Grand Salami Time

Mike Zunino showed his power once again on Tuesday, and this time he did it with the bases loaded.

After struggling through his first three at-bats against a classic PCL-style left-hander, Zunino stepped up with the bases loaded in the seventh inning and connected on a first-pitch fastball for a grand slam off right-handed reliever James Simmons.

Zunino has homered in three straight games. He leads the PCL with four home runs, and his 16 RBI leads all of minor league baseball.

The slam turned a Tacoma 5-4 lead into a 9-4 lead and spurred the Rainiers towards their second straight win. Tacoma is now 4-2 on the year.

There were plenty of other highlights.

Alex Liddi continued his hot start to the season, hitting a two-run single in the first inning and a solo homer to right-center in the third. Liddi has three home runs already – we’d be talking about him all of the time if it weren’t for Zunino.

Triple-A rookie Denny Almonte connected for his first home run in the second inning. Almonte is a switch-hitter – he was batting right-handed, and he pulled a towering dive into a stiff wind for a two-run shot.

The Rainiers also had another strong start by Danny Hultzen. I’m sure everyone who followed him last year cringed when he walked the leadoff man in the first inning on four pitches – I know I was concerned. Thankfully, that was the only walk he issued in five innings, and he had six strikeouts. He gave up a two-run homer to Triple-A slugger Luke Montz but that was about it. He tossed 84 pitches in five innings.

Tacoma has scored 42 runs in six games, for a no-calculator-needed average of seven runs per game. Three times the Rainiers have scored nine runs in a game, and the team is batting .324 as a unit.

Will there be more offense tonight? Game time is 7:05, and Tacoma starts RHP Andrew Carraway (0-1, 4.50) against Sacramento RHP Jesse Chavez (0-1, 0.00). The broadcast airs on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streaming online right here.

Links:

• We start, as always, with the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• Larry LaRue has the story of the day, on Kate Andrews and Ashley Roth – two behind-the-scenes women who help make the Tacoma Rainiers happen. The story includes a previously unknown Matt Tuiasosopo fact.
• Mariners moves: outfielder Casper Wells was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays, and we expect an announcement regarding a bullpen-related roster move before tonight’s game.
• The expected bullpen move is due to the fact that the Mariners lost yesterday, 16-9, and starting pitcher Brandon Maurer didn’t make it out of the first inning. These things happen a couple of times every season, and yesterday was the first time for the big club.
• Larry Stone has a good blog post on dealing with the aftermath of the blowout.
• Dustin Ackley feels like he’s hitting better than his batting average indicates.
• Todd Dybas asked Eric Wedge about Mike Zunino‘s hot start.
• Buster Olney is my new internet buddy (he keeps linking to my TNT stories about Zunino) and in today’s blog he shares some thoughts on Zunino and Jesus Montero (ESPN Insider required).
• Thank you, Baseball America, for this one-stop shop for minor league baseball park factors.
• In the PCL, here’s a .gif of one of the wind-blown hits from the Tucson-Colorado Springs game that was winded-out on Monday. Enjoy!
• The Sky Sox were snowed out yesterday and today’s game has already been postponed.
• Reno blasted Salt Lake, 11-3.
• Fresno topped Las Vegas and touted pitching prospect Zack Wheeler, 4-1.
• The Iowa Cubs lost to Round Rock last night, 4-2, and at 0-6 the I-Cubs are off to the worst start in franchise history. And they’ve been around for a long time…
• New Orleans beat Memphis in the 11th inning on a Gorkys Hernandez two-run single.
• Nashville lost to Oklahoma City, 5-3. The Sounds lost two players to call-ups. Nashville pitcher Hiram Burgos starred in the World Baseball Classic.

The Rainiers home opener is right around the corner: Friday night at 7:05! See you at Cheney Stadium.

Rainiers Out-Slugged By Zephyrs

New Orleans and Tacoma are two of the top home run hitting teams in the PCL. If fans at Cheney Stadium didn’t know that before Monday’s game, they sure had an idea by the end of it.

The two teams combined to mash seven homers, but New Orleans also scored a few runs without the benefit of a homer, and they beat Tacoma 9-4. The teams have split the first two games of a four-game series.

Top Zephyrs slugger Luke Montz led the way with a pair of dingers, including the go-ahead two-run blast in the fifth inning that gave New Orleans a 6-4 lead. Montz has 24 home runs, which ranks second in the PCL (Mike Hessman of Oklahoma City has 29).

Tacoma’s home runs were hit by Alex Liddi, Vinnie Catricala, and Luis Rodriguez. Liddi and Catricala have each hit two home runs during this homestand – which is very nice to see, considering how each has struggled to hit for power at home this year.

