Sports stats



PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: at OKC (5:05 PT)

March 31, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


RHP Darren McCaughan will be the first to start consecutive opening days for Tacoma since RHP Ken Cloude, in 1999 and 2000. Manager John Russell will make his Rainiers debut in his hometown (more below).

Tacoma's home opener at Cheney Stadium is scheduled for Tuesday, April 4 at 6:05 PT vs. Reno.

Tacoma Rainiers (0-0) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (0-0)

Friday, March 31, 2023, 5:05p.m. PT | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark: Oklahoma City, OK

RHP Darren McCaughan vs. RHP Gavin Stone

AND THEY SAY...: Manager John Russell makes his Tacoma debut by coming home again. Born in Oklahoma City (1/5/61), Russell also played three seasons at the University of Oklahoma (1980-82) before being the 13th overall pick in the 1982 draft by Philadelphia. Russell, a veteran of 448 MLB games, also played briefly for the OKC franchise in 1990 (six games), then known as the 89ers and Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (American Association). On 6/11/90, Russell caught Nolan Ryan's sixth career no-hitter, with Texas winning 5-0 at Oakland (hit solo homer).

CHALLENGING WEEKEND: Last season, automated balls and strikes (ABS) was implemented in 11 of the 30 Triple-A ballparks (all 10 in the Pacific Coast League and Charlotte of the International League). This season, ABS will be universal at Triple-A by May, after a testing period in the other 19 facilities.

In the PCL and Charlotte, ABS will be utilized in every game- any game taking place Monday through Thursday will be straight ABS, where every ball/strike is decided by the Hawkeye computer system. Friday through Sunday, umpires will call pitches, with the challenge system in place, with disputes mediated by ABS. Pitchers/catchers/batters may challenge the result of any pitch and be wrong three times before losing their privilege to challenge. Coaching staff may not challenge. Fans will see the result of challenges on the video board.

TIMES CHANGE: In 2022, the Rainiers went 17-19 outside of the Pacific time zone, including a 4-2 mark in their only visit to Oklahoma City from September 6-11. This season, Tacoma will return to OKC a second time from Sept. 12-17.

ON THE WONG SIDE: Rainiers infielder Kean Wong, the younger brother of Mariners second baseman Kolten Wong, was a frequent thorn in Tacoma's side as a member of the Salt Lake Bees (LAA) the last two seasons. Wong was a .352 hitter against Tacoma in 2021 and 2022 (50-for-142). Kean signed with Seattle on 2/18/23.

DO IT FOR THE SONICS: Oklahoma City is one of the four current PCL locales that the Tacoma franchise (est. 1960) has an all-time winning record against. The Tacoma Giants/Cubs/Twins/Yankees/Tugs/Tigers/Rainiers are 84-83 vs. OKC (since 1963), 294-289 vs. Las Vegas (since 1983), 50-29 vs. Round Rock (since 2005) and 378-364-1 vs. Salt Lake (since 1960).

THE OPEN-R: The 2022 Rainiers were 18-9 in series-opening games, including an 11-3 mark in road series openers; 25% of Tacoma's 72 wins came in a game one (primarily six-game series). Last season, the Rainiers posted a 9-2 record in road trip-opening games.

RETURN OF THE MAC: Right-hander Darren McCaughan, Seattle's 12th round draft selection in 2017 out of Long Beach State, will officially pitch in a fifth season for Tacoma tonight, and start the season-opening game for a consecutive campaign. On April 5 of last year, McCaughan went 5.2 IP (7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO) in a 4-2 home win over Salt Lake at Cheney Stadium. He's the first to start back-to-back opening days for Tacoma since RHP Ken Cloude in 1999-2000.

McCaughan made his Major League debut for Seattle on 7/21/21 at Colorado, and became only the 7th player since 1901 to toss at least 5.0 hitless innings in his MLB debut.

A REAL (MCCOY) GOOD YEAR: With 21 home runs and 22 stolen bases last season, returning Rainiers shortstop Mason McCoy achieved Tacoma's first 20/20 season not only during the "Rainiers" era and Seattle Mariners affiliation (since 1995), but in Tacoma's Triple-A history as well (since 1960). Cheney Stadium opened for PCL Baseball with the Tacoma Giants in '60.

IN-CADE-ABLE: Mariners/Rainiers OF prospect Cade Marlowe has achieved consecutive 20/20 seasons with 100 runs driven in. Marlowe was the Seattle Mariners Minor League Player of The Year in 2021 (Ken Griffey, Jr. Award), after homering 26 times (24 SB) with 107 RBI over 106 games split between Class A Modesto, High-A Everett and one game with Tacoma.

Over 120 games with Double-A Arkansas and 13 with the Rainiers last season, Marlowe totaled 23 home runs with 42 stolen bases and 102 RBI. Marlowe hit his first three career Triple-A homers in three consecutive games, September 21-23 at home against Round Rock.

ON THE MIKE: It's a milestone weekend as Rainiers play-by-play broadcaster Mike Curto reaches 25 years with Tacoma, arriving from the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (SDP) of the California League for the 1999 season. Audio of all Rainiers games can be heard free of charge via TacomaRainiers.com and the MiLB app; MiLB.TV is now included for MLB.TV subscribers.

Check out the Tacoma Rainiers Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board...

Pacific Coast League Stories from March 31, 2023


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.

Other Recent Tacoma Rainiers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central