PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: at Sacramento (1:05 PT)

Published on May 22, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


The PCL off day is Monday; the Rainiers will open a six-game homestand against Las Vegas at 11:35 a.m. PT on Tuesday.

Latest roster is also attached, following today's transactions on the ML side.

Tacoma Rainiers (15-26) @ Sacramento River Cats (19-22)

Sunday, May 22, 2022, 1:05 p.m. PT | Sutter Health Park: West Sacramento, CA

LHP Justus Sheffield vs. RHP Sean Hjelle

E(Ks)PLORATORY: Last night RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon struck out the first nine Sacramento batters of the game (seven swinging), as the Rainiers reached their first three-game winning streak of 2022. The nine straight punchouts are a Tacoma Triple-A franchise record (since 1960), a PCL record to begin a game, and are believed to equal a league record for most consecutive strikeouts (est. 1903).

Ponce de Leon had achieved the Rainiers individual season-high for strikeouts by the third inning (Darren McCaughan, 8, 4/16 at ABQ), and his 12 total strikeouts on only 78 pitches (50 strikes) was Tacoma's first 11-strikeout game since Sean Nolin on 9/1/19 at Las Vegas, and the most strikeouts for a Rainiers pitcher since Taijuan Walker's 13 on 8/10/14 at home vs. Fresno. Ponce de Leon is limiting batters to the sixth-lowest average in the PCL, at .224.

17 total strikeouts as a club were easily a Tacoma season-high; the Rainiers fanned 14 Salt Lake Bees on opening day at Cheney Stadium (April 5, won 4-2). Lefty Nick Margevicius added three in 2.1 IP of work, while fellow southpaw Fernando Abad struck out two in the ninth.

SEA US PROMOTED: The selection of INF Sam Haggerty and recall of OF Taylor Trammell to the MLB roster this morning makes them the 12th and 13th players to wear a Tacoma and Seattle uniform in 2022. Last year, 24 players appeared in a game for both the Rainiers and Mariners.

GREEN'S NEW DEAL: Sacramento-area native and Rainiers corner infielder Zach Green (Carmichael, California) is playing his first career games against the River Cats in this series, a club he played in 72 games for in 2019. When Green made his Major League debut for the San Francisco Giants on July 21, 2019 (2-for-3, double, RBI) at home against the Mets, he was called up while Sacramento was playing at Tacoma. Green leads the Rainiers with nine home runs (T-7th PCL), 29 RBI (T-5th), 17 extra-base hits (T-4th) and 73 total bases (T-7th).

RAINIER CATS: Sacramento's roster currently has four position players that were with Tacoma earlier this season or last. Infielders Wyatt Mathisen (released by SEA on 8/26/21, signed by SFG on 8/29), Kevin Padlo (traded SEA-SFG on 4/26/22, DFA 4/23) and Donovan Walton (traded SEA-SFG on 5/11/22), and outfielder Stuart Fairchild (traded SEA-SFG on 5/14/22, DFA 5/13). In the trade for Fairchild, Seattle received infielder Alex Blandino, who had been playing for Sacramento and remained there, meeting the Rainiers upon their arrival on Tuesday.

Mariners 1B/DH Mike Ford, through various designations for assignment and trades for cash considerations, is on his second tour of duty with Seattle this season (8 GP), and has played for both the River Cats (3 GP) and Rainiers (11 GP), and appeared in one game for the Giants.

The River Cats are managed by Dave Brundage, who skippered the Rainiers in 2006, posting a 74-70 record during his only season with Tacoma. Current Rainiers Manager Tim Federowicz played in 77 games for Sacramento in 2017 (.300, 9 HR) and 13 more for San Francisco (.231, 2 HR) that season.

AWARDS SZN: When Evan White began his MLB rehab assignment with the Rainiers on Wednesday, it put both an AL Rookie of The Year (Kyle Lewis) and Rawlings Gold Glove winner on Tacoma's roster (each in 2020). In 2020, White led all American League first basemen with seven defensive runs saved (54 games played), two more than any other AL player at the position (.995 career MLB fielding percentage).

R SPEED: The Rainiers have stolen 68 bases in 41 games, and lead all of Triple-A Baseball in steals by three; the Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays) of the International League are second with 65. Caught only 12 times, the Rainiers are stealing bases at an .850 clip, while swiping 1.66 bags per game on average. Tacoma outfielder Forrest Wall is second in the PCL in steals with 16 after two last night (Round Rock's Bubba Thompson has 20); last season, Wall had the third-most steals in the IL with 35, for Buffalo.

Rainiers infielders Sam Haggerty (3rd, 13 SB) and Erick Mejia (T-8th, 9 SB) are on the league leaderboard as well. It's a fast start to the season throughout the organization, as Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez leads the Major Leagues in steals, with 12 entering action today.

Check out the Tacoma Rainiers Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 22, 2022


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