Back On Top

Blake Beavan tossed a gem, and the Tacoma Rainiers moved back into first place in the Pac-North standings with a 5-2 win over visiting Nashville on Monday night.

Beavan carried a shutout into the eighth inning, when Hunter Morris broke it up with a long solo home run. The homer didn’t matter much at the time: Tacoma held a 4-0 lead, and the only real drama was if there would be a shutout or not.

I should have mentioned Morris in my Nashville preview yesterday: he was the MVP of the Double-A Southern League last year, with 28 homers and 113 RBI. The Rainiers will pitch him carefully in this series.

Tacoma third baseman Alex Liddi had a nice game. Liddi was 3-for-4, with two singles, a home run, and three runs scored. He was on base when Carlos Peguero connected for his sixth home run of the season.

Tacoma has won three straight, improving to 27-18 overall. The Rainiers moved a half-game ahead of Colorado Springs, which lost in Albuquerque yesterday.

Tonight’s game is at 6:05, and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streaming online right here. For the phone or iPad, download the TuneIn app. Tacoma starts RHP Hector Noesi (0-0, 0.00) against Nashville RHP Johnny Hellweg (2-4, 3.72).

Noesi is starting in Jimmy Gillheeney‘s rotation spot. There is a chance that Gillheeney will pitch in relief of Noesi tonight – we’ll see what happens. This will be Noesi’s first game in Tacoma this season.

Links:

• We start with the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• Ryan Divish’s minor league report has video of Carlos Peguero‘s home run from last night.
• The games the Mariners are losing right now are incredible. Imagine if you were an Indians fan – this would be an amazing run of victories, wouldn’t it? And here we are, on the other side of it. Yuck.
• Larry Stone has a blog post on the crazy Cleveland series, and dealing with the aftermath.
• In the PCL, Albuquerque won the opening game against visiting Colorado Springs, 7-3.
• Round Rock shut out Reno, 4-0.
• Salt Lake rallied late against the beleaguered Memphis bullpen.
• Fresno took care of Oklahoma City, 10-3, as struggling prospect Gary Brown had two hits. The RedHawks minds were probably elsewhere – yes, it’s a good thing they were on the road when the tornadoes hit their town, but surely some of the players had families back in Oklahoma.
• Sacramento edged New Orleans in a well-pitched game.
• Omaha launched four dingers and beat Tucson, 11-8.
• Las Vegas was rained out in Iowa; they’ll play two today. The 51s are getting a spot-start from rising prospect Rafael Montero, who was striking out everybody at Double-A Binghamton.

Triunfel Does It Again

Carlos Triunfel has his second-straight game-winning hit on Sunday, launching a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Rainiers a 6-5 win over Memphis.

This came after he had the go-ahead RBI double with two outs in the eighth inning on Saturday. That’s a nice little run of clutch hits for Triunfel.

Once again it was a comeback win for the Rainiers, who trailed 5-3 after five innings. Jonathan Arias was a big part of the comeback – he delivered 2.1 perfect innings of scoreless relief in his Triple-A debut.

Brian Sweeney earned the win with shutout relief in the eighth and ninth innings. Sweeney is now 5-1 on the year, with a solid 3.24 ERA.

Tacoma earned a series split by winning the final two games against Memphis.

Nashville Preview

The Nashville Sounds have not gotten off to a good start in 2013.

The previous sentence is a bit of an understatement.

The Milwaukee Brewers Triple-A club is 12-29 on the year. That’s the worst record in the PCL, and it is not close (Reno is next-worst at 17-27).

However, Nashville has started out its road trip with a decent result: a split in Salt Lake City. They almost won the series – Salt Lake catcher Luke Carlin hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the tenth inning for an 8-7 win yesterday.

Prior to the Salt Lake series, the Sounds had lost 15 of their last 18 games.

Nashville ranks 16th (last) in the league in team batting average, and 15th in runs scored. The pitching staff has a 4.86 ERA, which ranks 12th in the league.

The Sounds top hitter is infielder Scooter Gennett, who is batting .313. Outfielder Khris Davis is a very good hitter who is simply not hitting right now, batting .200 in 60 at-bats (with five homers, however).

Nashville has two starting pitching prospects of some regard, in Johnny Hellweg and Tyler Thornburg who start on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Both are struggling in some way – Hellweg has been wild, and Thornburg is getting hit. 

There are no former Rainiers on the Nashville Sounds.