Tacoma reliever Chance Ruffin had another nice outing, retiring all five batters he faced. Since June 20, Ruffin has a 2.35 ERA over 15 appearances.

Tonight’s game is at 7:05, and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streaming online right here. Tacoma starts RHP Andrew Carraway (3-6, 4.79) against New Orleans RHP Jacob Turner (1-0, 4.09).

Links:

• We start with the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune. Todd Milles’ story includes a Danny Hultzen update (of sorts).
• The Mariners can’t seem to do much against Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman, who beat his former employer once again.
• The always logical Larry Stone says its time to do something about the Chone Figgins roster spot.
• John Sickels went back and reviewed his pre-season Mariners Top Prospects list.
• Jason Churchill has a write-up on a pair of interesting undrafted pitchers the Mariners just signed.
• SB Nation is killing it with Mariners stuff today: in real life, Rob Neyer looks at Felix‘s finest games, and in not-so-real life, we have a look back at Ken Griffey Jr.’s 1996 presidential campaign.
• In the PCL, Salt Lake beat Oklahoma City on a tenth inning homer by Kole Calhoun.
• The Iowa Cubs added a speedster to the lineup, but they still lost to Reno, 2-1. Trevor Bauer returned to action for the Aces, tossing six scoreless innings.
• Nashville ended Sacramento’s six-game win streak, and hot-hitting Khris Davis had another big game.
• Todd Linden‘s tenth inning pinch-hit triple helped Fresno to a 2-1 win over Memphis.
• Las Vegas picked up a 4-1 win at Round Rock last night.
• Tommy Lasorda turned up in Albuquerque and starting telling stories. The ‘Topes lost to Tucson, 14-11.
• Update from Omaha: the ballpark is still in the middle of nothing. << includes photo of nothing.

Night game tonight, and then our final mid-week day game of the season is Wednesday at 11:35 AM. Join us for a long lunch!

Franklin Strikes In Eleventh

Tacoma shortstop Nick Franklin hit the first pitch of the bottom of the 11th inning for a home run on Friday night, lifting Tacoma to a 4-3 victory over Oklahoma City.

It was the third home run of the game for the Rainiers, who scored all of their runs on longballs: Luis Jimenez hit a two-run blast in the first inning, and Alex Liddi tied the game with a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth.

Both Jimenez and Liddi ended long homerless streaks. Jimenez had not gone deep since June 28, when he homered off Jamie Moyer. That was 97 at-bats ago. Liddi’s most recent homer was on July 5.

It’s great to see those guys get going at the plate again – Liddi, in particular, is heating up. Liddi has hit safely in five straight games, with four two-hit games during the stretch.

Also important last night was the pitching of Hector Noesi, who had his first good start since being sent down by the Mariners. Noesi retired the last 14 batters he faced in a row, going seven innings and allowing two runs.

Charlie Furbush allowed a run during his rehabilitation outing – he’ll be here in Tacoma to pitch in at least one more game.

The Rainiers had yet another outstanding relief appearance by Bobby LaFromboise, who tossed three shutout innings and earned the win. LaFromboise managed to get two double-play grounders, including a big one with two on and one out in the top of the 11th inning.

The Rainiers have won four of their last five games, and can win the Oklahoma City series with a victory tonight.

Tonight’s game is at 7:05, and it’s Paint The Park Purple Night at Cheney Stadium – the Rainiers will be wearing special purple jerseys, which will be auctioned off after the game to raise money for the University of Washington at Tacoma scholarship fund. Tacoma starts RHP Erasmo Ramirez (3-2, 4.09) against Oklahoma City LHP Brett Oberholtzer (4-3, 6.02). The broadcast is on 850 AM and streaming right here.

Links:

• Ryan Divish has the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune. He talked to Nick Franklin for the story.
• The Mariners seven-game win streak ran into a 300-pound road block named CC Sabathia.
• In the PCL, Albuquerque lost to Las Vegas yesterday, 6-3, but the Isotopes still have a 1.5-game lead over Oklahoma City in the American-South. The Isotopes are locked in on winning the PCL’s tightest division race. One of the key Isotopes – outfielder Scott Van Slyke – might miss some time with an injury.
• Sacramento blasted Memphis, 10-2, and the River Cats hold a 4.5-game lead over Vegas in the Pacific-South.
• Colorado Springs topped Iowa 4-1, and the Iowa Cubs hit a new low: 30 games under .500.
• The Sky Sox remain six games behind first-place Reno in the Pacific-North. Reno held off Omaha last night, 5-3, as Tyler Skaggs tossed seven shutout innings.
• Salt Lake ripped a pair of eighth inning homers to beat New Orleans, 6-5.
• Julio Borbon connected for a walk-off two-run single and Round Rock defeated Tucson, 8-7.
• Fresno has had an unexpected lift from fill-in outfielder Ryan Lollis. The Grizzlies crushed Nashville last night, 10-5.

