Injuries have hit the Rainiers outfield – and only one actually came in a game.
Mike Wilson left Saturday’s game when he suffered a mildly strained groin while checking his swing during an at-bat. He’s day-to-day.
Daren Ford – who has yet to appear in a game for Tacoma – won’t be appearing for quite some time. He broke a finger on his right hand while getting it trapped in a hotel room door. He’s on the disabled list.
Carlos Peguero was scratched from the lineup yesterday with a sore knee, and he is day-to-day.
That’s three outfielders down.
Tacoma added Mario Yepez from Class-A Clinton on Sunday, and he went 1-for-4 in his Triple-A debut. Yepez was brought in to be a reserve outfielder, but when Peguero was scratched he found himself in the starting lineup.
Today the Rainiers expect to add outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang from Double-A Jackson. Chiang is a 24-year-old from Taiwan who was hitting .340 for Portland of the Eastern League last July when he was traded to the Mariners in the three-team deal that also netted Trayvon Robinson. Chiang was 1-for-9 with two walks in three games for Jackson.
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Sunday the Rainiers were blitzed by Salt Lake, 8-2, ending the opening series in a 2-2 split.
Tacoma starter Forrest Snow did not pitch – instead, it was some wild guy wearing a very realistic-looking Forrest Snow costume. At least that’s what I think.
Snow had great control with the Rainiers last year, and he issued only 10 walks in 35.1 innings.
Yesterday, Snow walked the leadoff man in the first inning. He walked the leadoff man in the second inning. He walked the leadoff man in the third inning. He mixed it up in the fourth, smoking the leadoff batter in the forearm with a pitch.
Snow walked a career-high five batters, and he also gave up back-to-back homers while taking the loss.
Tacoma’s two runs came on solo homers by Luis Jimenez and Guillermo Quiroz. Both home runs ended long at-bats in which they worked the count full.
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The Rainiers welcome the Colorado Springs Sky Sox to town today, with the first of a four-game series starting at 7:05 pm at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma starts LHP Anthony Vasquez against Colorado Springs RHP Alex White. As always, the broadcast is on 850 AM and streaming online right here.
Legendary broadcaster Bob Robertson – winner of the Keith Jackson Award at this year’s Seattle Sports Awards, and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame – will be joining me on the air. He’ll do play-by-play in the middle innings.
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Great job by you guys – yes, fans, I’m talking about you – in helping raise nearly $10,000 for the Lakewood Police Guild’s “Make A Difference” Fund. That’s outstanding!
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Links:
- The Rainiers game story from The News Tribune focuses on Carlos Peguero’s sore knee.
- We have the video highlight of the tape-measure home run Peguero hit on Saturday – but it’s disappointing, because you can’t see the ball. This is because the ball actually exploded into a million tiny pieces upon contact.
- Larry LaRue wrote a feature on the Mariners Rule 5 Guy, Lucas Luetge.
- Dave Cameron has a technical analysis of Felix Hernandez’s pitches in his last start, and discusses the slight drop in velocity.
- The Mariners are keeping an eye on the young starting pitchers. Danny Hultzen got knocked around in his debut last night, while Taijuan Walker threw well this morning.
- James Paxton had the highest “game score” of any pitching prospect on opening weekend, according to Baseball America.
- John Sickels has some notes on minor league starting pitchers, including Paxton.
- Mariners 2011 second round draft pick Brad Miller is off to a super-hot start at Class-A High Desert. Four homers on opening weekend!
- I gotta admit it – I’m excited to see Yu Darvish, who makes his US debut tonight against the Mariners. The game starts at 5, so we’ll have it on in the ballpark before the Rainiers game.
- The New York Times Book Review suggests five baseball books for children.
- In the PCL, Colorado Springs beat Reno yesterday and salvaged a split of the four-game series. Reno manager Brett Butler isn’t concerned.
- Tucson starting pitchers Casey Kelly and Joe Wieland may not be in Tucson for long.
- Sacramento’s Chris Carter is playing in his home town of Las Vegas, and the River Cats won 10-3 on Sunday.
- Good news, PCL infielders! They replaced the infield in Las Vegas.
- Nashville finally picked up a win – despite getting only one hit against New Orleans. The Zephyrs team ERA after four games is 0.92.
- Iowa got a big three-run homer from Anthony Rizzo in a comeback win over Round Rock.
- Omaha pitching prospect Mike Montgomery is trying to improve his mechanics.
- Oklahoma City’s Brett Wallace came a triple away from the cycle in a rout of Memphis.
It’s another beautiful sunny day in T-town – that’s two in a row!