Of note, Sounds manager Mike Guerrero is not going to be with the team during this series due to personal reasons. Brewers field coordinator Charlie Greene will be managing in his place.

Tonight’s Game

Monday’s game will start at 6:05. The broadcast is on South Sound Sports 850 AM, streaming online right here, and available on your phone or iPad via the TuneIn app. Tacoma starts RHP Blake Beavan (1-2, 4.86) against Nashville RHP R.J. Seidel (0-0, 5.40).

Links:

• The Rainiers game story has reaction from starting pitcher James Paxton and manager John Stearns.
• John McGrath has an excellent column about Nate Tenbrink.
• The Mariners had a rough one yesterday in Cleveland. Even Felix Hernandez gets knocked around every now and then.
• Ryan Divish has an item on why Franklin Gutierrez is going to be playing some right field during this rehabilitation stint.
• The News Tribune’s area baseball player of the year is expected to be a first round draft pick next month. 
• In the PCL, here is the story from Salt Lake City on the Bees dramatic win over Nashville yesterday. Salt Lake outfielder Trent Oeltjen is proud of his Australian heritage.
• Colorado Springs stayed ahead of Tacoma in the standings by topping Round Rock in the 10th inning, 3-1.
• Reno made a big comeback in the top of the ninth, only to lose in the bottom at Albuquerque yesterday.
• Oklahoma City took advantage of a bevy of Sacramento errors.
• Former Rainiers slugger Brad Nelson had a huge game to lead Iowa to a 7-3 win over Tucson. Iowa’s Ian Stewart is going through an interesting time.
• Omaha waited out a rain delay and beat Las Vegas, 4-3.
• The Las Vegas Sun has a slideshow of PCL ballparks and I was excited to link to it… and the I got to the Cheney Stadium photo, which is from before the renovation and includes a paragraph riddled with errors. Give us a call and ask some questions next time, Las Vegas Sun.

Looking forward to Triunfel’s third straight game-winning hit tonight!

Triunfel Delivers, Rainiers Win

Tacoma shortstop Carlos Triunfel is quietly having a solid season here in Tacoma, and he delivered for the Rainiers in a big way on Saturday night.

Triunfel already had two hits in the game when he stepped up to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, with the score tied and Alex Liddi at second base.

As Triunfel fell behind in the count 1-2 against Memphis reliever Sam Freeman, Liddi stole third. That didn’t matter much: unless Freeman uncorked a wild pitch, the Rainiers still needed Triunfel to get a hit to take the lead.

The 23-year-old shortstop fouled off another pitch before driving a solid liner down the left field line, scoring Liddi to give Tacoma a 4-3 lead.

Logan Bawcom pitched a scoreless ninth to nail down the save, and the Rainiers had a come-from-behind victory. The Rainiers need a win today to get a split of the series.

Triunfel is clearly improved in 2013. He still swings a lot – he has only six walks in 167 plate appearances – but his approach is better. In many at-bats, he looks to hit fastballs to  the opposite field (right field), which helps him adjust to breaking balls and pull them with power to left.

He has really stepped up with runners in scoring position, hitting .342 overall with a ridiculous .462 with RISP and two outs (6-for-13). Small sample size or whatever, there is no question he’s been a clutch performer for the first six weeks of the season.

One other thing to keep in mind when considering Triunfel’s game: he has absolutely pulverized left-handed pitching at the Triple-A level. Last year, he hit .344 with a .951 OPS against left-handers. This season, he has a .742 slugging percentage and 1.154 OPS against lefties.

Triunfel is currently hitting .312 with three homers, 13 doubles, and an .836 OPS going into today’s game.

Today’s game is at 1:35, and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM, streaming online via this link, or on your phone or iPad with this app. Tacoma starts LHP James Paxton (2-3, 3.93) against Memphis RHP Maikel Cleto (1-2, 7.66).

Here’s a fun fact for you: the Mariners signed Cleto when he was a teenager, and he had worked his way up to Class-A in 2010 when the team traded him to St. Louis for shortstop Brendan Ryan. Today will be the first time Cleto has ever faced Tacoma. By all accounts, Cleto throws some serious cheese. Gas. Heat. Queso. Whatever you call it, it’s gonna be fast.