Remember, we have a rare 5:05 game on Sunday. New Orleans is flying in from Salt Lake City, and we are having a later start to give them time to show up. You can’t play a game without an opponent!

Rainiers Slugged By Home Run King

The active minor league home run leader got the Rainiers last night.

Oklahoma City’s Mike Hessman launched a two run homer in the third inning, giving the RedHawks a 3-0 lead in a game they would eventually win on Thursday night, 7-1.

It was the 358th career minor league home run for Hessman.

Hessman is a 34-year-old first baseman. He originally came up through the Atlanta Braves system as a third baseman – they drafted him in 15th round of the 1996 draft, out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA.

Hessman has had many brief call-ups over the years, but he has developed a reputation as being an all-or-nothing guy in the majors: he might homer, but he’ll also strike out a lot and have a low batting average. In 223 major league at-bats with the Braves, Tigers, and Mets, Hessman has 14 home runs – and a .188 batting average, with 79 strikeouts.

In Triple-A, it’s a whole different story.

Hessman has hit 248 of his minor league home runs at the Triple-A level, with the majority of them (219) coming in the International League. This is his first season in the PCL, and he is currently leading the league with 29 homers.

I’m hoping Hessman wants to keep playing Triple-A baseball. He could make a run at 400 minor league homers for sure – heck, he might reach that next season. What about 500?

The all-time minor league baseball king is Hector Espino, who hit 484 homers. A superstar in Mexico, Espino hit 481 of his homers in his native country, playing from 1960 to 1984. He passed away in 1997 at a young 58.

The United States minor league home run record belongs to Buzz Arlett, with 432 homers. Arlett played from 1918 to 1937, and he started out as a spitballing pitcher in the PCL.

It would be fun if Hessman kept playing long enough to go after these records. Hopefully, he won’t start his earnest pursuit of them until his team leaves Tacoma on Sunday.

It’s Friday Night Fireworks with game time set for 7:05. Tacoma starts RHP Hector Noesi (0-3, 10.31) against Oklahoma City RHP Brian Bass (1-5, 6.75). You can listen to the broadcast on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streaming online right here.

Links:

• We start with the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• The Mariners were off yesterday; they take a seven-game win streak into New York tonight.
• The News Tribune has an off-day feature on former Rainiers reliever Josh Kinney and his slider.
• The Seattle Times has a feature on new Mariners outfielder Eric Thames.
• My main man Wil Myers has the No. 1 slot on this week’s Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet.
• In the PCL, Tony Abreu hit a three-run homer and Omaha defeated Reno, 4-2.
• Colorado Springs defeated Iowa, 7-4, and pulled within six games of first-place Reno.
• Sacramento scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and beat Memphis, 4-3. Sacramento ace Dan Straily was called up by Oakland and he makes his MLB debut tonight.
• Fresno needed 11 innings to beat Nashville, 4-3. Ryan Lollis had the game-winning RBI.
• Salt Lake infielder Ed Lucas had four hits and the Bees beat New Orleans.
• Not only did Las Vegas lose in Albuquerque, they had to deal with Cowbell Night as well.
• Tucson left-hander Andrew Werner pitched a complete-game shutout in Round Rock.

Off to the ballpark – there is only one remaining Friday night home game after this one. This season is flying by!

Walk It Off, Luis

Moments after it appeared the Tacoma Rainiers were going to lose a second consecutive 1-0 game to Tucson, Luis Rodriguez launched a two-run walk-off home run and the Rainiers won the game, 2-1, and salvaged a split of the four home games against Tucson.

Steve Garrison started and tossed eight brilliant innings, allowing only a solo home run to Beamer Weems with two outs in the top of the eighth inning. Yet it looked like he was going to be saddled with the loss.

Tacoma did not score against Tucson starter Bear Bay, and the Padres bullpen is excellent. After two relievers carried the shutout into the ninth, Erik Hamren came on to get the save.

Hamren recorded two quick outs, and he got ahead of Alex Liddi, 1 ball, 2 strikes. Just a strike away from getting shut out, Liddi started to battle. He fouled off a few pitches, took a few balls, and eventually coaxed a walk.

That brought up Luis Rodriguez, and Hamren fell behind in the count, 2-0. Rodriguez got the pitch he was looking for, and he launched a two-run homer to right field, ending the game.

It was the second walk-off home run for Tacoma this year, after Scott Savastano’s 18th inning blast last Wednesday.

