Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - vs. Albuquerque
June 20, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TODAY'S GAME - 6/20 vs. Albuquerque
FIRST PITCH - 7:05 PM (PT) at Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA
PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma RHP Casey Lawrence (0-1, 3.86) vs. Albuquerque LHP Mason Albright (0-2, 5.45)
ROSTER MOVES: The Tacoma Rainiers, in conjunction with the Seattle Mariners, have made the following roster moves:
DEL OF Luke Raley - reinstated from Major League rehab assignment
BROADCAST - TV: Bally Live App/MiLB.TV RADIO - KJR 950
THE RAINIERS: Got 7.0+ strong innings from Jhonathan Díaz as they beat Albuquerque 4-2 on Thursday night...Tacoma broke the ice in the bottom of the first inning, loading the bases and plating a run on a fielder's choice from Leody Taveras to take a 1-0 lead...Díaz retired the first 10 batters he faced before allowing a pair of singles in the third inning...the Rainiers added to their lead in the fifth inning as three consecutive hitters reached base with two outs, capped off with a Rhylan Thomas single to make the score 2-0...Tacoma manufactured another run in the sixth inning as Taveras walked, stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw to second base, setting up Leo Rivas for the sacrifice fly to push the lead to 3-0...Jack López led off the seventh inning with a solo home run, his third of the year to make it 4-0...Díaz allowed three singles to open the eighth inning, allowing a run to score...Trevor Gott took over, getting a double play that plated another Isotopes run and Jackson Kowar finished the game, picking up his first save in a 4-2 victory.
CUTTING DOWN ON K's: The Rainiers drew five walks while striking out five times in their 4-2 victory over Albuquerque, the 13th time this season that the number of walks drawn is greater than or equal to the number of times they struck out...the Rainiers are 10-3 in such games this season...the Rainiers have the second-fewest strikeouts in Triple-A this season with 518, just five more than Memphis, who leads the circuit with only 513...there are four qualified PCL hitters with more walks drawn than strikeouts this season and the top three by BB/K ratio are Rainiers: Rhylan Thomas (16BB/11K - 1.45 ratio), Cole Young (31BB/28K -1.11 ratio) and Spencer Packard (35BB/32K - 1.09 ratio).
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 .361 with a .442 OBP (2nd PCL), and a 1.025 OPS (3rd)...his 52 hits since May 1 are the second-most in the league, one behind Colby Thomas' (LV) 53...Ford has reached base in 51 of his 55 games this season...since May 1, Ford's .361 average is the best among minor league catchers with at least 100 at-bats and his 52 hits are the third-most...his .908 OPS this season is the fourth-best among Triple-A players 22 years old or younger.
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER: RHP Daniel Bard made his Rainiers' debut on Wednesday night, throwing a clean eighth inning with a strikeout...Bard, 39 years old, is the first Rainier pitcher to appear in a game at least 39 years old since Sergio Romo appeared in with Tacoma in a rehab appearance on May 10, 2022...Bard is one of five PCL hurlers to appear in a game at 39 years or older in the last five seasons, joining: Max Scherzer (RR, 2024), Justin Verlander (SUG, 2024), Romo (TAC, 2022) and Joe Beimel (ELP, 2021).
NOTHING GETS "PASSED" US: The Rainiers are the only full-season minor league team not to allow a passed ball this season, a streak of 72 games to open the season...the 72-game stretch is the longest for a PCL team since the 2019 Nashville Sounds, who went 82 games from June 1-September 2 without a passed ball.
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 four minor leaguers to amass those totals...the only two Major Leaguers with those totals this year are: Pete Crow-Armstrong and Elly De La Cruz...Taylor's 11 home runs this year match his total with Tacoma last year, accomplished in 136 games...Taylor's slugging percentage of .528 this season is up .148 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 1.24 ground out/air out ratio, good for the second-best among full-season minor league teams...as a result, the Rainiers also have allowed 53 home runs this year, the fewest in the PCL and 16 fewer than the next-closest (Sacramento - 69)...the Rainiers have allowed more than one home run in a game just 10 times this year... the Rainiers also lead all minor league teams in getting their opponents to ground into double plays with 65 on the season, one ahead of the next-closest team, Seattle's High-A affiliate in Everett, who have 63.
RETURN OF THE PACK: Since May 8, OF Spencer Packard has a .463 on-base percentage, good for the PCL lead with the next-closest being Albuquerque's Sterlin Thompson at .454...in that span, Packard ranks fourth with 24 walks drawn... Packard snapped his 21-game on-base streak that dated back to May 22 on Wednesday...in that time, he hit .313 (21x67) with two doubles and four home runs, drawing 17 walks with a .999 OPS.
MARINERS UPDATE: The Seattle Mariners opened their 10-game roadtrip with a 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon...Mitch Garver and Cal Raleigh each hit two home runs, as Raleigh now has 29 on the season, surpassing Johnny Bench for the most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break...Garver drove in five of the Mariners' nine runs in the victory.
Pacific Coast League Stories from June 20, 2025
- Mederos Masterpiece Blanks River Cats to Even Series - Salt Lake Bees
- Mederos Masterpiece Blanks River Cats to Even Series - Salt Lake Bees
- English's Two-Homer, Five-RBI Night Fuels 17-4 Rout of Chihuahuas - Reno Aces
- Matthews Records Four-Hit Game for Space Cowboys on Friday - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - vs. Albuquerque - Tacoma Rainiers
- OKC Comets Game Notes - June 20, 2025 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Round Rock Falls to Oklahoma City, 7-6 - Round Rock Express
- Díaz Dominates in 4-2 Victory over Albuquerque - Tacoma Rainiers
- Isotopes Fall to Tacoma, 4-2 - Albuquerque Isotopes
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