Links:

• The novelist Dave Boling dropped by Cheney Stadium to write the Rainiers game story for The News Tribune.
• My minor league notebook for the paper focused on two former Rainiers and Mariners players currently in the PCL.
• The Mariners played a highly entertaining game on Saturday, but they lost in the bottom of the ninth.
• Over at the Seattle Times, the baseball-writing machine known as Larry Stone has his Sunday baseball package: an optimistic column about the Mariners turnaround and if it is sustainable, a major league notebook, and power rankings.
• In the PCL, Jurickson Profar swatted a pair of homers as Round Rock defeated Colorado Springs, 6-5. Tacoma is only a half-game out of first place.
• Randall Delgado tossed a gem last night, and Reno is going for the rare road sweep in Albuquerque today. In a fun newspaper feature, Reno players talked about their most memorable game-winning hits.
• Nashville whitewashed Salt Lake, 11-0. Caleb Gindl had four hits and Hunter Morris homered twice. This is a little bit ominous: the PCL’s worst team is heating up right before they come to Tacoma on Monday.
• Fresno hit a couple of big homers to beat New Orleans, 6-3.
• Former Rainiers slugger Brad Nelson is heating up for Iowa, but the Cubs lost to Tucson yesterday, 4-2. Mike Wilson went 1-for-5 with an RBI double in his Tucson debut.
• Sacramento’s Bruce Billings delivered seven shutout innings in a 6-3 win over Oklahoma City.
• Rob White wrote the truest sentence ever about Las Vegas outfielder Andrew Brown.

Two-Strike, Two-Out Bunt Single Dooms Rainiers

Friday’s game at Cheney Stadium was decided on an interesting play in the ninth inning, one that goes against the usual strategy.

The score was tied in the top of the ninth inning, 3-3. Memphis had runners at first and third base, and there were two outs.

Adron Chambers, the speedy leadoff man for the Redbirds was at the plate. He’s a threat to try to bunt for a hit, even with two outs, and the Rainiers know this. Alex Liddi was playing at the edge of the grass at third base.

Brian Sweeney was on the mound, and he threw a few change-ups for strikes to make the count two balls, two strikes.

No way was Chambers going to bunt now, so Liddi backed off to normal depth at third. If he bunts foul, he strikes out to end the inning with the go-ahead runner at third base and he has to go face his manager and do some explaining. Swing away, right?

Chambers stunned the Rainiers by bunting with two strikes and two outs, laying down a perfect roller up the third base line. Sweeney raced over, picked it up, and fired to first – but it was too late, Chambers was safe, the go-ahead run scored, and then the wheels came off as Memphis tacked on three more runs with a string of singles. The Redbirds ended up winning the game, 7-4.

Tacoma has dropped the first two games of this series, and is now 24-18 on the year.

Roster Round-Up

The Mariners called up Rainiers reliever Danny Farquhar yesterday, optioning Hector Noesi to Tacoma. Reliever Stephen Pryor was moved to the 60-day disabled list to clear room on the 40-man roster.

Farquhar had been pitching extremely well for the Rainiers, allowing just one run in his last 16 innings. He also had a 30-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season.

Tacoma added rehabilitating Mariners reliever Josh Kinney to the bullpen, and he delivered a scoreless inning last night. Kinney has been on the Mariners disabled list since March with a stress reaction in his left rib cage.

Today, the Rainiers are swapping relief pitchers with Double-A Jackson: Andrew Kittredge is going back to the Generals, and the Rainiers are getting hard-throwing Jonathan Arias. Arias was 0-1 with a 4.43 ERA for the Generals, with 28 strikeouts in 20.1 innings. The converted catcher got rocked in his first three games of the season, but has allowed only three runs over 15.1 innings with 22 K’s in his last nine games.

How about a roster move for another team? The Tucson Padres have acquired popular former Rainiers outfielder Mike Wilson, signing him away from the independent Atlantic League.

Tonight’s Game

Tonight’s game is at 5:05, with Tacoma starting RHP Jeremy Bonderman (2-3, 3.70) against Memphis LHP Nick Additon (2-1, 4.00). The broadcast airs on South Sound Sports 850 AM, streams online right here, and is available on iPads and smartphones through the TuneIn app.

