Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: vs. Salt Lake (DH, 2:05 PT)
April 9, 2022 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
Last night's game (rain) was postponed to this afternoon. First pitch is at 2:05 p.m.
Tacoma Rainiers (1-2) vs. Salt Lake Bees (2-1)
Saturday, April 9, 2022, 2:05 p.m. PT | Cheney Stadium: Tacoma, WA
LHP Nick Margevicius (Triple-A debut) vs. RHP Cesar Valdez (Game 1)
RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon vs. RHP Davis Daniel (Game 2)
UNDER IT: Thursday's 14-1 loss to Salt Lake dropped the Rainiers under .500 for the first time since they were 7-8 on May 22 of last season following a 9-5 win over Round Rock at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma would even their record the following day with a 7-6 win over Round Rock, and would not fall below .500 again en route to the 2021 Triple-A West Championship.
A WINNING BUZZ: Salt Lake is one of three current PCL member cities that the Tacoma franchise (est. 1960) has an all-time winning record against (364-351-1, since 1960); the others are Las Vegas (284-275, since 1983) and Round Rock (44-26, since 2005).
The Rainiers have won 12 of their last 16 against the Bees dating to last season, despite this two-game slide.
TIM'S TIME: Rainiers manager Tim Federowicz, having played in the past iteration of the PCL for Albuquerque, El Paso, Iowa, Sacramento, Fresno, Nashville and Oklahoma City, played 26 career games against Tacoma as an active player. With those clubs against the Salt Lake Bees, Federowicz was wildly successful, batting .308 (32-for-104) with six home runs and 20 RBI.
A veteran of 163 Major League games between 2011 and 2019, Federowicz was summoned to the big leagues from the PCL with five organizations (ABQ-LAD, IOW-CHC, SAC-SF, FRE-HOU, NSH-TEX), and earned a 2016 World Series ring with the Cubs.
SOUZBOT: A local of sorts, with 499 games of MLB experience, has been added to Tacoma's roster by the Mariners. Outfielder Steven Souza, Jr., an Everett native and graduate of Cascade High School, was a non-roster invitee to Major League camp in Peoria. Drafted 100th overall by Washington in 2007, he's logged big league time with the Nationals, Rays, Diamondbacks, Cubs and Dodgers between his MLB debut in 2014 and last season with L.A. (72 career MLB HR).
Souza was the second-highest draft pick in Cascade HS history and second to reach the Majors; outfielder Grady Sizemore (75th overall in 2000, Montreal Expos), is first in each category (MLB from 2004-2015). After spending the duration of spring training in big league camp, Souza made his regular season Mariners organization debut on 4/7 at Cheney Stadium vs. Salt Lake, and drew four walks.
BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR A BALLGAME...: Last season the Rainiers played four doubleheaders, the final three of which were at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma went 5-3 in such games, all seven innings in length. They split July 11 at Sugar Land, July 15 vs. Salt Lake and July 25 vs. Sacramento, before sweeping Sacramento at home on September 13. The first three double-dips were due to rain. The last was due to a power outage in Tacoma on September 12.
THE WHAT?: A new-for-2022 rule in Major League Baseball allows a pitcher to start a game on the mound and finish it as the designated hitter, colloquially dubbed "The Ohtani Rule." In Wednesday's 14-1 home loss to Salt Lake, Tacoma's Mike Ford did a "Reverse Ohtani," by DHing (RBI single) and then finishing the lopsided affair by pitching the ninth (1 ER).
"Reverse Ohtani" has been unofficially coined by Tacoma broadcaster Mike Curto on Twitter. For Ford, it was his second appearance on a mound as a professional but his first in the minor leagues; he logged 2.0 IP for the New York Yankees in 2019. However, Ford was a two-way player and a reliever in college at Princeton University from 2011-2013.
LET MATT COOK: In his Rainiers debut on opening day, April 5 vs. Salt Lake, RHP Matt Koch (pronounced "cook") struck out the side in the 7th inning on nine pitches. It was the second "immaculate inning" for Tacoma in as many seasons. Last year on August 31, also at Cheney Stadium vs. Salt Lake, Penn Murfee accomplished the feat in the 10th, all the more impressive considering the automatic runner began the frame at second base via the international tie-breaker rule.
EAST MEETS WEST: The two anchors of the Rainiers' 2021 championship lineup have each moved on to lucrative roster spots in Nippon Professional Baseball, the Japanese Major Leagues. 2021 Triple-A West MVP 1B/OF Jose Marmolejos is with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. 2021 Rainiers Team MVP 3B Jantzen Witte joined the Saitama Seibu Lions. Marmolejos also won the Triple-A West batting title last season (.338), Tacoma's first batting champion since Troy Neel of the 1992 Tacoma Tigers (PCL, Oakland A's).
R SPEED: Early on, Tacoma is stealing 2.67 bases per game at an .889 rate (3 G, 8 SB, 1 CS).
• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board...
Pacific Coast League Stories from April 9, 2022
- Dodgers Plate a Dozen Straight to Dispatch Albuquerque - Oklahoma City Comets
- Dodgers Plate 12-straight runs to beat Topes, 12-5 - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Salt Lake Splits Tacoma Twin Bill - Salt Lake Bees
- Mike Ford Walks off a 1-0 Rainiers Win on Saturday - Tacoma Rainiers
- Gore Stifles Chihuahuas in Setback - El Paso Chihuahuas
- Round Rock Finds 3-1 Victory over El Paso in Game Five - Round Rock Express
- Space Cowboys Game Notes - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- OKC Dodgers Game Notes - April 9, 2022 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: vs. Salt Lake (DH, 2:05 PT) - Tacoma Rainiers
- Space Cowboys Defeated in Extras by Sacramento - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- River Cats Outlast Space Cowboys in 12-Inning Walk-Off Victory - Sacramento River Cats
- Reno's Offense Rolls in 7-1 Win in Las Vegas - Reno Aces
- Dodgers Pull away from Albuquerque - Oklahoma City Comets
- Rainiers vs. Salt Lake Postponed on Friday - Tacoma Rainiers
- Express Finds First Win in Game Four against Chihuahuas - Round Rock Express
- Round Rock Topples Chihuahuas - El Paso Chihuahuas
- Oklahoma City Pulls Away from Albuquerque in 8-3 Win - Albuquerque Isotopes
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
