PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: vs. El Paso (6:05 PT)

Published on April 19, 2023 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


RHP Konner Wade, who made 23 starts for Tacoma last season, will make his season debut and start this evening.

Tacoma Rainiers (8-7) vs. El Paso Chihuahuas (6-10)

Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 6:05p.m. PT | Cheney Stadium: Tacoma, WA

RHP Konner Wade vs. LHP Jay Groome

WALKING DOGS: Last evening's 11-7 Rainiers win over El Paso featured 13 free passes for each side; the Chihuahuas walked 13x, while the Rainiers racked up 12 walks and one HBP. If surprised, consider that El Paso (110 BB) and Tacoma are the two top Triple-A clubs in drawing bases on balls; the Rainiers have 101 BB while playing in one fewer game than EP so far.

1B Jake Scheiner's three walks tied a Tacoma season-high, and he reached 5x after homering in both the second and third innings (4 RBI). FIVE Rainiers drew multiple walks. LF Preston Tucker walked 4x for the Chihuahuas. 3:08 was Tacoma's longest nine-inning game this season; Tacoma scored 11x without a single (6 XBH).

EVE-R-Y DAY PLAYERS: INF/OF Jake Scheiner (.947 OPS) and INF Mason McCoy (.879 OPS) remain the only Rainiers to have played in all 15 games thus far (started and finished all games). After a pair of two-run homers in last night's victory, only four PCL players have gone deep more than Scheiner, a Triple-A rookie, a list that includes El Paso's Fernando Tatis, Jr. (7). Salt Lake's Jo Adell leads the league with eight home runs. McCoy (3-RBI triple last night) has stolen four bases, without being caught.

FRENEMIES: The El Paso Chihuahuas' roster has several names that could make fans double-take this week at Cheney Stadium. Five current Chihuahuas are former Rainiers; UTIL Tim Lopes (95 G, 2019), RHP Domingo Tapia (5 G, 2021) and three players who ended the 2021 season with the PCL Champion Rainiers: INF Jantzen Witte (104 G), OF Luis Liberato (87 G) and LHP Ray Kerr (12 G). Kerr (recalled on Weds.), a hard-throwing reliever, was traded by the Seattle Mariners to the San Diego Padres for 2B Adam Frazier on 11/27/21. Jantzen Witte has Tacoma's most-recent five-hit game, at Cheney Stadium on 8/16/21 vs. Las Vegas in a 7-3 loss.

JAY-DED: Tacoma has two players rostered who were once traded 1-for-1 for OF Jay Bruce. On 8/9/17 RHP Ryder Ryan was moved from Cleveland to New York-NL (waiver deadline), going from Class A Lake County (Midwest League) to Class A Columbia (South Atlantic League). On 6/2/19, Seattle traded Bruce and cash to Philadelphia in exchange for INF/OF Jake Scheiner, as Scheiner went from High-A Clearwater (Florida State League) to High-A Modesto (California League). Bruce, 36 and now retired, played in 14 MLB seasons from 2008-21.

THE O' STANDS FOR OFFENSE: Having hit safely in 10 of 12 games played, Tacoma catcher Brian O'Keefe is top six in the PCL in home runs (5), slugging (.745), OPS (1.181) and extra-base hits (9). His 35 total bases are eighth-most.

IT'S BEEN DRIVEN (IN) BY FORD LATELY: Tacoma 1B/DH Mike Ford has accumulated the third-most RBI in the PCL entering today's action (18); only Las Vegas's Cody Thomas (23) and Sacramento's Clint Coulter (18) have more. Ford hit safely in his first seven games played this season; he drove in at least one run in his first eight GP, including five multi-RBI efforts.

DON'T BE EXTRA: Thursday's 2-1 Rainiers loss (10) at Round Rock remains only the fourth extra-inning game in the PCL this season over three weeks, and the first that did not involve Oklahoma City. OKC walked-off Tacoma 6-5 in 10 innings on day two of the season (4/1), and won consecutive 10-inning games at Las Vegas (4/9) and vs. Sugar Land (4/11). An 11th inning has not yet been played in the PCL in 2023.

SEA US RISE: Seattle's selection of infielder Jose Caballero (Sat.) and recall of LHP Tayler Saucedo (Tue.) marked the seventh and eighth Tacoma to Seattle promotions this season, a vigorous pace considering last year there were 29 Rainiers to Mariners promotions, and 24 in 2021. Caballero, who was sporting a .550 OBP (9-for-27, 12 BB, 2 HR, 5 SB) through the first 10 games of his Triple-A debut, was the first position player to be promoted this season. He made his MLB debut on 4/15 vs. Colorado as a defensive replacement (SS) for J.P. Crawford, started his first big league game on 4/18 vs. Milwaukee (SS, 0-4, BB) and had his first MLB hit on 4/19 vs. Milwaukee (double, LHP Eric Lauer).

After 7.2 IP of scoreless work for Tacoma (5 G, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 K), the local product Saucedo (Maple Valley, WA) has completed a long but compact journey from Tahoma High School to Tacoma CC (freshman season, 2013) to the Tacoma Rainiers and now his favorite childhood MLB club (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K on 4/19). Saucedo debuted as a big leaguer in 33 games (all relief) with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021 and 2022.

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