Former Teammate Stings Rainiers

As you are well aware, David Winfree was one of the leaders of last year’s PCL Championship team.

He left the Mariners after the season as a minor league free agent, signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Winfree got injured in spring training and didn’t play much, so an assignment to Triple-A Reno was in the cards.

Last night he beat his former team with a long home run to centerfield with two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning. Winfree’s third homer of the season gave Reno a 13-12 win.

Winfree’s blast was one of six homers for the Aces, who lead the league in home runs by a team. The wind was howling out to right field, but that was an advantage for both team’s hitters – and the Aces out-homered Tacoma, 6-1.

Matt Tuiasosopo had a big game for Tacoma, going 3-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored, and five RBI. Alex Liddi and Matt Mangini each had three hits as well.

Mike Carp left the game after singling in the fourth inning. It turned out to be a cramp in his hamstring and he should be fine.

The second game of the four-game series is tonight at 6:05. Tacoma starts RHP Blake Beavan (1-0, 4.50) against Reno RHP Micah Owings (3-0, 2.81). It will be interesting to see if Reno manager Brett Butler uses a DH for Owings, who is the best hitting pitcher in baseball. The game will be broadcast live on 850 AM and streaming online here.

Links:

• The game ended so late I couldn’t get quotes, but here is my Rainiers game story for The News Tribune. The Reno newspaper’s account has quotes from Winfree.
• Michael Pineda tossed another gem and the Mariners swept the Detroit Tigers.
• Even Buster Olney is jumping on the Michael Pineda bandwagon (subscription required).
• Mariners catcher Miguel Olivo is heating up at the plate.
• In the PCL, Omaha won its 9th straight game by shutting out Iowa, 7-0. Eric Hosmer had four hits, Mike Moustakas pounded two homers, and Danny Duffy tossed six innings of one-hit, nine-strikeout ball.
• Salt Lake lost its series opener at home to Fresno, 5-4. Fresno closer Marc Kroon recorded his 200th professional save.
• Crazy game in Vegas: Sacramento hit three homers in the top of the 13th inning off former Rainiers reliever Chad Cordero and the River Cats won it, 13-9. Each team scored in the 11th and the game clocked in at 4:34.
• Tucson has a player who’s father pitched for the team 20 years ago. All Mike Clark remembers is the old Toros mascot, Tuffy the Taco.
• Las Vegas outfielders Dewayne Wise and Scott Podsednik reminisced about Wise’s perfect-game saving catch – one of the best any of us have ever seen.
• Oklahoma City’s Anderson Hernandez hit a 3-run homer to beat his former team in New Orleans.
• Memphis catcher Tommy Cruz singled home the winning run in the 10th inning to beat Round Rock, 6-5.
• Here’s a fun story on teams manipulating scoreboard radar gun readings to get an advantage.
• A couple of PCL players – but no Rainiers – appear in this week’s Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet.

OK, let’s see if we can get a more normal baseball game tonight – and hopefully one that ends with a Rainiers win.

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