Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: at Sacramento (6:45 PT)
Published on May 19, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
Tacoma Rainiers (12-26) @ Sacramento River Cats (19-19)
Thursday, May 19, 2022, 6:45 p.m. PT | Sutter Health Park: West Sacramento, CA
LHP Tommy Milone (0-0, 1.80) vs. LHP Enmanuel De Jesus (0-1, 5.68)
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 eight home runs (T-9th PCL), 26 RBI (T-9th), 16 extra-base hits (T-6th) and 68 total bases (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.
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. Today's Tacoma starting pitcher Tommy Milone made four starts for the River Cats in 2014, during their affiliation with the Oakland Athletics.
ROADIERS: Tuesday's 8-3 win over Sacramento improved Tacoma to 4-0 this season in road series openers (4/12 at Albuquerque, 4/26 at Las Vegas and 5/3 at Salt Lake).
GET A KLEW: 2020 American League Rookie of the Year and Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis is 17 days and eight games into a Major League rehab assignment with the Rainiers (knee): He's 10-for-30 with three homers, 11 RBI, six runs scored and three walks thus far, with a 1.112 OPS (.412/.700). Lewis has DH'd seven times, and played left field once (34 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, two more than any other AL player at the position (.995 MLB fielding %).
SEA US RISE: With the selection of outfielder and Puget Sound native Steven Souza to Seattle's roster from Tacoma on Friday, it marked the 10th player to wear both a Rainiers and Mariners uniform this season. LHP Roenis Elias became the 11th, upon his selection on Monday afternoon, completing a three-year MLB comeback ("returned" to Tacoma on Thursday).
Last season, 24 players appeared in at least one game for both Seattle and Tacoma. Of the current Mariners 26-man Major League roster, 1B/DH Mike Ford, RHP Penn Murfee, RHP Wyatt Mills, LHP Danny Young, catcher Cal Raleigh, and Souza represent recent Rainiers from earlier this season. After Souza went 1-for-3 with an RBI single Saturday in a 5-4 loss to the Mets at Citi Field, he became the eighth Washington State-born player to drive in a run for the Seattle Mariners. (Everett-born, graduate of Cascade High School, Woodinville, WA resident.)
R SPEED: The Rainiers have stolen 64 bases in 38 games, and lead all of Triple-A Baseball in steals by five; the Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays) of the International League are second with 59. Caught only 12 times as a club so far, the Rainiers are stealing bases at an .842 clip, while swiping 1.68 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).
Pacific Coast League Stories from May 19, 2022
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