PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - July 2, 2021 vs. Reno Aces (7:05 p.m. PT)

Published on July 2, 2021 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


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Tacoma Rainiers (26-21) vs. Reno Aces (32-17)

Friday, July 2, 2021 @ 7:05 p.m. PT | Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA

RHP Darren McCaughan (4-2, 5.18) vs. RHP Josh Green (5-1, 5.63)

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rainiers dropped the first game of their six-game set against Reno 8-5 at Cheney Stadium Thursday night. LHP Ian McKinney made his first home start for Tacoma. The southpaw surrendered four runs in the 1st inning, and then a grand slam in the 3rd as he was pegged with his first Triple-A loss.

OF Jarred Kelenic ignited the Rainiers comeback hopes in the 5th with a two-run double down the right field line. A sacrifice fly in the 6th from 3B Wyatt Mathisen and a solo home run for SS Jake Hager in the 7th added more fuel to the comeback, but it quickly simmered as the Reno bullpen did not allow a hit over the last 2.1 innings.

WE WENT TO JARRED: Top prospect Jarred Kelenic went 1-for-4 with a double, 2 RBI, and a walk Thursday night. In his last seven games, Kelenic has gone 12-for-28 (.429) with 3 HR, 10 RBI, 9 runs and 6 extra-base hits.

Kelenic has reached base safely in 22 of 25 games with the Rainiers this season and has a .308/.383/.606 slash line.

YOU GO, GODOY: DH José Godoy extended his season-long hitting streak to 7 games by going 1-for-3 and reaching base via a hit by pitch Thursday night. During his hitting streak, Godoy is 9-for-30 (.300) with 6 RBI, 5 runs and 3 doubles.

RUNS ARE FUN: The Rainiers are the only team in the Triple-A West that has yet to play in a shutout (win or loss) this season. This is the deepest the Rainiers have gotten into a campaign (47 games) without at least one shutout game since 2011, when it did not happen until the 54th game of the year.

STAYING AFLOAT: The Rainiers enter Friday at 5 games above .500 on the season. Tacoma has not been 5 games over the .500 mark on July 2 since 2016, and this is just the 3rd time since 2007. The Rainiers start the day 5.0 games out of first place in the West Division behind Reno.

SHARING THE WEALTH: 21 different Tacoma hitters have hit at least 1 home run this season, second-most in the league (Reno, 22) and tied for 3rd most in Triple-A.

SS Jake Hager added his name to that list Thursday night with a solo shot to right field to lead off the 7th.

CONTACT SPORT: Rainiers hitters struck out a season low one time on Thursday, and have struck out 379 times this season, second fewest in affiliated pro baseball (Louisville, 370). In June, Tacoma struck out 176 times in 23 games, 3rd fewest behind only Louisville and Rochester (175).

No Tacoma hitter ranks top-15 in most strikeouts in the Triple-A West. Cal Raleigh's team-low 22 punch outs is tied for 5th in fewest strikeouts among qualified league hitters.

FULL HOUSE: The Rainiers lead all Triple-A clubs with 68 players used through 45 games. The team has used 38 pitchers, including infielder Jantzen Witte, and 31 position players.

AN ANTICIPATED REUNION: Catcher Cal Raleigh and outfielder Dillon Thomas both put up big numbers against Reno when the teams first met in the last week of May.

Raleigh went 14-for-27 (.519) with 3 HR, 8 RBI, 9 runs, and 3 doubles over the six game set at Greater Nevada Field. Thomas went 8-for-20 (.400) with 4 HR, 6 RBI, and 8 runs in five games.

DOING DEFENSE RIGHT: Since June 11, the Rainiers have committed 9 errors, fewest in the Triple-A West, and have a league-best .985 fielding percentage. Tacoma's 33 errors rank 2nd best in the league this season behind El Paso (28).

DOUBLING DOWN: The Rainiers have now recorded double plays in 7 straight games, beating out their 4 game stretch from June 15 through June 18 for the longest such streak of the season. Despite their current run, Tacoma has turned the fewest double plays in the league this season (31) and tied for second fewest in Triple-A (Lehigh Valley, 28).

GRAND RE-OPENING: Thursday's game marked the first time since August 25, 2019 that there were no capacity restrictions at Cheney Stadium. The evening's attendance was 3,877, beating the previous high-water mark of 3,374 which was set June 12 against Sacramento.

Check out the Tacoma Rainiers Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 2, 2021


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