Links:

• Leading off, it’s the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• Mariners manager Eric Wedge explained why Franklin Gutierrez is going to play some right field while rehabilitating with the Rainiers.
• The Indians used speed and power to beat the Mariners last night.
• Geoff Baker caught up with Danny Farquhar in Cleveland.
• John McGrath has a column on the Cheney Studs reunion happening in Tacoma this weekend.
• In the PCL, super-prospect Jurickson Profar had three hits and two RBI as Round Rock knocked off Colorado Springs, 7-4. Tacoma remains 1.5 games behind the first-place Sky Sox.
• The Salt Lake Bees broke out the wood in a 12-6 win over Nashville.
• Tyler Skaggs did the impossible: he pitched well in Albuquerque, and earned the win for Reno.
• Former Rainiers pitcher Matt Fox got the win as Las Vegas knocked around PCL ERA leader Will Smith and Omaha last night.
• Guillermo Moscoso pitched well, but the Tucson Padres defeated his Iowa Cubs, 9-8.
• PCL rookie Juan Perez keeps hitting well as Fresno defeated New Orleans, 6-1.
• Sacramento’s Andrew Werner tossed a gem and picked up a win over Oklahoma City.

Redbirds Take Opener

The Rainiers dropped the opening game of the homestand to Memphis on Thursday night, 6-5 in ten innings.

The Rainiers were trailing 5-1 in the eighth inning, having been shut down by Redbirds top prospect Michael Wacha.

Once Wacha was out of there, the Rainiers rallied to score three runs in the eighth inning, then tie the game with two outs in the ninth on a clutch hit by Corey Patterson.

Unfortunately, Memphis immediately responded with a run in the top of the tenth. Centralia native Brock Peterson had the game-winning RBI double for the Redbirds.

The Rainiers showed a lot of heart battling back in the late innings, and they nearly did it again in the tenth by collecting a pair of two-out singles before the final out.

The team tries to bounce back tonight with Andrew Carraway on the mound. He comes into tonight’s game ranked 9th in the PCL with a 3.09 ERA.

Tonight’s game is at 7:05, and it’s Friday Night Fireworks. Tacoma starts RHP Andrew Carraway (4-1, 3.09) against Memphis LHP Tyler Lyons (2-1, 4.39). Catch the broadcast on South Sound Sports 850 AM or streaming online right here. If you use an iPad, try this link.

Links:

• We start with the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• The Mariners minor league report has a video of Franklin Gutierrez’s hit for Tacoma last night.
• Here’s an MLB blog from an Italian perspective on Rainiers third baseman Alex Liddi.
• The Mariners sneaked out of New York City with a series win over the Yankees.
• Two current Memphis players made this week’s Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet.
• In the PCL, Colorado Springs ace Drew Pomeranz improved to 6-0 on the year with a 5-3 victory at Round Rock. Martin Perez started for the Express; he’s coming back from a spring training injury.
• Reno scored five runs in the ninth to beat Albuquerque, 8-3, resulting in some salty quotes from ‘Topes manager Lorenzo Bundy.
• Nashville starter John Hellweg missed the strike zone by an (angry) inch last night in Salt Lake City. He walked six batters over six shutout innings, beating the Bees 7-2.
• It was a Rehab Battle in Iowa, where Matt Garza and the Iowa Cubs out-dueled Clayton Richard and the Tucson Padres, 1-0.
• Several Oklahoma City players were unable to make it to Sacramento due to travel problems, but the RedHawks still beat the River Kitties, 7-2.
• Chris Heston delivered seven shutout innings in Fresno’s 4-0 win over New Orleans.
• Omaha held off Las Vegas, 5-4.

Rainiers Home For Prospect-Palooza

It’s great to be back in Tacoma to start an eight-game homestand this evening, with the prospect-laden Memphis Redbirds in town.

Tacoma wrapped up the road trip with a 4-2 win at New Orleans on Tuesday afternoon – a very nice win, because it salvaged the trip. Tacoma opened the trip by getting swept in Oklahoma City, but rebounded to win three-of-four at New Orleans. A 3-5 road trip is not good, of course, but it certainly wasn’t the disaster that it could have turned into.

The Rainiers host Memphis tonight, and this is a fact: seven of Baseball America’s preseason Top 100 Prospects will be at Cheney Stadium this weekend. If you like watching prospects, this is the series of the year.

However, there are some injury issues.

Memphis outfielder Oscar Taveras – ranked the No. 3 prospect in baseball preseason, and considered the top hitting prospect in all of the minors – is day-to-day with a sprained ankle suffered on Sunday. My spies with the Redbirds say he is unlikely to play until Saturday or Sunday – but that is not for sure, he is “day-to-day” in the truest form.

The St. Louis Cardinals are treating Taveras like the Mariners treated Danny Hultzen when his arm was “a little stiff” – very, very carefully, because he is a huge part of the future of their organization.