Now the Nine Game Mega Series (as named by Tucson broadcaster Tim Hagerty) moves to Tucson for the last five games. Don’t expect the scores to be 4-3, 4-3, 1-0, and 2-1 down there – we’re going to have more runs scored in that ballpark.

Tonight’s game is at 7:05, and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streaming online right here. Tacoma starts LHP Danny Hultzen (1-2, 4.33) against Tucson LHP Andrew Werner (Triple-A debut).

Links:

• We start with the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• The Mariners beat up on the Kansas City Royals pitching staff again.
• Randy Johnson and Dan Wilson are being inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame today, and they reminisced.
• In the PCL, Sacramento’s Tyson Ross carried a perfect game into the sixth inning and settled for a complete game four-hitter as the River Cats won in Salt Lake City, 7-2.
• Colorado Springs avoided a sweep and beat Reno, 7-4. They are 7.5 games back – a long shot, but not dead by any means.
• Fresno lost to Las Vegas, one of their players was traded, and Hall Of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins made an appearance at the game. Just another night at the old ballyard!
• Outfielder Julio Borbon had a nice game and Round Rock held off Albuquerque, 5-1.
• Memphis and Nashville were tied 1-1 after nine, and then the teams started scoring and the Redbirds won it in ten innings, 4-3.
• Nick Green homered and New Orleans shut out Omaha, 2-0.
• Iowa’s Chris Volstad shut down Oklahoma last night, 5-0. The Daily Oklahoman notes that many people in the minor leagues would like to reach the majors. Really?

That’s it for today – long travel day. Don’t forget about the food truck festival at Cheney on Sunday, it’s going to be a blast, and you only pay for what you eat and drink – no entrance fees, no parking fees, nothing.

Beavan Delivers Again

Blake Beavan was a ground ball inducing machine on Thursday night, pitching seven shutout innings in Tacoma’s 5-1 win over Colorado Springs at Cheney Stadium. It was Tacoma’s third straight win.

Beavan allowed just two hits, and he walked two batters. He generated four double play grounders – one in each of the first four innings, before closing out his game by retiring ten straight batters.

Of the 21 outs he recorded, 15 came via ground balls in the infield. Now, I’m counting the double plays as two outs, so I suppose in actuality his pitches caused 11 ground balls. He also had three strikeouts and three outs on balls hit in the air.

Beavan is now 4-0 with a 2.61 ERA for Tacoma, and the Rainiers have won all six games he has started. It will be interesting to see if he makes another start for the Rainiers – personally, I find it unlikely, since the Mariners need a fifth starting pitcher on Tuesday.

On the offensive side yesterday, Darren Ford was 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. He also homered for the first time this year, and now every position player on the Rainiers roster has hit a home run this season.

Carlos Triunfel also went deep – his second straight game with a dinger – and he has tied his career high with eight home runs this season.

As a team, Tacoma has now hit 100 home runs this year – good for 3rd in the PCL.

—

There were several roster moves yesterday before the game:

Pitcher Jeff Marquez was activated from the disabled list. Marquez had been out since June 16 with a staph infection. While he was a starter previously this season, he will work out of the bullpen for now.

The Mariners signed pitcher David Pauley to a minor league contract, and he reports to Tacoma today. Pauley is a former Rainiers and Mariners pitcher who has travelled the baseball world this year: released by Detroit in spring training, signed by Salt Lake, called up by Angels, designated for assignment, went back to Salt Lake, called up again by Angels, designated again, claimed off waivers by Toronto, waived by Toronto, cleared waivers and elected free agency, signed by Mariners, all in 3.5 months. Whew!

It is not known yet if Pauley will start or relieve for Tacoma.

To make room on the roster, veteran right-hander Jarrett Grube was released by the organization. Grube was having a rough season, going 0-5 with a 9.26 ERA in 46.2 innings pitched. He’s a quality guy and we wish him the best.

—

Tonight’s game is at 7:05 at Cheney Stadium, and there will be Friday Night Fireworks after the game. Tacoma starts LHP Danny Hultzen (1-1, 5.25) against Colorado Springs RHP Alex White (1-4, 4.01) in a battle between two former first-round draft picks. If you can’t make it to the park, listen on South Sound Sports 850 AM or streaming online right here.

