Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: vs. OKC (7:05 PT)
July 15, 2022 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
Tacoma Rainiers (36-50) vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers (51-36)
Friday, July 15, 2022, 7:05 p.m. PT | Cheney Stadium: Tacoma, WA
LHP Justus Sheffield vs. RHP Sam Gaviglio
GET A K(LEW): On his latest rehab assignment, outfielder Kyle Lewis (27th birthday Wednesday) homered in four consecutive games, three for High-A Everett last week (July 7-8, 10) and a solo shot on Tuesday in the fourth inning. Lewis has homered six times in his last nine games at all levels including MLB; he went deep on May 28 vs. Houston off Jose Urquidy at T-Mobile Park.
IN KEL'S KITCHEN: Tacoma outfielder Jarred Kelenic is batting .342 over his last 18 games, hitting safely in 16. His OPS is 1.112 (.416/.696) in that span (since June 22), thanks to nine doubles, five home runs and two triples (20 RBI, 13 R). Earlier this season, Kelenic compiled the longest Tacoma hit streak of 2022, 13 games between May 24 and June 8. Since being optioned on May 13, Kelenic has 56 hits for the Rainiers (.301 AVG), 31 of which have gone for extra bases, a staggering 55% of his Triple-A hit total this season (112 total bases in 44 GP, .602 SLG).
R GUYS HAVE THE POW-ER: Jarred Kelenic's monster week at Reno saw him honored as PCL Player of The Week for the period of July 4-10, the fifth Rainier to win a weekly award this season (RHP Konner Wade, LHP Justus Sheffield, OF Marcus Wilson, RHP Darren McCaughan). In five games played, Kelenic hit .389 (7-for-18) with six walks, OPSing 1.616 for the week with six extra-base hits (2 HR, 2 2B, 2 3B). He drove in six runs and scored six more as Tacoma split the series.
MEJIA MASH: Tacoma INF/OF Erick Mejia is 22-for-66 (.333) during his last 16 games (2 HR, 8 doubles). Mejia is OPSing .929 during this span (dating to June 22), as he's slugging .545 over his last 73 plate appearances (6 BB, .384 OBP). Mejia's 18 doubles tie him for seventh-most in the PCL; Eguy Rosario (El Paso) leads the league with 24.
EVERY DAY PATTY: RHP Patrick Weigel's 33 appearances lead Tacoma and tie him for third in the PCL. He's limiting batters on the notoriously offensive circuit to a .207 average, and striking out well over a batter per inning (44 K/38.1 IP). Weigel's best stretch was from May 20 through June 3, when he worked five consecutive appearances without a run...or a hit (4.1 IP). He strung together five straight scoreless appearances again from June 22 through July 4 (5.0 IP). A former starter drafted in the seventh round by Atlanta in 2015, Weigel's career-high in games came last season, appearing in 36 for Triple-A Nashville and three more in the Majors with Milwaukee.
LEAD-R-BOARD: Tacoma has the third-most steals in Triple-A (106), behind only Reno (107) and Buffalo of the International League (110). Rainiers outfielder Forrest Wall is third in the PCL in stolen bases, with 25. Tacoma's 120 home runs are fifth-most among the 30 Triple-A clubs.
R(EUNIONS): Tacoma manager Tim Federowicz was an active player as recently as last season, finishing his career by splitting 2021 between the U.S. Olympic Team's silver medal-winning effort in Tokyo and the OKC Dodgers (25 GP). In Oklahoma City, Federowicz played for Travis Barbary, who remains the manager. Federowicz debuted as a Major Leaguer for the Dodgers in 2011, the first seven games of 163 career in MLB, after being traded by Boston to Los Angeles at the deadline that season while at Double-A.
OKC has two players rostered who spent time with Tacoma last season: LHP Daniel Zamora (28 G, 37.0 IP) and INF Ty Kelly (24 G), who hit one of four Rainiers grand slams in 2021, May 24 vs. Round Rock, the difference in a 7-3 win.
STRANGER DANGER: Due to the opposite division schedule rotation in the "old" 16-team PCL (through 2019) and the lack of a 2020 season, this week marks Oklahoma City's first visit to Tacoma since August 1-3, 2018. The Triple-A Dodgers took the first two games of that set, before a resounding 13-1 Rainiers victory on 8/3 to salvage the series. Current Tacoma third base coach Zach Vincej (SS) hit two doubles in that game for the Rainiers, and current first base coach Seth Mejias-Brean (3B) had two hits as well. Tacoma hit four homers: Daniel Vogelbach, Andrew Aplin, David Freitas and Mejias-Brean.
HOW MANY PUNCHIES?: Rainiers right-handers Darren McCaughan (88 K) and Daniel Ponce de Leon (80 K) rank fourth and ninth in the PCL in strikeouts. McCaughan's 94.0 IP are most on the circuit, and his 1.21 WHIP is fourth-lowest in the league.
UNI WATCH: The 2022 Tacoma Rainiers have the following win-loss record by uniform top:
Home white (11-12), red (14-21), navy blue pullover (4-4), road grey (5-7), "La Familia de Tacoma" (2-2, Copa de la Diversion), specialty auction (0-4). The next "Copa" game at Cheney Stadium is June 29, vs. El Paso (7:05 PT).
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