Saunders Goes Off, Vegas Gives Up Early

The Rainiers blasted Las Vegas on Saturday night, 12-1, and the 51s gave up in the fifth inning.

It was the earliest I have ever seen a team bring a position player in to pitch.

Trailing 9-1 after four innings, Las Vegas manager Marty Brown brought left fielder Jason Lane in to pitch, and he used non-pitchers for the remainder of the game.

Now, to be clear, Lane knows what he is doing on the mound. He pitched a lot at USC and was even the winning pitcher in the College World Series championship game for the Trojans. But that was back in 1998 – since then, Lane has had a major league career as a slugging outfielder, and he must be a baseball lifer (like many of us) because he keeps re-signing with Las Vegas even though he hasn’t played in the majors since 2007.

Lane fared pretty well, giving up three runs in three innings before turning it over to fellow outfielder Danny Perales for the eighth.

Las Vegas is short pitching right now – the Blue Jays traded three pitchers to St. Louis for Colby Rasmus, and as a result they have pitchers in transit throughout their farm system. And the game was pretty much decided, due to the pounding the Rainiers put on Las Vegas starter Scott Richmond.

Michael Saunders went 5-for-5 with two home runs for Tacoma. He homered to left in his first two at-bats, and singled in his next three (although his last two singles came off outfielders).

It was Saunders second career five-hit game – he did it June 6, 2007 when he played for High Desert in the California League. It was also the first five-hit game for a Tacoma player this year – the first since Tug Hullet did it late last season.

It was the fifth career two-homer game for Saunders – the last time he homered twice it was at Yankee Stadium on June 30th of last year.

Saunders stole the thunder from Wily Mo Pena, who homered in his first at-bat as a member of the Rainiers in the first inning. Pena’s high line drive seemed to leave the ballpark instantly – was it ever here in the first place?

Jose Yepez and Kyle Seager each had three hits for the Rainiers, who won for just their second time in the last eight games.

Today’s game in Tacoma is at 1:35, and you can hear it on 850 AM or streaming online right here. Tacoma starts LHP Luke French (7-7, 5.57) against Las Vegas RHP Robbie Ray (0-2, 10.29). The real question is, will Vegas shortstop Chris Woodward pitch?

Sunday links:

• The News Tribune’s Ryan Divish showed up for the Rainiers game, and he filed this report.
• In my Minor League Notebook for the TNT, I looked at Mariners relief prospects Cesar Jimenez and Stephen Pryor. Also, I recapped the Reno roster situation – they’ve had massive turnover, similar to what Tacoma went through at about the same time last season.
• Yesterday’s links on the Fister/Pauley trade were rush-jobs – here is a very considered, informative look at the trade from Larry Stone.
• For more Larry Stone, we have his Sunday MLB notebook, his power rankings (#27 is cruel), and a blog post on his final run-up to Sunday’s trade deadline.
• Right here in Puget Sound, they found a jellyfish large enough to eat a 7-year-old kid. It didn’t, but… just check out the picture.
• OK, that previous link had nothing to do with baseball, but it was too good to pass up. Did you see the size of that jellyfish? Imagine if you went for a swim, and that thing started sucking on your leg!
• John McGrath went up to Safeco Field and watched Michael Pineda pitch, and he wrote about Pineda’s workload.
• The Rainiers gained a game on first place Reno, since the Aces took a loss at Fresno. Tacoma is 10.5 games back going into Sunday. The Aces have scoured the independent leagues as they try to hang on to first.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks were hoping that Wily Mo Pena would accept an assignment to Reno.
• On the business side, the Sacramento franchise is transitioning from a major league sized front office to a family business.
• Tucson held Salt Lake scoreless in every inning except the fifth – when Salt Lake scored 12 runs. The Bees sent 16 batters to the plate, the first nine reached, and each player in the lineup scored at least one run during the inning.
• Next week the Rainiers are going to have to deal with top prospect Leonys Martin, the centerfielder for Round Rock. The Cuban does not talk about his defection.
• New Orleans won in the tenth inning, and it looks like Albuquerque is going to be doing some PFP. (PFP = Pitcher’s Fielding Practice).
• Omaha keeps on winning.