Links:

• The Rainiers game story from The News Tribune was inked by Doug Pacey, with quotes from Blake Beavan.
• John McGrath has a column on ten things he wants to see from the Mariners in the second half.
• Expert national analysts have a lot more faith in the Mariners than locals do, Ryan Divish writes.
• The Mariners ignored Geoff Baker’s many attempts to get one-third of the lineup demoted to Tacoma, and Geoff had to write about it.
• Personally, I’m aligned with Larry Stone in the opinion that they need to stick with the original plan in the second half. I disagree with Larry about moving the fences in.
• The Mariners have one key unsigned draft pick remaining, and time is running out.
• High Desert shortstop Brad Miller made an appearance on this week’s edition of Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet.
• Here’s some old Pacific Coast League history for you: a promotional video from 1946 in which the league announces its intention to become a “third Major League.” There is footage of Lefty O’Doul, Casey Stengel, and many shots of spring training as the players came back from World War II.
• In the PCL last night, Sean O’Sullivan beat the Sacramento River Cats, which is the normal procedure for Sean.
• Tucson is gearing up for a big second half, and the Padres won in the bottom of the ninth against Fresno.
• Reno scored seven runs in the fourth inning and held on to beat Salt Lake, 8-7. Sorry, no link.
• Round Rock has a bunch of rehabilitating Rangers pitchers, but the Express were still shut out by Memphis last night, 3-0.
• Omaha and Iowa started the “second half” with a wild 12-11 Cubs win last night. Adam Moore went 1-for-3 in his Omaha debut, and the story says he will be their starting catcher.
• Nashville was rained out last night, but they still had a bundle of roster moves and call-ups.
• El Paso claims they are one step closer to joining the PCL.
• Sad news for Tacoma: the owner of Frisko Freeze has passed away. However, the wise man made plans for the restaurant’s continuance beyond his passing, and a civic crisis of epic proportions has been averted.

Let’s see if the Rainiers can make it four in a row – and if Hultzen can improve a little bit more this time out.

Oh, Peguero!

(I feel like I may have used that title once before, but I’m too lazy to check. Regardless, it’s appropriate again). 

Carlos Peguero launched a grand slam in the third inning, leading Tacoma to a 6-5 victory over Salt Lake in front of 15,411 fans on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

Peguero has now homered in five consecutive games – the longest streak by a Tacoma hitter since at least 2000.

The PCL record is seven straight games with a homer. It’s been done twice: recently, by Dallas McPherson of Albuquerque in 2008; and a while ago, by Claude Westmoreland of Albuquerque in 1977.

According to this article from MiLB.com, that’s the minor league record - seven straight. As we know, the major league record is eight, and Ken Griffey Jr. is one of three to do it.

I’m sure the Mariners are tempted to call up Peguero right away, but I’m hoping that they hold off a couple of days so we get to see if he can tie or break the record. However, they don’t care about a minor league record. If Peguero isn’t in the lineup tonight, we’ll know what happened.

UPDATE: the Mariners just called up Peguero, and sent down starting pitcher Hector Noesi. Noesi pitched yesterday and will not be able to start again until after the all-star break – and the Mariners won’t need to fill his rotation spot until after the break.

Talking to Tacoma hitting coach Jeff Pentland, he’s really happy about how Peguero has made slight adjustments to improve his approach. Peguero himself says that he is “calmer” at the plate.

For more on Peguero, hit the game story link down below.

Tonight – weather permitting, as I am writing it has been raining for a while here in SLC – the Rainiers play Salt Lake at 6:05 (Pacific). Tacoma starts RHP Andrew Carraway (3-3, 3.32) against Salt Lake RHP Matt Shoemaker (5-7, 5.28). Catch the broadcast on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streaming online right here.

Links:

• I talked to Carlos Peguero for the Rainiers game story in The News Tribune.
• The Salt Lake Bee also has a game story, from the Salt Lake perspective.
• Former Mariners helped Baltimore beat Seattle yesterday. The Mariners are off today.
• John McGrath wrote a column about yesterday’s Mariners game, and the trade that hurt.
• At the Seattle Times, Jerry Brewer has a column on the Mariners rebuilding process. My opinion: they have to stick with it, there are no other options at this point. They must keep running the young players out there, and hope they improve.
• Baseball America posted their mid-season Top 50 Prospects list and the Mariners have four of them – two in the top five.
• In the PCL, they had to cancel the fireworks in Colorado Springs because of the fire, so the Sky Sox entertained a large crowd by scoring a billion runs against Reno.
• Talk about an awful 4th of July game: in Fresno, over 13,839 fans waited… and waited… and waited while Sacramento score ten runs in the top of the ninth before the fireworks show. Fresno is in a freefall.
• Nice piece from Las Vegas on outfielder Anthony Gose, who goes to the Futures Game on Sunday.
• Memphis continues to struggle.
• The Oklahoman has a story about sign stealing in which the RedHawks weigh in. Oklahoma City beat New Orleans by a run.
• Albuquerque blasted Round Rock in front of over 15,000 fans.

The Rainiers have won three in a row. Hopefully this rain will stop and we’ll be able to play today.

