We had a wild one at Cheney Stadium on Saturday night. Tacoma beat the Sky Sox in a game that would be more common at high-elevation Security Service Field in Colorado Springs, 16-9.
To see this many runs score in Tacoma - on a pleasant, calm night - was rather unexpected.
Both starting pitchers struggled. The Sky Sox had a lot of defensive issues. The Rainiers issued a bunch of walks.
Most importantly, both teams hit well.
The Sky Sox had 13 hits, and led the game 6-1 in the third inning. Tacoma pounded out 19 hits, including a pair of three-run homers.
Mike Carp went 2-for-4 with five RBI, including the go-ahead three-run double in the fifth that gave Tacoma an 11-8 lead. Guillermo Quiroz was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer. Darren Ford waited until his final at-bat to double, extending his hitting streak to 17 games.
The big star was Carlos Triunfel, who went 4-for-5 with a home run, four runs scored, and five RBI. Triunfel is on a tear right now: in his last four games, he has gone 8-for-16 with three home runs and 11 RBI. Not a typo: he has driven in 11 runs in the last four games.
Tacoma has won two of three so far against the Springs, and the Rainiers can win the series with a victory today.
Today’s game is at 1:35 pm, and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streaming online right here. Tacoma starts RHP Andrew Carraway (3-4, 4.17) against Colorado Springs RHP Rob Scahill (7-9, 5.60).
Links:
- We start with the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
- My Minor League Notebook for the paper has an item on the no-hitter by Class-A pitcher Jordan Shipers, and an anecdote from Guillermo Quiroz on Luis Jimenez at the Triple-A All-Star Home Run Derby.
- The Mariners won as Felix Hernandez was magnificent.
- First round draft pick Mike Zunino hit a double in his professional debut for the Everett Aqua Sox last night.
- John McGrath had some fun this week: he selected his team of Seattle Pests – or if you prefer, the worst Mariners killers of all-time.
- Time for the Larry Stone Sunday baseball package in the Seattle Times: a column about the Mariners “untouchable” players with the trade deadline approaching, his notebook contains several interesting items, and as always we have power rankings and thumbs.
- The Oakland A’s next big pitching prospect is Dan Straily, and he is pitching on Wednesday night at Cheney Stadium against Danny Hultzen and the Rainiers.
- In the PCL, Paul McAnulty hit a two-run homer in the eighth to lead Salt Lake to a 4-3 comeback victory at Reno. McAnulty went deep off sidearm lefty specialist Joe Paterson.
- Bruce Billings was dealing and Sacramento felted Las Vegas, 7-1.
- Everyone likes a good feature story on the little-known back-up catcher of the Tucson Padres. Tucson beat Fresno last night, 9-5.
- Omaha scored seven runs in the second inning, and Jake Odorizzi cruised from there to beat Iowa.
- Former Rainiers slugger Brad Nelson hit two home runs, but his Round Rock Express lost to Memphis, 5-4.
- The Oklahoman reports that the Oklahoma City RedHawks bats were sleeping last night.
- It’s pouring rain in Nashville, and the Isotopes and Sounds had the dreaded doubleheader rain out last night. That means… two doubleheaders in the future.
Let’s win this series!
Good stuff Mike. Keep up the good work