Hopefully we’ll get to see Taveras play; it’s fun watching these elite talents when they come through. It’s one of the most fun parts of minor league baseball. The memories can remain for years – I still clearly recall Prince Fielder lining balls of the tall old right-field fence when he was with Nashville in 2005, Tim Lincecum striking everybody out for Fresno back in 2007, etc, etc, etc.

Injury Update

Speaking of Hultzen, he should be working out with the Rainiers this week, and progressing on his return from the disabled list. Danny did not go on the last road trip, instead doing rehabilitation work with the specialists at Safeco Field. I’m not sure where things stand right now, but if we see him throwing early bullpen sessions this weekend, that would be a big step toward his return.

Tacoma will get some help this week: Mariners Josh Kinney (oblique) and Franklin Gutierrez (hamstring) will begin rehabilitation assignments with Tacoma tonight. Both could be here for a while.

Kinney strained his oblique in spring training and was placed on the 60-day disabled list – meaning he’s not eligible to be activated until roughly May 31. As a pitcher, he’s allowed to rehab for up to 30 days.

Gutierrez could also be here for a while, based on the recent quotes from Mariners manager Eric Wedge. Paraphrasing rather than looking it up (because I am lazy), Wedge said that Gutierrez needs to prove he can play every day – like 4-5 days in a row – before being activated from the disabled list. As a position player, Gutierrez is limited to 20 days on a rehabilitation assignment.

Memphis Preview

The St. Louis Cardinals Triple-A affiliate comes into Tacoma with a record of 20-17. They got hot in early April, went on a 6-1 stretch to move three games over .500 on April 18, and they’ve been sitting right there for the last month, playing .500 ball.

Memphis just had an eight-game homestand against Sacramento and Fresno. They beat Sacramento 3-of-4, then lost 3-of-4 to Fresno avoiding a sweep with a win on Tuesday.

Other than Taveras, Memphis features Top-100 prospects Michael Wacha and Kolten Wong.

Wacha will be the starting pitcher tonight. He’s the Cardinals version of Mike Zunino, at least in terms of the fast track: like Zunino, Wacha was a big star in college, was a 2012 first round draft pick, was rushed to Triple-A, and is holding his own. Wacha is 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA, so this will be a tough one for the Rainiers tonight.

Wong is a 22-year-old Hawaiian second baseman who is receiving glowing reviews around the PCL. He’s hitting .309 and has ZERO errors in 35 games at the keystone in his first taste of Triple-A ball.

The Redbirds have one former Rainiers player: catcher Rob Johnson, who is of course a former Mariner, too. Johnson is currently on the 7-day disabled list with some minor ailment, he’s supposed to come off it and play this weekend.

Look for Memphis first baseman Brock Peterson to have a fan club at Cheney Stadium. He was born in Centralia, and attended W.F. West High School in Chehalis (Class of 2002, I believe). He played in the Twins system for a few years, ended up in independent ball, and then was rescued by the Cardinals late last season. Peterson is off to a good start for Memphis, hitting .276 with five homers and 17 RBI.

One other important note on Memphis: certified Rainiers Killer Justin Christian is on their team. Let’s see if Tacoma can get him out this time around.

Tonight’s Game

Tonight’s game is at 7:05, and it is Thirst Thursday at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma starts LHP Jimmy Gillheeney (2-1, 2.37) against Memphis RHP Michael Wacha (4-0, 1.99). Catch the broadcast on South Sound Sports 850 AM, or streaming online right here. If you are using an iPad, try this link.

Links:

• The Rainiers game story from the final game of the road trip on Tuesday has reaction from Blake Beavan.
• Raul Ibanez ripped the Yankees yesterday, with two homers and a grand slam.
• Taijuan Walker is showing improved consistency at Double-A Jackson, Baseball America reports. If things continue to go well for Walker, I suspect we’ll see him in Tacoma in the second half.
• Ryan Divish’s minor league report notes that outfielder Julio Morban is on a tear at Double-A Jackson. The oft-injured Morban always hits when he is in the lineup…
• The PCL was off yesterday, but there are a few stories of note. For instance, the Colorado Springs mayor is checking to see if a downtown ballpark is feasible.
• Construction has begun on the new ballpark in downtown El Paso, Texas. The Tucson Padres are moving there next year.
• The Nashville newspaper is getting to know Scooter Gennett – one of my favorite names in the PCL; he’ll be here Monday.
• Round Rock Express team president Reid Ryan is getting a big promotion to the Houston Astros. Huge move for Reid, but a big loss for the PCL, where Reid is one of the top executives.

