PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: vs. Sugar Land (7:05 PT)

Published on September 1, 2023 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


The Rainiers have won 15 of 20 at Cheney Stadium, with three games remaining on this 12-game homestand. Tacoma is currently 2.0 GB of a playoff spot (more below).

Tacoma Rainiers (69-60, 32-22) vs. Sugar Land Space Cowboys (51-78, 18-36)

Friday, September 1, 2023, 7:05p.m. PT | Cheney Stadium: Tacoma, WA

RHP Marcus Walden vs. RHP Brandon Bielak

DO YOU REMEMBER?: It's September, and since the Triple-A regular season schedule expanded past Labor Day weekend beginning in 2021, Tacoma is 32-21 (.604) after 9/1. The 2021 championship club went 18-10 (2-1 in October); last year's Rainiers had a 14-11 September.

GET YOUR SCHEIN ON: Tacoma infielderJake Scheiner leads the PCL in home runs (29), RBI (99, by 9) and runs scored (T-1st, 90). He's second in the league in extra-base hits (53) and total bases (226). Scheiner is batting .303 (43x142) with runners in scoring position (14 HR). With 21 games remaining, his 99 RBI are already the most for Tacoma since 2011, when Alex Liddi drove in 104 runs (T-10th in franchise history, single-season). In 2022 at Double-A, Scheiner drove in 100 runs for the first time (105 RBI). He's hit career regular season home runs #100 and 101 during this weeklong series.

JAKE RHYMES WITH RAKE: Jake Scheiner is homering once every 4.10 games over the first 119 games of his Triple-A debut, his 29 home runs extending an already career-high total. He hit 21 homers last year at Double-A Arkansas.

Scheiner has homered 17x during home games, and is threatening Adrian Garrett's record of 19 homers 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 (131 GP).

THE REAL DELO: Tacoma outfielder Zach DeLoach leads the Rainiers with 127 hits (Jake Scheiner, 112) through the first 117 games of his Triple-A debut. DeLoach has the second-most hits in the Pacific Coast League; Round Rock's Elier Hernandez leads the circuit with 144. Every DeLoach home run (19) extends his career-high; he hit 14 homers in each of his first two professional seasons (2021 and 2022). DeLoach's 216 total bases and 28 doubles each rank fifth in the PCL, and he's climbed to ninth in RBI with 74; that RBI total sets a new career-high, after he drove in 73 at Double-A last year.

SEVY TIME: Rainiers catcher Pedro Severino batted .362 in August (16 GP), and is batting .347 (26x75) over his last 21 games, dating to July 19. He has 10 extra base hits in this span (six doubles, four homers), with a .967 OPS (.380/.587) and 19 RBI. Severino hit Tacoma's fourth grand slam this season last Friday (vs. LV) and added another homer (2-R) on Tuesday.

GOTTA BE IN IT TO WIN IT: The Rainiers (32-22, second half) enter today's action 2.0 games back of the PCL's second playoff spot (Round Rock, 34-20); Tacoma has won 15 of 20 at home, Round Rock has won 18 of their last 21 overall. The Rainiers end the regular season with six at home vs. Round Rock (September 19-24).

LOW MAN WINS?: Round Rock (20-7) and Tacoma (17-10) posted the two lowest club ERAs in the Pacific Coast League in August at 3.83 and 4.15 respectively. They were the first and third-lowest at Triple-A for the month; Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (NYY) went 18-10 with a 4.03 ERA to lead the International League. Round Rock has been winning close games; their 11 saves in August led the PCL and Triple-A. Las Vegas had nine saves, Tacoma saved eight ballgames.

RILED UP: Over 18.1 IP (18 G) since July 5, Rainiers RHP Riley O'Brien is holding PCL hitters to a .191 BAA with seven saves. O'Brien has struck out 28 batters in this span, walking only five (13 H) for a WHIP of 0.95 dating to 7/5 (5 ER, 2.37 ERA). His ERA was 0.90 in August (10 G, 10.0 IP, 1 ER, 16 K, 0.70 WHIP, .118 BAA).

KO-SIGN: Rainiers RHP Stephen Kolek has allowed only three ER over his past 29.0 IP (0.93 ERA), and has been scoreless in 18 of his last 21 outings. Since June 11, Kolek's ERA is 1.53 (24 G, 35.1 IP, 18 H, 6 ER, 15 BB, 38 K, 0.93 WHIP, 4 SV). Kolek is limiting to a .153 BAA since 6/11.

RISP-Y BUSINESS: Tacoma has the second-most home runs in Triple-A with men on base, at 95 (Las Vegas, 100). With runners in scoring position, Tacoma has the second-highest OPS among the 30 Triple-A clubs at .907; Sugar Land has the lowest OPS in the PCL with RISP (.766).

MAYBE TAKE A PITCH: The Rainiers lead all of Triple-A in walks drawn *by 33* with 727 (5.64 BB/game); Reno is a distant second with 694 walks. Jake Scheiner (2nd, 76 BB), Zach DeLoach (3rd, 74 BB) and Cooper Hummel (4th, 72 BB) are all atop the PCL free pass leaderboard.

Check out the Tacoma Rainiers Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from September 1, 2023


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