We can’t have a marathon today. We need to wrap things up in nine innings, because I’ve got to get up to Seattle to see these guys. As an aside, I’ve always thought that Josh Homme is a dead ringer for former Rainiers and Mariners pitcher J.J. Putz.

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Trade Season Arrives

The Rainiers lost the series finale to Sacramento last night, 6-5. Tacoma had the tying runner in scoring position with two outs in the ninth when the game ended.

Tacoma lost three of four to Sacramento, and all four games were decided by two runs or less. After winning 7 of 9 immediately after the all-star break, the team has now lost 6 of 7 for a total record of 8-8 since the break.

On the plus side, Matt Tuiasosopo showed some signs of life at the plate the last two days. He had a key single in the ninth on Thursday, and then last night he doubled off the left field fence with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, before homering off the scoreboard in right-center in the ninth.

Tonight the Rainiers host the Las Vegas 51s in a 7:05 game at Cheney Stadium, and you can hear it on 850 AM and streaming online right here. Tacoma starts LHP Chris Seddon (6-5, 5.97) against Las Vegas RHP Scott Richmond (6-8, 6.70).

The key player to watch on Las Vegas is third baseman Brett Lawrie, who is off the DL and raking. The 21-year-old Canadian is batting .360 with 18 homers and 59 RBI in 64 games, and he’s been hot lately. Las Vegas also has the leading hitter in the PCL, first baseman David Cooper (.372).

I would also like to point out that the other day, after 102 games, the won-loss record of the Las Vegas 51s was 51-51. Spooky, huh?

—

The Mariners made a trade today, sending former Rainiers pitchers Doug Fister and David Pauley to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for outfielder Casper Wells, pitcher Charlie Furbush, third baseman Francisco Martinez, and a player to be named later.

Wells and Furbush will join the Mariners, and Martinez is a 20-year-old prospect who is already at Class-AA – let’s go ahead and assume he’ll report to AA-Jackson.

For expert analysis of this trade, I have several links below.

In another roster move, the Mariners called up reliever Dan Cortes from Tacoma, optioning Aaron Laffey to the Rainiers. It’s a good thing Forrest Snow was able to finish that game yesterday, or else Tacoma would have a bullpen problem tonight.

Links:

• We lead off with the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• We have analysis of the Mariners trade from multiple places: Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, John Sickels, and Lookout Landing.
• The Mariners made the Laffey/Cortes exchange because the bullpen is overworked after Erik Bedard got knocked out in the second inning.
• Las Vegas beat Reno last night, with Chris Woodward going 3-for-5 with two RBI. Blue Jays top prospect Kyle Drabek started and got the win – this means he won’t pitch against Tacoma. Ryan Langerhans homered in his first game for Reno. Catcher Lucas May has been a nice addition for the Aces.
• Fresno edged Salt Lake, 3-2, on Conor Gillaspie’s eighth inning home run. Brett Pill is having a big year for the Grizzlies.
• Tucson’s James Darnell is adjusting well to the PCL.
• Breaking news from the Memphis Commercial-Appeal: Triple-A players “yearn for a chance to play in the majors.”
• Your latest Royals prospect is 21-year-old Omaha catcher Salvador Perez, who hit a grand slam yesterday.
• Collin DeLome hit a pinch-hit home run and Oklahoma City beat Nashville.

It’s another beautiful day for baseball in Tacoma – hey, that’s three in a row!

Friday Roster Moves

Update from the ballpark:

• Ryan Langerhans was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for “cash considerations” and assigned to Reno.
• Johan Limonta was placed on the inactive list.
• Wily Mo Pena is active today, but he’s not physically here. He’ll be here on Saturday.
• Forrest Snow is back on the active roster. He never actually travelled to High Desert – thank goodness.

Tacoma now has 12 pitchers and 12 hitters – but the overstock of DHs and outfielders with lack of middle infielders remains a problem.

Rainiers Gamble and Lose

Tacoma manager Daren Brown rolled the dice last night, gambling that Sacramento left fielder Michael Taylor would not be able to make a perfect throw home on a shallow fly ball to left field in the ninth inning.

If the house always wins, then Taylor has a new nickname.