It’s going to be a great weekend. See you at the ballpark!

More Morning Baseball

We’re at it again: morning baseball, PCL style!

The Rainiers wrap up the road trip with a 9:30 AM game today. The team is off on Wednesday, and then opens an eight-game homestand on Thursday against Memphis (and top pitching prospect Michael Wacha).

On Monday Tacoma had a late rally fizzle out, and the Rainiers lost 5-3. Down 5-2 going to the ninth, Tacoma scored a run and loaded the bases with nobody out. New Orleans closer Chris Hatcher struck out three straight batters to end the game in rather dramatic fashion.

For all of the details on the game, check the first link down below.

Today’s game is an important one, in my opinion. The Rainiers are 2-5 on this road trip. They were swept the first four games in Oklahoma City, but if they win today that would mean a 3-1 series win on the road, and a not-so-bad 3-5 record on the trip.

Tacoma starts RHP Blake Beavan (0-2, 5.91) against New Orleans LHP Duane Below (2-1, 2.76). Tune in for the pregame show at 9:15, former Mariners closer David Aardsma is my guest. The broadcast is on 850 AM and streams online right here. If you are an iPad or iPhone listener, use this link.

Links:

• Here is the Rainiers game story I wrote for The News Tribune.
• The Mariners were off yesterday, but Larry Stone blogged a little preview of tonight’s Felix Hernandez vs. CC Sabathia match-up in New York. All of the Rainiers are going to miss it – we’ll be flying home, which is a good thing, but this is a game most of us would like to watch.
• In the PCL, Colorado Springs scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun Omaha, 7-6. A strange play at the plate involving Adam Moore decided the game.
• The Reno Aces have added major league veteran Juan Rivera to the lineup.
• Fresno’s Heath Hembree nailed down another save, and he’s on a real roll right now. Fresno’s Brett Pill – the PCL leader in runs batted in – was called up by the Giants.
• Iowa scored six runs in the sixth inning and beat Reno, 6-4.
• Sacramento extended Nashville’s losing streak to four.
• Albuquerque topped Las Vegas, 5-2.
• The Review-Journal has a more detailed story on the new ownership of the Las Vegas 51s and their ballpark plan.

Wednesday is an off-day for the team, and I’m taking one, too. I’ll have a new post for you on Thursday to kick off the eight-game homestand.

Strange Things Afoot In 13-Inning Win

The Rainiers beat New Orleans in 13 innings on Sunday, 3-2. Nick Franklin hit a game-winning home run, and the Rainiers bullpen delivered 6.2 shutout innings.

For more of the normal details on the game, read the game story linked down below. For the rest of this post I’m going to write about the weird stuff that happened, because that’s how we roll here.

• The 13 innings was the longest game of the season in terms of innings, but it was completed in a rather speedy (for 13 innings) 3:48.
• New Orleans had two golden opportunities to win the game. In the bottom of the ninth, they had a runner at second with one out and did not score. In the 11th, they loaded the bases with one out against Brian Moran, who then got back-to-back strikeouts.
• New Orleans veteran Wilson Valdez was at the plate with one out and the winning runner at second base in the bottom of the ninth. He tried to bunt for a hit, bunting back to the pitcher for an easy out. Think about that strategic decision for a minute.
• Tacoma did not draw a walk yesterday in 13 innings, a total of 50 at-bats. The day before, Tacoma drew 12 walks – the most by the team in a single game since 2008.
• The Rainiers struck out 19 times in a game they won. The team has K’d 379 times in 38 games, for an average of 9.9 strikeouts per game. No other team in the PCL has reached 300 strikeouts yet.
• Those strikeouts don’t seem to matter, seeing how the Rainiers have the second-best record in the league.
• Tacoma used two pinch-hitters yesterday. In the first 37 games of the season, Tacoma used exactly one pinch-hitter.
• Along that same vein, new manager John Stearns has called upon a pinch-hitter three times in 11 games. Original manager Daren Brown did not use a single pinch-hitter in the 27 games he managed this year.
• Remember back in the off-season, when I wondered who would play center field for the Rainiers this year? There weren’t many candidates. Yesterday, three different players were used in center in the same game (Denny Almonte, Nate Tenbrink, and Corey Patterson).
• Tenbrink was supposed to have the day off, but a late scratch of Carlos Peguero (ankle) sent him into the lineup instead. He went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts.
• Tenbrink had struck out just once in his previous 16 plate appearances.
• It was only the second time that Tenbrink started a game and did not reach base with either a hit or a walk (32 starts).
• Stefen Romero, who had a grand slam and 5 RBI on Saturday, went 0-for-6.
• Franklin’s game-winning home run came off former Reno closer Jonathan Albaladejo. The Rainiers had never beaten Albaladejo before.

