Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: at Sugar Land (5:05 PT)
August 1, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
Tacoma is currently on a season-high five-game win streak.
Tacoma Rainiers (52-50, 15-12) @ Sugar Land Space Cowboys (43-59, 10-17)
Tuesday, August 1, 2023, 5:05p.m. PT | Cheney Stadium: Tacoma, WA
LHP Tommy Milone vs. RHP Spenser Watkins
WESTERN EXPOSURE: The Rainiers make their third-ever visit to Sugar Land (HOU) this week, who joined the Pacific Coast League in 2021. All 12 games this season between the clubs will occur between now and September 9 (at Tacoma 8/29-9/3). The Rainiers are 18-21 this season against fellow AL West affiliates (Las Vegas/OAK, Round Rock/TEX and Salt Lake/LAA). Tacoma is 5-7 all-time at Sugar Land.
SUMMER OF SAM: Sam Haggerty is batting .374 (34x91) over 23 games since July 1, with a 1.136 OPS during this span (.444 OBP/.692 SLG), thanks to 15 extra-base hits (2 triples, 6 HR). He's walked 14x and has 18 RBI since 7/1. Haggerty was optioned to Tacoma on June 6 following 24 GP with Seattle, after making the MLB roster out of spring training; he registered only 48 plate appearances (42 AB) with the M's.
Haggerty was named PCL Player of The Week for June 25-30: 6 GP, 11x24 (.458), 4 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 2 SB, 6 R, .500 OBP, 1.042 SLG (2 doubles), with a 1.542 OPS on the recent homestand.
FOUR LORE: When Zach DeLoach, Adam Engel, Mark Mathias and Sam Haggerty each homered to begin the bottom of the fourth inning on Saturday vs. Salt Lake, it was the first time in the "Rainiers" era/Seattle affiliation (since 1995) that Tacoma hit four consecutive home runs. It marked the first time the Rainiers hit three straight homers since June 13, 2013, when Carlos Peguero, Rich Poythress and Nate Tenbrink did so at Cashman Field in Las Vegas.
The Tacoma Twins hit four straight HR in a game at Sacramento in 1974, but the "record" has an asterisk because the left field fence at Hughes Stadium was fewer than 250 feet from the plate.
MAKE 'EM COUNT: Tacoma's 80 home runs with at least one runner on base are the most in Triple-A (Albuquerque, 78). The Rainiers are also top three in Triple-A in both OBP (.395) and slugging (.499) with runners on.
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?: The Rainiers are two games over .500 despite being plus-41 in runs (640-599). Tacoma's expected win-loss is 54-48, making them "unlucky" by two games based on run differential. The Rainiers out-scored Salt Lake 40-23 during the recent homestand (5-1). Tacoma has the fourth-best run differential in the 10-team Pacific Coast League, and Sugar Land currently has the worst, by 69 runs (-129).
FUN WITH AT LEAST ONE: The Rainiers have now lasted more than a season's-worth of games (152) without being shut out. Last season, Tacoma lost 1-0 at Sacramento (8/3) in game #100, and scored in their final 50 contests. They've scored in all 102 games this year, have been held to a single run 9x, and have shutout the opposition 3x (4/5 vs. Reno, 4/12 at Round Rock and 7/1 vs. Salt Lake).
SCHEIN BRIGHT: Rainiers corner infielderJake Scheiner leads all of Triple-A in home runs (25), and RBI (85), and leads the Pacific Coast League in total bases (187) and runs scored (75). His 44 extra-base hits and 65 walks each rank second in the PCL. The league MVP candidate is batting .339 (38x112) with RISP (13 HR). With 48 games remaining, Scheiner's 85 RBI are already the most for Tacoma since 2011, when Alex Liddi drove in 104 runs (T-10th in franchise history).
YO...JAKE!: Rainiers 3B/1B Jake Scheiner has 25 home runs in 93 games of his Triple-A debut season, extending an already career-high total. He hit 21 homers last year at Double-A Arkansas.
Scheiner has homered 15x during home games, and is threatening Adrian Garrett's record of 19 homers in a season at Cheney Stadium (1971). Garrett, an outfielder for the 1971 Tacoma Cubs, still holds the franchise single-season home run record, with 43 (131 GP). Originally a 4th round draft pick of Philadelphia in 2017, Scheiner was traded to Seattle for OF Jay Bruce on 6/2/19.
AND THEN BRIAN COMES IN: Catcher Brian O'Keefe's eighth-inning go-ahead shot (2-R) on Sunday was his 45th homer with the Rainiers (since 7/11/21), and passed Daniel Vogelbach for 18th-most in franchise history (44 HR from 2016-18). O'Keefe has homered in three of his last four games. Bill Hain is 17th on the list with 46 home runs, for the 1961-63 Tacoma Giants.
O'Keefe's 19 homers are five shy of his career-high and rank fifth in the Pacific Coast League. He slugged 24 HR in 2021 over 105 games split between Double-A Arkansas and Tacoma (13 HR in 56 GP of Triple-A debut).
UNI-WATCH: The 2023 Tacoma Rainiers have the following record by uniform top...Rainiers Red (11-15), Home White (14-11), Road Grey (5-3), Navy (12-14), 1960 Fauxback (3-4), La Familia de Tacoma (5-0), Special Auction (2-3).
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