Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - at Round Rock
June 25, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TODAY'S GAME - 6/25 at Round Rock
FIRST PITCH - 5:15 PM (PT) at Dell Diamond - Round Rock, TX
PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma LHP Jhonathan Díaz (3-4, 4.45) vs. Round Rock LHP Ty Blach (2-0, 2.48)
BROADCAST - TV: Bally Live App/MiLB.TV RADIO - KIXI 880
Today's game notes and starting lineups are attached.
THE RAINIERS: Won the first game of the second half of the season and their fifth in a row with a 5-3 victory over Round Rock on Tuesday night...Samad Taylor crushed the first pitch of the game over the left field wall, the Rainiers first leadoff home run of the season, to take a 1-0 lead...the Express responded in the bottom of the frame, plating a run on a Trevor Hauver RBI double...the Express took the lead in the third inning, scoring a pair of runs with a Blaine Crim double and Michael Helman sacrifice fly...Tacoma trailed 3-1 until the eighth inning when Harry Ford drove in a run on a groundout and Tyler Locklear clubbed a go-ahead, two-run home run to put Tacoma up 4-3...Austin Shenton provided an insurance run in the ninth inning with a solo home run, taking a 5-3 lead...Jesse Hahn locked down his third save of the season to finish the victory.
FIRST-PITCH SWINGING: Samad Taylor's first-pitch home run on Tuesday was the Rainiers' first leadoff home run of the season and the fourth first-pitch home run in the PCL this season...it's the first leadoff homer on the first pitch for Tacoma since August 1, 2024, when Ryan Bliss went deep on the first pitch against Salt Lake...it's the second leadoff home run of Taylor's career, the other coming August 31, 2024, which was also Tacoma's last leadoff home run.
TYLER'S TUESDAY TANK: Tyler Locklear's go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth inning is his 17th hit of the season when the Rainiers are tied or trailing in the eighth inning or later, the most among all minor league hitters...Locklear is now hitting .486 (17x35) when the Rainiers are tied or trailing in the eighth inning or later, the highest average among all minor league hitters with at least 25 at-bats in that scenario.
DÍAZ HAS BEEN HIGH-QUALITY: LHP Jhonathan Díaz will make his 12th start of the season tonight, looking to log his seventh quality start of the season... Díaz is tied for the PCL lead and ranks second among Triple-A pitchers with his six quality starts this season, all coming in his last eight outings...in Díaz's last six starts, he has allowed 12 runs on 36 hits over 37.0+ innings, walking five while striking out 26... Díaz enters tonight's game ranking second in the league with a 4.45 ERA, fourth with a 1.32 WHIP and sixth with a .273 batting average against.
MOVING DAY: As the second half of the season began Tuesday, the Rainiers added a pair of arms to their bullpen, adding RHP Juan Burgos and LHP Brandyn Garcia from Double-A Arkansas...Burgos went 2-1 with a 0.64 ERA in 21 appearances for Double-A Arkansas, walking nine while striking out 29 with a .106 batting average against...Garcia, MLB Pipeline's No. 15 Mariners' prospect, went 4-4 with a 3.96 ERA in 24 relief appearances for the Travelers, walking 12 with 33 strikeouts with a .215 batting average against...to make room on the roster, the Rainiers released RHP Adonis Medina and transferred RHP William Fleming to Arkansas.
LOCKED AND LOADED: In June, INF Tyler Locklear has cracked six home runs, tied for the third-most in the PCL, his 12 extra-base hits in June are also tied for the third-most in the league...his .658 June slugging percentage is good for sixth in the league, as is his 1.065 OPS...his 12 extra-base hits this month are tied for the most he's hit in a month this season (May - 11 2B, 1 HR)...his .658 SLG is his best for any month since he slugged .721 in September of 2022, in which he only played 10 games with Single-A Modesto in his first season as a pro...the six long balls in June are the second-most he's hit in a month, trailing the seven he hit in May of 2023.
IT'S A HOT FORD SUMMER: Since May 1, C Harry Ford has been one of the best hitters in the PCL, hitting a league-leading .346 with a .432 OBP (3rd PCL), and a .979 OPS (5th)...his 55 hits since May 1 are the third-most in the league, two behind Cody Freeman's (RR) 57...Ford has reached base in 55 of his 59 games this season...since May 1, Ford's .346 average is the best among minor league catchers with at least 100 at-bats and his 55 hits are the second-most...his .884 OPS this season is the fourth-best among Triple-A players 22 years old or younger.
SAMAD STANDS ALONE: UTL Samad Taylor is putting together an impressive 2025 season as he is the only Triple-A player to record at least 10 doubles, 10 home runs, 20 stolen bases and 40 RBI...he is one of five minor leaguers to amass those totals...the only three Major Leaguers with those totals this year are: Pete Crow-Armstrong and Elly De La Cruz and Bobby Witt Jr....Taylor's 12 home runs this year surpass his total with Tacoma last year (11), accomplished in 136 games...Taylor's slugging percentage of .537 this season is up .157 points from .380 in 2024.
KEEPING IT ON THE GROUND: Rainiers pitchers have kept the ball on the ground better than any other Triple-A team, sporting a Triple-A best 1.21 ground out/air out ratio, good for the second-best among full-season minor league teams...as a result, the Rainiers also have allowed 55 home runs this year, the fewest in the PCL and 21 fewer than the next-closest (Oklahoma City - 76)...the Rainiers have allowed more than one home run in a game just 10 times this year... the Rainiers are also tied for the lead all minor league teams in getting their opponents to ground into double plays with 68 on the season.
MARINERS UPDATE: A Julio Rodriguez sacrifice fly in the ninth inning pushed the Mariners to a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night...Seattle scored five of their six runs in the third inning, capped off by a two-run single from Donovan Solano...Andres Muñoz picked up his third win of the season with a perfect eighth inning and Matt Brash locked down his first save of the season, sitting down the side in order in the ninth to finish the 6-5 win.
Pacific Coast League Stories from June 25, 2025
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- Big Eighth Inning Gives Chihuahuas Comeback Win Tuesday - El Paso Chihuahuas
- Taylor, Locklear, Shenton Homers Power Tacoma to 5-3 Win over Round Rock - Tacoma Rainiers
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