Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: at Sacramento (6:37 PT)
May 21, 2022 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
Tacoma Rainiers (14-26) @ Sacramento River Cats (19-21)
Saturday, May 21, 2022, 6:37 p.m. PT | Sutter Health Park: West Sacramento, CA
RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon (3-2, 5.45) vs. LHP Michael Plassmeyer (0-4, 5.80)
0, 0, IT'S MAGIC: The Rainiers enjoyed their first nine-inning shutout of this season with Thursday's 11-0 win, and shutout Sacramento a consecutive game on Friday as well, 2-0. The Tacoma pitching staff has not allowed a run in 20 innings (SAC had a 4-run 6th on Wednesday). The Rainiers have allowed only six hits over their last two games (three in each), winning the first three of four on this road trip.
Last night RHP Konner Wade was masterful, throwing 53 of his 68 pitches for strikes over 6.0 IP (2 H, 0 BB, 6 K). After a Donovan Walton single with one out in the first inning, Wade retired the next 16 Sacramento batters in order. A Tacoma trio of relievers each worked an inning to close it; Roenis Elias, Patrick Weigel and Nick Ramirez (2 K, second save) combined to strike out four.
SEA US SWEEP: Friday marked the first winning sweep of the Mariners minor league system this season: Tacoma won at Sacramento 2-0, Double-A Arkansas beat Northwest Arkansas at home 2-1, High-A Everett outlasted Hillsboro 7-5 at Funko Field and Class A Modesto roughed up Stockton 11-3 on the road.
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-6th PCL), 28 RBI (T-6th), 17 extra-base hits (T-4th) and 73 total bases (T-6th).
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.
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.
GET A KLEW: 2020 American League Rookie of The Year and Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis is 19 days and nine games into a Major League rehab assignment with the Rainiers (knee): He's 11-for-34 (.323) with three homers, 12 RBI, six runs scored and four walks thus far, with a 1.057 OPS (.410/.647). Lewis has DH'd eight times, and played left field once (39 plate appearances).
When Lewis pulverized a solo home run in his first at-bat of the assignment on 5/3 at Salt Lake, he became the first player to homer in his first plate appearance with Tacoma since Jaycob Brugman, on 6/1/19 at El Paso.
AWARDS SZN: When Evan White began his MLB rehab assignment with the Rainiers on Wednesday, it put both an AL Rookie of The Year 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 65 bases in 40 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 62. Caught only 12 times as a club so far, the Rainiers are stealing bases at an .844 clip, while swiping 1.63 bags per game on average. Tacoma outfielder Forrest Wall is second in the PCL in steals with 14 (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 is currently tied for the MLB lead in steals entering today's action, with 11 (Jorge Mateo, BAL and Harrison Bader, STL).
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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 21, 2022
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