PCL Tacoma Rainiers

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

Published on April 1, 2023 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


RHP Easton McGee (Seattle 40-man roster) will make his Mariners organization and PCL debuts this evening.

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

Tacoma Rainiers (1-0) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (0-1)

Saturday, April 1, 2023, 5:05p.m. PT | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark: Oklahoma City, OK

RHP Easton McGee vs. RHP Matt Andriese

HEY ROOKIE: One third of last night's Rainiers lineup made its Triple-A debut, and reached base a total of 10 times. Jake Scheiner (LF) was 2-for-5 (solo HR, BB, 3 R), Zach DeLoach (RF) was 2-for-4 (BB, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R) and Jose Caballero (2B) was 1-for-2 (2 BB, HBP, 3-RBI 2B, R).

A STONE-ING: In last night's 14-8 victory, Tacoma's lineup hung five hits, three walks and six earned runs on last season's MiLB ERA champion, over only 2.2 IP. RHP Gavin Stone, a top Dodgers prospect, posted a 1.48 ERA over 121.2 IP in 2022 split between High-A Great Lakes (Midwest League), Double-A Tulsa (Texas League) and Oklahoma City (six starts). He led all qualified minor leaguers in ERA (only 20 ER).

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).

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 85-83 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: After last night's win, since the beginning of the 2022 season the Rainiers are 19-9 in series-opening games, including a 12-3 mark in road series openers. Last year, Tacoma posted a 9-2 record in road trip-opening games.

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.

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

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Pacific Coast League Stories from April 1, 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.

OurSports Central