories from May 23, 2025
- Rainiers Score Eight Unanswered Runs In 8-1 Win Over Chihuahuas - Tacoma Rainiers
- Isotopes Homer Past Reno, 8-2 - Albuquerque Isotopes
- English Homers, Aces Fall 8-2 to Isotopes - Reno Aces
- Sugar Land Overcomes Early Deficit To Take Comeback Win Over Las Vegas - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - at El Paso - Tacoma Rainiers
- Six-Run Seventh, Moore's Four-Hit Night Propel Bees to Their Sixth Win in Seven Games - Salt Lake Bees
- Five-Run Fifth Inning Sinks Tacoma in 6-2 Loss to El Paso - Tacoma Rainiers
- Comets Rally past Sacramento - Oklahoma City Comets
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