Taylor threw a strike to the plate, and catcher Josh Donaldson put the tag on Johan Limonta, who had tagged at third and was trying to score with two outs in the ninth. It was the final out of the game, and Sacramento beat Tacoma, 5-4.

It was an aggressive gamble by Brown, but it was perfectly reasonable. If he had not sent Limonta, Michael Saunders would have batted with the bases loaded and two outs, down by a run.

Saunders has been swinging it well, so let’s say he had about a 30% chance of getting a hit (.300 average). Then add another 10% chance he would walk*, and another 5% chance the River Cats make a mistake (error, wild pitch, hit batter etc), and you’re looking at about a 45% chance that Saunders does something to tie or win the game.

What was the chance that Taylor would throw a strike home? I don’t know – but he did it, and that was that.

It was a thrilling finish to a pretty exciting game, but it just went the wrong way for the Rainiers.

So now Tacoma has lost five of the last six games, and the Rainiers need a win tonight to salvage a split of the Sacramento series.

Tonight’s game is at 7:05 and there will be Friday Night Fireworks at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma starts LHP Mauricio Robles (1-1, 9.00) against Sacramento RHP Bruce Billings (6-2, 4.60). Sacramento was supposed to start Tyson Ross but he was scratched and now they are having a bullpen day.

You can listen to the game on South Sound Sports 850 AM, and streaming online right here.

Tacoma made a roster move before the game yesterday, activating reliever Josh Fields from the Temporary Inactive List and sending pitcher Forest Snow back to Class-A High Desert. Snow did a great job in his emergency fill-in role and I’m sure we’ll see him in a Tacoma uniform again down the road. 

Links:

• In his Rainiers game story for The News Tribune, Larry LaRue speculates that Ryan Langerhans will be the fall guy when Wily Mo Pena is activated. Update: Langerhans is in the lineup for the Reno Aces tonight. I don’t know the transaction.
• Speaking of Wily Mo, here’s a blog post from Jeff Sullivan at Lookout Landing.
• The Mariners were off yesterday, but we have dueling columns about the Mariners options going into Sunday’s trade deadline: one from Ryan Divish of the TNT, and one from Geoff Baker at the Times.
• Larry Stone digs even deeper into the trade talk, passing along some specific rumors.
• John McGrath wrote about the guilty pleasure of losing streaks. I’m not sure I agree with him, but it’s a fun read anyway.
• In the PCL, Reno had a dramatic win over Las Vegas, increasing its lead to 11.5 games over Tacoma. Against their desire, the Aces have had a massive roster overhaul.
• Out of Fresno we have a story on one aspect of the Triple-A manager’s job: scouting.
• Here’s a fun story on Tucson Padres who have been traded at the deadline in the past.
• A 1-0 game in the PCL? Unheard of! Salt Lake beat Fresno 1-0 on Paul McAnulty’s homer in the ninth inning.
• In a 13-2 win at Oklahoma City, Nashville’s Taylor Green put up this boxscore line: 4-5-4-6. A single, a double, two homers, two walks, five runs scored, six RBI.
• Green leads off the Baseball Prospectus Minor League Update, which is free today.
• Round Rock won a wild one in the 11th inning, beating Memphis on a wild pitch.
• It’s beginning to look like Albuquerque’s Dana Eveland will be the PCL Pitcher of the Year. After yesterday’s 3-hit shutout, the lefty is 11-5 with a 3.26 ERA while pitching half of his games on the moon at Isotopes Park.
• No Rainiers made the cut, but two PCL players and a recent local high school draft pick made this week’s edition of the Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet.
• Looks like I’m going to have to get Curt Smith’s new baseball broadcasting book!

We have another beautiful day in Tacoma – that’s two in a row, folks! – so come on out and join us at the park tonight.

* Saunders is walking in far more than 10% of his plate appearances but I lowered it to 10% because the veteran Sacramento reliever Willie Eyre is an unlikely candidate to walk in the tying run with the bases loaded.

Rainiers Win & Sign Wily Mo

Big day yesterday at the ol’ ballyard.

First, the Rainiers ended a four-game losing streak by defeating Sacramento, 3-1. Anthony Vasquez delivered another gem, allowing one run over six innings, relievers Shawn Kelley and Scott Patterson were outstanding, and the Rainiers had some clutch hitting from Ralph Henriquez and Kyle Seager.