It doesn’t qualify as weird, but let’s give a shout-out to former Mariners and Rainiers reliever David Aardsma, who looked like a big-leaguer yesterday for New Orleans. He worked 2.1 perfect innings in relief, striking out four of the seven batters he faced.

—

We have a roster move, as the Rainiers have swapped switch-hitting Almontes.

Denny Almonte has been placed on the disabled list. I’m not sure what his injury is; I’ll ask when I get to the park in a few hours.

Replacing Denny is Abraham Almonte, up from Double-A Jackson. Abe hit .255 with four homers and 18 RBI. He hit right-handers hard and struggled against lefties.

Tonight’s game is at 5:00 (Pacific). Tacoma starts LHP James Paxton (2-2, 4.35) against New Orleans RHP Jacob Turner (2-3, 5.20). The broadcast is on 850 AM, streaming right here, or via TuneIn for the iPad people.

Links:

• The Rainiers game story in The News Tribune has quotes from John Stearns and the amazing Brian Moran.
• The Mariners coasted to a 6-1 victory behind Joe Saunders.
• John McGrath writes that Michael Saunders makes the Mariners fun to watch.
• Rick Randall has a good piece on Taijuan Walker and expectations.
• In the PCL, Adam Moore‘s homer was one of Omaha’s 20 hits, as the Storm Chasers whacked Colorado Springs, 14-4. Tacoma now leads the Pac-North by a half-game.
• Kila Ka’aihue had a walk-off homer as Reno stunned Iowa, 9-8.
• Salt Lake pulled away late for a 9-3 win in Oklahoma City.
• Tucson scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat Round Rock, 7-6. Rocky Gale had the winning hit.
• Sacramento held on for a 6-5 win at Nashville. Michael Choice knocked his 8th homer for the River Cats.
• Fresno topped Memphis in the 11th inning, 7-4. Memphis phenom Oscar Taveras injured his ankle – I really want to see this kid play when the Redbirds come to Tacoma on Thursday.
• The Howard Hughes Corporation purchased the Las Vegas 51s and plans to move them to the suburb of Summerlin. This has been in the works for a while, but it was finalized yesterday. The 51s celebrated by beating the Isotopes.

Big Win In The Big Easy

The Rainiers arrived in New Orleans with a four-game losing streak, and they immediately ended it by blasting the Zephyrs on Saturday evening, 14-1.

Everybody in the lineup had at least one hit, eight of the nine had at least one RBI, and seven different players scored at least one run. It was that kind of day.

It was something the team badly needed.

After the game, Stefen Romero – who hit a grand slam – talked a bit about how a change of scenery helps the whole team, bringing some freshness to the club. That certainly appeared to be the case yesterday.

Now we’ll see if the Rainiers can keep it going. A series win here in New Orleans would salvage the road trip.

Today’s game is at noon (Pacific), with Tacoma sending RHP Jeremy Bonderman (2-3, 3.83) to the mound against New Orleans LHP Brian Flynn (1-2, 3.00). The broadcast airs on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streams online right here.

Links:

• The Rainiers game story from The News Tribune has quotes from manager John Stearns and grand slam guy Stefen Romero.
• My Minor League Notebook from the paper has notes from around the Mariners farm system.
• The Mariners lost a close one to Oakland last night, 4-3.
• Larry Stone’s Sunday baseball package has a column on the recent umpire problems in the majors, a notebook with an item on former Rainiers pitcher Michael Pineda, power rankings, and thumbs up-and-down.
• In the PCL, Colorado Springs remained a half-game ahead of Tacoma by beating Omaha, 10-7.
• Oklahoma City nearly did it again: trailing Salt Lake 6-1 going to the bottom of the ninth, they hit a three-run homer and then loaded the bases before Brandon Laird flied out to end the game.
• Sacramento prospect Sonny Gray returned to his old stomping grounds – Nashville – and shut down the Sounds.
• Tucson topped Round Rock, 6-1. The Padres are hanging around the .500 mark because of a good starting rotation.
• Las Vegas defeated Albuquerque with a good old-fashioned walk-off walk.
• Fresno held on for a 6-5 win at Memphis.
• Lots of coverage in the Reno paper today, even though the Aces lost again last night. Pitching is to blame for the Aces poor showing so far, although new starter Zeke Spruill looks good so far.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Swept Off To New Orleans

The last game in Oklahoma City was a real nail-biter, and the Rainiers lost it, 1-0.

