PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: at Salt Lake (5:35 p.m. PT)

Published on June 8, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


Tacoma Rainiers (19-35) @ Salt Lake Bees (30-25)

Wednesday, June 8, 2022, 5:35 p.m. PT | Smith's Ballpark: Salt Lake City, UT

LHP Tommy Milone (1-0, 1.29) vs. RHP Mike Mayers (NR)

KEL'S KITCHEN: Rainiers outfielder Jarred Kelenic is currently on a 12-game hit streak dating to May 24, the first to reach double-digits for a Tacoma batter this season (Mason McCoy, nine games 4/28 to 5/11). During the streak Kelenic is batting .365 (19-for-52) with 5 HR, 12 RBI, 14 runs and 9 XBH total. His OPS is 1.150 (.400/.750) during this stretch (55 PA). Tacoma's longest hit streak last year was 23 games, compiled by Cal Raleigh (5/15 to 6/17). After being optioned to Tacoma by Seattle on May 13, Kelenic has homered six times in 18 games and is batting .316 with 15 RBI and a .990 OPS.

JOE ROAD-OM: Tacoma C/1B/DH Joe Odom has played in 18 road games this season- and has homered in seven of them. Odom went yard in three straight games at Albuquerque April 15-17, and is batting .302 on the road (19-for-63), with a 1.103 OPS (.389/.714) away from Cheney Stadium in 2022. He's had three 3-hit games away from home: 5/8 at Salt Lake, 5/21 at Sacramento and 6/2 at Reno (3-for-5, HR).

HE'S AN O'K PLAYER: After a single yesterday, Tacoma catcher Brian O'Keefe has reached base with either a walk or base hit in 22 of the 23 games he's played this season, after returning from a broken hamate bone on 4/27 at Las Vegas. O'Keefe is batting .313 with a .990 OPS (.412/.578), with four home runs, 12 extra-base hits and 13 walks since returning to action.

A WINNING BUZZ: Salt Lake (City) is one of three current PCL member locales that the Tacoma franchise (est. 1960) has an all-time winning record against (367-358-1, since 1960); the others are Las Vegas (287-283, since 1983) and Round Rock (44-26, since 2005). During the Rainiers era/Seattle Mariners affiliation (since 1995), Tacoma is 194-214 against Salt Lake and their various nicknames and MLB affiliations.

HOLLA AT THE RING: One of Salt Lake's top hitters this season has been outfielder Dillon Thomas, a significant part of the 2021 Triple-A West Champion Rainiers. Thomas is off to a .295 start over 48 games, with 18 XBH (8 HR) and an .887 OPS (39 RBI, 36 runs). A season ago for the Rainiers, Thomas batted .269 with 13 HR and 47 RBI in 94 games, helping lead Tacoma to their third championship (2001, 2010) of the Rainiers era and Seattle Mariners affiliation (since 1995). He made his MLB debut in four games with Seattle last season (called up twice), at age 28 during his 10th season as a professional.

J-UP AROUND: Outfielder Justin Upton, the three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and veteran of 1,828 MLB games with Arizona, Atlanta, San Diego, Detroit and Los Angeles-AL, has been assigned to Tacoma's roster. An MLB promotion is imminent for the 34-year-old, after he signed with Seattle as a free agent on May 21. Upton has hit opposite field homers in consecutive games (6/5 at RNO & 6/7 at SL).

Last season, Upton's only PCL action came in Tacoma at Cheney Stadium, while on a rehab assignment with Salt Lake (LAA). In two games (July 19-20), he went 1-for-7 with a walk and solo homer to lead off the 7/19 game (vs. 2021 Rainiers Pitcher of The Year Logan Verrett). It was Upton's first Triple-A action since 2008, with Tucson (Arizona Diamondbacks) in the PCL.

A TRIPLE-A RATING: Of the 30 clubs at the highest level of Minor League Baseball, the Rainiers have the second-most stolen bases with 75 (Buffalo has 77), have hit the second-most home runs with 80 to lead the PCL (Memphis has 93) and are one of 10 teams with at least 13 triples. The Rainiers' 35 errors as a club are the seventh-fewest in Triple-A, and third-fewest in the PCL behind Reno (27) and Salt Lake (31).

A LOT OF BASEBALL TO BE PLAYED: At 19-35, Tacoma does not have the worst record in Triple-A entering today's action: Syracuse (18-34) and Charlotte (19-36) owned the bottom two marks in the 20-team International League. The Rainiers are a game and a half worse than Sugar Land (21-34) among PCL clubs. Playing .352 ball, Tacoma is a win better than a 100-loss pace, with the Triple-A schedule now expanded to 150 games beginning this season.

The most recent MiLB-affiliated team to lose 100 games was the 1996 Bakersfield Blaze of the then Class A-Advanced California League, who went 39-101. Managed by Yankees great Graig Nettles, that Bakersfield club was a co-op team, meaning they received players from 11 different MLB organizations to fill out their roster over the course of the season, when such things were still allowed. The '96 Blaze lost their final 22 games of the year, still a Cal League record.

UNI WATCH: The 2022 Tacoma Rainiers have the following win-loss record by uniform top: Home white (5-7), red (8-15), navy blue (1-3), road grey (4-5), "La Familia de Tacoma" (1-2, Copa de la Diversion), specialty auction (0-3).

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