PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: vs. Round Rock (5:05 p.m. PT)

Published on June 11, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


Notes for Saturday's Tacoma Rainiers game vs. Round Rock are attached.

Tacoma Rainiers (22-35) vs. Round Rock Express (32-26)

Saturday, June 11, 2022, 5:05 p.m. PT | Cheney Stadium: Tacoma, WA

RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon vs. RHP Yerry Rodriguez

SUMMER SLAM: It took 55 games this season for the first Rainiers grand slam (Scott Heineman, 6/8 at Salt Lake), but now Tacoma has hit two in three days. Last night's Alex Blandino walk-off slam with nobody out was Tacoma's first game-ending grand slam since Chris Mariscal, on June 24, 2019 vs. El Paso. Mariscal won that game with two out in the bottom of the 10th, trailing by a run, for a 7-4 final (GS off Trevor Megill). Last season the Rainiers had four bases loaded homers, including two at home against Round Rock: Luis Torrens on May 23 and Ty Kelly the following day on May 24. Jack Reinheimer (9/9 vs. SAC) and Marcus Wilson (9/17 at ELP) had the others.

SLAM, A HEINE-CAN: OF/1B Scott Heineman homered in his second at-bat with the Rainiers in the second inning of Wednesday's 13-6 win at Salt Lake- and hit Tacoma's first grand slam of the year in the process, with a club season-high 6 RBI to boot. This weekend, he'll face the club he's played for the most in Triple-A, with 107 games for the Texas Rangers affiliate in 2018, where he hit .295 with 11 HR and 57 RBI, with a .784 OPS playing at home in a notorious pitcher's ballpark. Heineman was selected to that season's Triple-A All-Star Game in Columbus, where he singled and walked, and stole four bases. The 29-year-old has played in 68 Major League games for Texas and Cincinnati, between 2019 and last season (5 MLB HR).

EXCEEDINGLY BRASH: After he finished Wednesday's 13-6 win at Salt Lake by striking out the side in order in the ninth, Rainiers right-hander Matt Brash pitched in consecutive games for the first time this season, and pitched five times in nine days on the recent road trip (since June 1). Brash currently has a streak of seven consecutive scoreless appearances dating to May 25, each of which were 1.0 IP: 4 H (.167 BAA), 2 BB (0.86 WHIP), 12 K.

HE'S AN O'K PLAYER: Tacoma catcher Brian O'Keefe has reached base with either a walk or base hit in 23 of the 25 games he's played this season, after returning from a broken hamate bone on 4/27 at Las Vegas. O'Keefe is batting .319 with a .975 OPS (.415/.560), with four home runs, 12 extra-base hits and 14 walks since returning to action.

TEXAS 3-STEP: Round Rock is one of three current PCL member locales that the Tacoma franchise (est. 1960) has an all-time winning record against (45-26, since 2005). Salt Lake (369-358-1, since 1960) and Las Vegas (287-283, since 1983) are the others. After last night's series-opening win, the Rainiers improved to 25-6 against Round Rock all-time at Cheney Stadium.

THE FED WAY HOME: Round Rock infielder Nick Tanielu, a Federal Way, WA native returns to the area this weekend. He's played 16 career games against the Rainiers with Fresno (2018), Round Rock (2019) and El Paso (2021). Tanielu is also a Washington State Baseball alum.

A TRIPLE-A RATING: Of the 30 Triple-A clubs, the Rainiers have the second-most stolen bases, with 79 (Buffalo has 80), have the third-most home runs with 83 (Memphis has 96, El Paso has 87) and are one of 10 teams with at least 13 triples. The Rainiers' 37 errors as a club are the seventh-fewest in Triple-A, and second-fewest in the PCL behind Reno (29).

ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES A RAINI: Tacoma triumphed in their first three-game series of 2022 earlier this week, by winning Thursday's rubber-match at Salt Lake, 5-3.

A PCL schedule of primarily six-game series was first introduced during the pandemic-shortened 2021 season. The Rainiers are playing their first three-game series at home this weekend since 2019: August 19-21, 2019 vs. Salt Lake at Cheney Stadium was shortened to two games (rain). Tacoma's most recent three-gamer at home was taking two of three from Omaha July 30-August 1, 2019.

Tacoma has lost or split eight of their 10 completed series this season. This tough opening stretch is in stark contrast to how last season ended; Tacoma's 9/27/21 loss at Round Rock during the "Triple-A Final Stretch" marked their first losing series (2-3) since losing four of six vs. Reno, July 1-6. Prior to, the Rainiers had tied or won 11 consecutive six-game series, and compiled a 50-28 record after July 8, en route to the 2021 "Triple-A West" regular season championship. Tacoma finished 2021 winning or tying 12 of 13 series.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 11, 2022


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