Group Effort In Rainiers Win

There were a lot of stars in Tacoma’s 9-1 win over Fresno on Saturday night.

Starting pitcher Andrew Carraway pitched a complete game two-hitter. He faced just two batters over the minimum, allowing a solo home run to Todd Linden in the second innings, and an infield single to Nick Noonan in the seventh. He did not walk anybody, and he struck out seven with a 109-pitch effort. It was the first nine-inning CG of Carraway’s career – he pitched a shutout last year in Double-A, but it came in a seven-inning doubleheader game.

Darren Ford singled home the tying run in the third inning, the first of his two hits in the game. Ford has hit safely in seven straight games, collecting 12 hits during that time.

Tacoma had two important solo home runs by Carlos Peguero – both were line drives. He lined the go-ahead blast to right field in the fourth inning, and then he lined another one to open the seventh and make it 3-1.

Then came Nick Franklin. The Rainiers loaded the bases for the 21-year-old later in the seventh, and he launched a grand slam to right-center off Fresno reliever Dan Otero for his first Triple-A home run. Franklin is the first Rainiers player to hit his first Triple-A home run with the bases loaded since Wladimir Balentien in 2008.

Carlos Triunfel also had a nice game, collecting two hits, driving in a run, and making a very nice play at shortstop late in the contest.

The win was just the second for Tacoma in the last seven games – and the loss was Fresno’s 10th in their last 12 games.

Today’s game is at 1:35, and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streaming online right here. Tacoma starts LHP Steve Garrison (0-0, 0.00), who was promoted from Double-A Jackson yesterday to fill the roster spot vacated when Steve Delabar was called up by Seattle. Fresno will counter with LHP Matt Yourkin (1-4, 9.22).

Garrison was 5-3 with a 3.95 ERA for Jackson. He has both Major League and Triple-A experience; he should be fine. He joins the rotation, and Jarrett Grube was moved back to the bullpen.

Links:

• We start with the Rainiers game story by TJ Cotterill of The News Tribune. I liked Nick Franklin‘s remarks – I saw him working in the cage, by himself, when I left the stadium at roughly 10:30 PM on Friday night.
• My Sunday minor league notebook for the TNT clears out some Jamie Moyer minor league fun facts, and catches up with Johan Limonta.
• The Mariners won in the bottom of the ninth inning, on a sac fly by Chone Figgins. They can win the four-game series against the Red Sox with a victory today.
• Mariners starter Erasmo Ramirez left the game with a sore elbow, and he had an MRI with the results coming today. Think good thoughts for Erasmo…
• Join me now as we sit back, sip a cup of coffee, and enjoy Larry Stone’s Sunday baseball package from the Seattle Times. We have a column in which he selects his all-stars,  power rankings, and thumbs.
• Even though he is retired, Tony LaRussa – who managed the NL champions last year – is managing the NL All-Stars, which is according to the rules. John McGrath thinks this is fun and maybe the all-star game should always be helmed by retired managers.
• San Francisco Chronicle baseball scribe John Shea has an outsider’s view of the Ichiro situation.
• From the same newspaper: an article on official scorers.
• In the PCL, we have some shocking news from Reno: Aces hitters enjoy playing at Aces Ballpark, which is located on the moon. No pitchers were quoted in this story, presumably because it’s a family newspaper. Las Vegas downed Reno last night, 7-2, in a surprisingly low-scoring game.
• What do Todd Linden and Buster Posey have in common? Both made the Fresno Bee’s list of top Fresno Grizzlies players of all-time.
• Salt Lake defeated Tucson 10-7 for their sixth win in the last seven games, pulling within six games of first place Reno. New Tucson catcher Nick Hundley is going to try to get some hits.
• San Diego called up Tucson catcher Yasmani Grandal, and when he hit his first major league home run yesterday, his prankster teammates gave him the silent treatment. So, he gave out imaginary high-fives. << excellent video.
• Much like Tacoma last night, Sacramento blew open a close game in the late innings and beat Colorado Springs, 9-3.
• Here’s a behind-the-scenes story about Sacramento River Cats PR guru Zak Basch.
• We’re past the half-way point in the season, and the Omaha newspaper is beginning to think that the reigning PCL champions are the best team in all of minor league baseball. It does look that way, but… Tacoma split with them, at their yard! Right now, one would predict a rematch of Omaha vs. Sacramento in the PCL finals.
• Nashville’s Seth McClung was 1-9 on the year, but six shutout innings against Iowa led to a much-needed win. The weather in Nashville was “sweltering.” At least we don’t have that problem.
• Dependable Greg Reynolds struggled and Round Rock lost to New Orleans, 8-3.
• The crazy game of the day was in Oklahoma City. The RedHawks led Memphis 5-0 at the end of the fourth inning. Their pitcher, Brian Bass, had tossed four no-hit innings. They lost, 20-6, and allowed 21 hits over the final five innings. My goodness! At least Mike Hessman hit a tape-measure home run to appease the masses.