That completed a four-game series sweep for Oklahoma City – their first against Tacoma since 2005. Hmmm…. the Rainiers won their division and reached the PCL Championship Series that year. Maybe the sweep is a good omen?

In any 1-0 game there are always a couple of turning points. Mistakes get magnified, and so do plays involving luck. For example, right fielder Eric Thames plunging through a faulty bullpen gate while trying to catch a deep fly may have cost the Rainiers the game.

I wrote the details in the game story – the first link down below – if you want to read about the turning points, and the great start by Jimmy Gillheeney.

Now we are in The Big Easy. However, New Orleans isn’t New Orleans anymore: the Zephyrs changed their visiting hotel, and we no longer get to stay in the French Quarter. Instead, we stay out by the airport (and near the ballpark). This change deserves a gigantic BOOOOOOOOO!!!!

New Orleans Preview

The New Orleans Zephyrs are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They moved over the .500 mark with an extra-innings win over Salt Lake last night, 3-2, to improve their record to 17-16 on the year.

Their coaching staff is manager Ron Hassey, pitching coach Charlie Corbell (a former Tacoma Tigers pitcher), and hitting coach Damon Minor (Fresno Grizzlies For Life!).

New Orleans has won five of their last seven games, including a 3-1 series win against Salt Lake. The Zephyrs have lingered right around .500 since opening day: they have not been more than two games over or under .500 yet this year.

The position players are mostly a veteran group. Ed Lucas is off to a good start this year; the former Omaha infielder is batting .319 with five homers. Bryan Peterson is a tough out, he’s hitting .282 with a .386 OBP. Ben Lasater is hitting just .230 but he leads the team with 18 RBI.

The Zephyrs have an excellent pitching staff, and they play in one of the true pitcher’s parks in the PCL. Their team ERA of 3.73 is one of the few in the league better than Tacoma’s 3.81.

They don’t have many top prospects – the Marlins top young talent is in Double-A and they have already jumped a couple of guys straight from AA to the big leagues (most notably power outfield prospect Marcel Ozuna). Twenty-two year old starter Jacob Turner is a pitcher to watch – he’s coming off a gem in his last outing and starts game three on Monday.

There is one former Rainiers and Mariners pitcher on their roster, and he’s a good one: reliever David Aardsma is throwing well, with a 3.38 ERA in eight games. I hope to catch him for a pregame show at some point during this series.

Tonight’s Game

The series starts this afternoon at 4:00 (Pacific). Tacoma starts RHP Andrew Carraway (4-1, 3.40) against New Orleans RHP Doug Mathis (1-2, 2.22). The broadcast will be on 850 AM and streaming online right here, with you iPadders going here instead.

Links:

• We start with the Rainiers game story I wrote for The News Tribune.
• In Baseball America’s Minor League Transactions, we learn that former Rainiers outfielder Johan Limonta was picked up by the San Diego Padres. For now, he’s at Double-A San Antonio.
• Rob Neyer wrote about Jack Z and the problem with prospects.
• The Mariners beat the A’s yesterday, and if they win today they’ll move into second place in the AL West.
• In the PCL, Drew Pomeranz was dealing and Colorado Springs sporked Iowa, 11-1. The Sky Sox moved into first place and lead the division by a half-game over Tacoma.
• New Orleans needed ten innings to dispatch Salt Lake, 3-2. Gorkys Hernandez had the game-winning sacrifice fly.
• Omaha had a big sixth inning to beat Reno and earn a series split.
• Tucson beat Albuquerque, and the paper has a story on players getting their first MLB call-up. Excellent Daren Brown story in here, involving catcher Rene Rivera.
• Port Orchard’s Aaron Cunningham had four hits as Round Rock rolled in Las Vegas, 12-6.
• It didn’t end until 1:00 AM, but Fresno topped Nashville in 12 innings, 5-4. Heath Hembree nailed down a difficult save.
• Sacramento got lit up in Memphis, 10-3. Oscar Taveras was 4-for-5 with a homer for the Redbirds.

We got off the plane and could immediately feel the humidity. Haven’t had this yet this season – maybe it will get all of our Southern guys hot at the plate.