Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: vs. Round Rock (1:35 PT)
September 24, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
Thank you for following along this season. The Rainiers will open the 2024 season at home at Cheney Stadium, on Friday, March 29 vs. Oklahoma City (7:05 PT).
PCL second half playoff berth: Reno will clinch with a win at Las Vegas. Round Rock will clinch with a win over Tacoma and a Reno loss.
Tacoma Rainiers (77-72, 40-34) vs. Round Rock Express (88-60, 44-30)
Sunday, September 24, 2023, 1:35p.m. PT | Cheney Stadium: Tacoma, WA
RHP Adam Oller vs. RHP Zak Kent
FOUR SCORE, AND 63 YEARS AGO: Tacoma's Triple-A franchise (est. 1960) has four 20-home run hitters in a single season for the first time. Jake Scheiner (30 HR), Brian O'Keefe (23 HR), Zach DeLoach (23 HR) and Taylor Trammell (21 HR) have achieved the franchise-first.
THE REAL DELO: Tacoma OF Zach DeLoach leads the Rainiers with 151 hits through the first 137 games of his Triple-A debut; he has the second-most hits in the PCL (55 XBH, T-6th). DeLoach's 254 total bases rank second in the league (30 doubles are sixth), and he's climbed to ninth in RBI with 88; DeLoach's 23 HR and 88 RBI are both new career-highs (14 HR & 73 RBI at Double-A Arkansas last season).
HUMMING ALONG: Tacoma super-utility man Cooper Hummel has hit safely in 21 of his last 23 games, batting .337 (32x95). Hummel has doubled 9x and hit five homers in this span, while playing first base, left field, and catching. His OPS is 1.006 (.417/.589) over his last 23 starts, with 11 walks, 17 runs scored and 19 RBI. Hummel is sporting the sixth-highest OBP in the PCL overall (.410), and is 10th in steals (26).
BLISS-FUL MILESTONE: Rainiers middle INF Ryan Bliss has hit nine home runs and has stolen 20 bases over 46 games with the Rainiers, and has hit 22 homers and swiped 55 bags this season between Double-A Amarillo (12/30), Reno (1/5) and Tacoma. Bliss is only the fifth player since 1995 to record a 20 HR/50 SB season in MiLB (all levels), four of which have come since last season (three this year): Jonatan Clase ('23, Mariners, 20/79), Blake Dunn ('23, Reds, 23/54), Anthony Volpe ('22, Yankees, 21/50) and Andruw Jones ('95, Braves, 25/56). Bliss was the lone minor league prospect in Seattle's July 31 trade deadline deal with Arizona for RHP Paul Sewald (OF Dominic Canzone and INF Josh Rojas).
"R"UN IT BACK: Tacoma has the second-most stolen bases in the PCL with 209 (El Paso- 210), as Omaha leads all of Triple-A with 222. 209 SB is a new franchise record, after the Rainiers led Triple-A last season (by 13) with 205 steals.
SEVY TIME: Rainiers catcher Pedro Severino batted .362 in August (16 GP), and is batting .315 (35x111) over his last 30 games, dating to July 19. He has 14 extra-base hits in this span (eight doubles, six homers), with a .911 OPS (.361/.550) and 23 RBI. Severino has homered in four of his last 13 games played (grand slam 8/25 vs. LV).
AWARDS SZN: Prior to last night's game, the Rainiers organization honored their 2023 Season Award Winners, as selected by the front office and coaching staff...
Pitcher of The Year: RHP Riley O'Brien
Hitter of The Year and Defensive Player of The Year: OF Zach DeLoach
All-Time Rainiers Strikeout Leader (since 1995) and Community Service Player of The Year: RHP Darren McCaughan
2023 Tacoma Rainiers Most Valuable Player: 3B /1B Jake Scheiner
JAKE RAKED: Tacoma 3B/1B Jake Scheiner has homered 18x during home games in 2023, and is one shy of Adrian Garrett's record of 19 home runs 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 over 131 games played.
WE R BUYING TICKETS: Cheney Stadium has drawn 379,366 fans over 74 Rainiers games this season (72 openings, 5,269 fans per game), setting a new franchise attendance record in aggregate. 378,518 fans patronized 72 Tacoma home games during the 2011 season, which was R previous record-high total. Before Saturday, the Rainiers had most recently broken 375,000 fans in 2016, when the Pat Listach-managed club won a division title with an 81-62 record.
MAYBE TAKE A PITCH: The Rainiers lead all of Triple-A in walks drawn *by 26* with 836 (5.61 BB/game); Reno is a distant second with 810 walks. Zach DeLoach (4th, 83 BB), Jake Scheiner (T-5th, 81 BB) and Cooper Hummel (T-5th, 81 BB) are all atop the Pacific Coast League free pass leaderboard.
RILED UP: Over 26.0 IP (25 G) since July 5, Rainiers RHP Riley O'Brien is holding PCL hitters to a .165 average with 11 saves. O'Brien has struck out 44 batters during this span, walking only eight (15 H) for a WHIP of 0.88 dating to 7/5 (5 ER, 1.73 ERA). O'Brien's 15 saves - the first 15 of his career - are second-most in the PCL. His 51 appearances also rank second.
Pacific Coast League Stories from September 24, 2023
- Rainiers Drop Season Finale to Playoff-Bound Round Rock - Tacoma Rainiers
- Sugar Land Falls in Season Finale - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Express Beat Rainiers, Advance to Pacific Coast League Championship - Round Rock Express
- Isotopes Win 2023 Season Finale, 2-1 - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Busch's Homer Not Enough in Setback - Oklahoma City Comets
- Aces Playoff Hopes Fall Short in 6-5 Defeat by Aviators - Reno Aces
- Sacramento Stays Close but Bees Grab Finale - Sacramento River Cats
- Bees End 2023 Season on High Note - Salt Lake Bees
- Chihuahuas Score 10 in Season Finale Win - El Paso Chihuahuas
- OKC Dodgers Game Notes - September 24, 2023 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: vs. Round Rock (1:35 PT) - Tacoma Rainiers
- Round Rock Bats Explode For 12-10 Win Over Tacoma - Round Rock Express
- Reno Reduces Magic Number to One with Seventh Straight Win - Reno Aces
- Cats Come Back to Capture Victory Over Bees, 4-3 - Sacramento River Cats
- Isotopes Secure PCL Attendance Crown, Rally Late for 6-4 Triumph - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Isotopes Take Down Dodgers, 6-4 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Bees Fall in Penultimate Game of 2023 - Salt Lake Bees
- Blanco Delivers Outstanding Final Start, Helps Space Cowboys to Sixth Straight Win - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
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