Let’s see if Tacoma can make it two wins in a row. This Fresno team is just a shell of the one that was so good early in the season – call-ups and injuries have severely weakened them, and the Giants didn’t go get any veteran players from outside the organization to try to stabilize the situation. The Rainiers might be able to pick up some wins against these guys.

Rainiers Ding River Cats

Tacoma hit three home runs – two by new players – on the way to an 11-5 victory over the Sacramento River Cats on Saturday night.

OK, Adam Moore and Alex Liddi aren’t really new players, but they are new for this season: Liddi was playing in just his third game since being sent down by Seattle, and Moore was in his sixth game since coming off the disabled list.

Moore went deep in the fifth inning, going out to center field for his first hit since coming off the DL. Moore went 3-for-5 in the game, adding a pair of doubles and driving in two runs.

After Luis Rodriguez launched the go-ahead two-run homer with two outs in the top of the seventh, Luis Jimenez beat out an infield single and Liddi followed with a two-run drive to center for his first Tacoma home run of 2012. Liddi hit 30 homers for Tacoma last year.

Also a factor in the Rainiers new-look lineup was Darren Ford. Folks, this guy is fast. You are going to enjoy watching him run the bases when the team comes home on Tuesday. Ford went 2-for-6 with a triple, a steal, and two RBI in his second game of the season.

And how about Luis Rodriguez? He went 2-for-4 on Saturday, and that home run was his fourth in the last seven games. He’s crushing it right now!

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Before the game, the Mariners called up left-hander Oliver Perez, and optioned to Tacoma reliever Steve Delabar. To make room for Perez on the 40-man roster, Double-A outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang was designated for assignment.

Perez was pitching at 94-95 mph for Tacoma, topping out at 97. He has a wipeout slider. As has been the case for his entire career, control is an issue for Oliver – but with his stuff, he has a chance to succeed in Seattle. Perez was leading all PCL relievers in strikeouts per nine innings.

This is Perez’s first taste of the big league since 2010, when he was with the New York Mets.

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Today’s game is at 1:05, and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streaming online right here. Tacoma starts RHP Brian Sweeney (2-1, 3.92) against Sacramento RHP Brad Peacock (6-3, 5.09).

Links:

• Here is the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune – really just a recap, due to the ridiculous 3 hour, 52 minute game time. Great headline by the guys on the desk. They edited my final sentence of the main story, which I submitted as “Both of Buffett’s songs were played…”
• My Minor League Notebook for the TNT leads with an item on the Everett Aqua Sox 17-year-old opening day starter, and includes a Luke French update.
• The Mariners ended their six-game losing streak, beating up on poor Timmy Lincecum.
• Mason Kelley of the Seattle Times has a nice item on the Oliver Perez promotion with some interesting quotes.
• I love Larry Stone’s Sunday baseball package, I really do. But even the great Stoney has stooped to writing a column about moving the fences at Safeco Field. Uuuggghhh. Well, if you are going to read anything about this topic, read this one - as expected, it’s a reasonable article. Back to the good stuff: a notebook with numerous interesting items, power rankings, and thumbs.
• This is why you don’t try to interrupt the food chain.
• There are many reasons why there have been a bunch of no-hitters in recent seasons.
• In the PCL, Reno’s Jake Elmore hit a pair of doubles and the Aces beat Tucson, 9-4. Reno has won 12 of 13, and Tucson has lost 17 of the last 19. As Larry LaRue would tweet, Yikes!
• Angels catcher Bobby Wilson is rehabilitating a concussion with Salt Lake – and he took a foul off the face mask. Fresno beat the Bees, 2-1.
• Las Vegas crushed Colorado Springs, 9-3.
• New Orleans starter Tom Koehler had one-hit stuff in a 7-0 shutout at Memphis.
• Nashville played Omaha in a doubleheader. Obviously, it was a split. All doubleheaders are splits.

That’s it for today – the four-hour game last night really cut into my blogging and sleeping time. The team is off on Monday and there will be no blog – we’ll be back at it with a full entry on Tuesday early in the afternoon.

Feats Of Strength

The Rainiers announced – with authority – that their team-wide hitting slump is over yesterday in Salt Lake City.

Tacoma hit six home runs and had 18 hits in a 14-10 win over the Bees. The Rainiers took the series, two games to one.

That makes 21 runs and 29 hits in the last two games, after nine straight games being held under ten hits.

