Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - at El Paso
May 24, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TODAY'S GAME - 5/24 at El Paso
FIRST PITCH - 5:35 PM (PT) at Southwest University Park - El Paso, TX
PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma LHP Jhonathan Diaz (2-3, 5.87) vs. El Paso LHP Wes Benjamin (1-4, 8.39)
BROADCAST - TV: Bally Live App/MiLB.TV RADIO - KIXI 880
Today's game notes and starting lineups are attached.
THE RAINIERS: Scored seven of their eight runs in the sixth inning as they beat El Paso 8-1 on Friday night...the Chihuahuas scored the first run of the game in the second inning on a Tim Locastro home run...the Rainiers, who went with a bullpen game on Friday, allowed only four other runners to reach scoring position after the home run in a dominant effort...in the sixth inning, Cole Young led off the inning with a walk, followed by a two-run home run from Harry Ford, his fourth of the season...after a groundout, the next four batters reached, alternating walks and singles...Spencer Packard drove in a run with a single, followed by a Jack López sacrifice fly to bring in another run, leading to a two-run home run from Samad Taylor, his ninth of the season, giving Tacoma a 7-1 lead...the Rainiers tacked on one more run in the eighth inning, as the first three batters of the frame reached, the third of which was López, who drove in another run with a single...Matt Cronin, Adonis Medina and Troy Taylor combined to keep El Paso hitless over the final 3.0 innings in the 8-1 win.
HARRY'S HOT STRETCH: C Harry Ford has been on a tear in the month of May, picking up hits in 12 of his15 games this month and multiple hits in nine of those 15...in his last 10 games, Ford is hitting .463 (19x41) with three doubles and three home runs...Ford's .404 average this May is the highest for any month in his career, as is his 1.142 OPS...his 23 hits are tied for the fourth-most of any month in his career, trailing his career-best 28 hits he had in August 2023 and May of 2024...Ford's .649 slugging percentage this month is the second-best of any month in his career, trailing the .657 he slugged in September of 2021.
COLE'S CATCHING FIRE: INF Cole Young is now on an 18-game on-base streak, the Rainiers' longest active streak and the third-longest of the season...over that time, he is hitting .391 (27x69) with seven doubles, three triples and four home runs, driving in 15 runs and scoring 23...he's logged multiple hits in nine of his last 18 games, sporting a 1.248 OPS in that span...Young also hit his fifth triple of the season on Thursday, 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...Young is also on a nine-game hitting streak, his longest of the season...over his nine-game streak, he's hitting .351 (13x37) with three doubles, two triples and a pair of home runs, drawing five walks to three strikeouts.
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 23-game span, he is hitting .341 (29x85) with four doubles and two home runs, collecting hits in 20 of the 23 games, including each of his last 12, his longest streak of the season... López has been especially effective with runners in scoring position in that time, going 8-for-18 (.444) 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 29 road hits are tied for the second-most in the PCL, and his .345 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 2.921 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 Albuquerque's Warming Bernanbel, who sees 3.239 pitches on average.
MAY MASHING: The Rainiers' offense has taken off in May, ranking second in Triple-A with a .284 average and fifth a team .834 OPS...in May, the Rainiers have scored the third-most runs in the circuit with 127 in 20 games (6.4 runs/game) and their 30 May homers are 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.404
2 MacIver, W LV.386
3Avans, D LV.378
4 Hiura, K ABQ.355
5Young, C TAC.346
- - - - -
9López, J TAC.314
OBP
1Ford, H TAC.493
2MacIver, W LV.463
3Clarke, D LV.457
4Avans, D LV.453
5Young, C TAC.446
SLG
1 Ritter, R ABQ.761
2 Young, C TAC .667
3Thomas, C LV.662
4Ford, H TAC.649
5 Canzone, D TAC.638
- - - - -
10 Taylor, S TAC.551
OPS
1Ritter, R ABQ1.174
2Ford, H TAC1.142
3 Young, C TAC1.113
4Campusano, L ELP 1.059
5Alexander, C LV1.046
- - - - -
9Canzone, D TAC .967
MARINERS UPDATE: The Mariners bounced back with a 5-3 win over Houston on Friday...Emerson Hancock logged another quality start, allowing three runs over 6.0 innings, earning his second win of the season...trailing 3-2 after six innings, the Mariners plated three in the seventh, two of which came on a two-out, go-ahead, home run from Cal Raleigh...Andres Muñoz fired a perfect ninth to finish the win and pick up his 17th save of the season.
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