Yesterday Luis Rodriguez and Mike Wilson each hit two home runs, and Vinnie Catricala and Luis Jimenez went deep once.

It was the first career two-homer game for Rodriguez, who has played in 1,492 career games in the Majors and Minors.

Wilson has had a handful of two-homer games – his most recent one was July 6, 2011 at Colorado Springs, which also happened to be the last time Tacoma hit six homers in a game.

The Rainiers have hit 66 home runs this season, which ties them for sixth place in the 16-team Pacific Coast League.

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The Rainiers made a bundle of transactions today. Here we go:

• Casper Wells, Steve Delabar, Erasmo Ramirez, and Franklin Gutierrez all joined Seattle yesterday.
• INF/OF Alex Liddi and RHP Blake Beavan report to Tacoma from Seattle.
• LHP Bobby LaFromboise and RHP Steven Hensley promoted to Tacoma from AA-Jackson. Both are relievers.
• OF Darren Ford activated from Tacoma disabled list – he’s been out all year.
• RHP Forrest Snow and RHP Jandy Sena have been sent to AA-Jackson.

The big surprise here is the lack of a promotion for Danny Hultzen and Carter Capps.

Hultzen has now pitched 29.2 consecutive scoreless innings and has a 1.19 ERA. It’s reached a point where national media members and scouts for other teams are wondering why he wasn’t moved up a month ago.

I have no inside information about why he is still in AA – Director of Player Development Chris Gwynn hasn’t been around lately (he routinely makes rounds to all of the affiliates; I’m sure he’ll be here again soon), and the Rainiers coaching staff is not commenting on this.

Hultzen is the starting pitcher in the Southern League All-Star game on Tuesday, and then I suppose he’ll resume his pursuit of all of the Southern League pitching records.

The other, smaller surprise is the move of Forrest Snow to Double-A. Snow has never pitched in an AA game before, and it’s starting to look – with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight of course – like having him start 2012 in the Triple-A rotation was a mistake.

He earned a shot at it, with his strong showing for Tacoma as an emergency fill-in last year, and then his stellar performance in the Arizona Fall League. But he was struggling big-time here this season. Hopefully some time in Jackson will help get his control ironed out, and he’ll be back soon.

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Tonight’s game in Sacramento is at 7:05, and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM and streaming online right here. Tacoma starts RHP Andrew Carraway (2-2, 3.41) against Sacramento RHP Travis Banwart (4-2, 4.57). Banwart is replacing Tyson Ross, who was scratched this afternoon.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Manny Ramirez has been playing lately, and he’s been hot at the plate. Manny has gone 10-for-24 over his last six games, and he has at least one RBI in five straight games.

Links:

• Here is my Rainiers game story from The News Tribune. The subject matter: dingers. Mike Wilson has a good quote.
• Trayvon Robinson was ejected yesterday, and from the awesome photo in the Deseret News it appears that Trayvon is an outstanding frisbee golf prospect, too. <<< click on this one!
• This is a re-link, but in my Minor League Notebook on Sunday I wrote a little about Bobby LaFromboise, among others. I was considering adding Steven Hensley but decided not to – whoops!
• The Mariners lost to the Padres, 1-0.
• Franklin Gutierrez is excited to be back in the major leagues.
• San Francisco Giants starter Matt Cain pitched a perfect game yesterday, with 14 strikeouts. He pitched twice at Cheney Stadium on his way to the big leagues: this comeplete game victory, and his final minor league start.
• PCL umpire Mike Muchlinski – who is from the Moses Lake area – was on a swing-shift in the majors and had the final out call of the perfect game (ESPN Insider required).
• The broadcasters didn’t jinx it.
• Jeff Sullivan, while pausing to take a shot at my tweeting, writes that Danny Hultzen is not being challenged in Double-A.
• Larry Stone writes that Hultzen has “absolutely no reason for staying in Double-A.”
• Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Rainiers for the Triple-A All-Star Game!
• In the PCL, rehabilitating Troy Tulowitzki homered and re-injured his groin in Colorado Springs’ 13-5 loss to Reno yesterday.
• Sacramento beat Fresno 6-1 last night, avoiding a sweep. A.J. Griffin pitched his second consecutive complete game for the River Cats.
• Discarded by Toronto, Adam Lind is thriving in Las Vegas.
• Albuquerque infielder Aaron Miles retired, and then the ‘Topes lost to Round Rock.
• The Iowa Cubs lost to Omaha, 5-2. Anthony Rizzo is out with an injury, and former Rainiers infielder Luis Valbuena was called up by Chicago.
• Alex Sanabia and three New Orleans relievers combined on a two-hit shutout of Oklahoma City.

It’s hot here in Sacramento. Hopefully the Rainiers will keep on swinging it!