After the game, we got word that the Mariners signed Triple-A slugger Wily Mo Pena to a contract, and he will be joining the Rainiers in a few days.

This immediately made me happy, because Wily Mo is one of the most fun players to watch in Triple-A baseball due to the enormity of his home runs. He may not connect often, but when he does, it’s a sight to see. Pena also puts on a display during batting practice every day.

Pena put up big numbers for Reno earlier this season, hitting .363 with 21 home runs and 63 RBI in 63 games for the Aces. He got called up to Arizona and went 9-for-45 with five homers, but 19 strikeouts. Arizona designated him for assignment and Wily Mo elected free agency, signing with the Mariners.

It will be fun having Wily Mo here, but still, it was a curious signing. What, exactly, are we going to do with him?

Pena is a designated hitter. Tacoma already has a DH in Luis Jimenez, who is putting up a solid 285/374/477 line. John Limonta is also primarily a DH, although he does get starts in the outfield corners.

The outfield is full, with 40-man-roster players Carlos Peguero, Mike Wilson, and Michael Saunders out there. Then there are Matt Tuiasosopo and Ryan Langerhans – Langerhans is playing very well right now, and while Tui is having a rough season he’s still on the 40-man.

Tacoma already has an unbalanced roster, with 13 position players and 11 pitchers. You need a 12-man pitching staff in the PCL (unlike the majors, in the high-octane PCL you actually need seven relievers). So when Wily Mo gets here, it will put even more of a bind on this roster unless changes are made.

It’s a real logjam. The team has a couple of days to work it out, while Wily Mo is getting in shape down in Peoria.

Tonight’s game is at 7:05 at Cheney Stadium and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM, and streaming online right here. Tacoma starts LHP Nate Robertson (3-3, 7.68) against Sacramento LHP Carlos Hernandez (5-3, 4.55). It seems like something strange happens every time Robertson takes the mound, so be ready…

KJR 950 AM is broadcasting its afternoon show live from Cheney Stadium, and several Rainiers players will be guests – check it out, from 3 to 7!

Links:

• We’re getting lucky – another Rainiers game story by Larry LaRue of The News Tribune.
• 18. Cancelled! Thanks, Felix and Ichi and Ack and Carpy…
• Here’s more on Wily Mo Pena.
• Sad news: the Peanut Man has passed away.
• In the PCL, first place Reno lost to Las Vegas thanks to two home runs by Brett Lawrie. Despite that, and despite the fact that we signed Wily Mo, the Aces are printing playoff tickets.
• Tucson’s Anthony Rizzo says he has fixed his swing – it’s either that, or maybe it’s just hitting in Tucson against Triple-A pitching.
• Jonathon Sanchez had a successful rehab start, and Fresno put the hammer to Salt Lake.
• New Round Rock outfielder Val Majewski had a big game and the Express romped.
• Oklahoma City added Lucas Harrell to the rotation, and he tossed six shutout innings – but he’s concerned about his hitting.
• Omaha star Clint Robinson had the big hit as the Storm Chasers defeated Albuquerque.
• Matt Dominguez hit a three-run homer and New Orleans beat Iowa.

Off to the ballpark. Tasty Thursday tonight!

Let’s Not Get Any Ideas…

Well, it’s nothing compared to the Mariners streak right now, but Tacoma lost its fourth in a row on Tuesday night. Tacoma lost to Sacramento in the opener of an eight-game homestand, 6-4.

There have been two big problems the last few days: the starting pitchers have suddenly had trouble lasting deep into games, and even more surprisingly the offense has sputtered for three days in a row.

On Monday Luke French lasted 5.2 innings, and he needed 118 pitches to get there. He left trailing 6-0, and it ended a string of four consecutive quality starts for French. It was also only the third time in his last 11 starts that the Rainiers lost a game that French started.

Tacoma was nearly shut out – and it would have been for just the second time all season. After collecting just four singles over the first eight innings, Tacoma showed some heart and rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth, eventually putting the winning run in the batter’s box before making the final out.

Cesar Jimenez had a very nice relief outing, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings while striking out six.

The Rainiers try to even the series in a Wednesday day game at Cheney Stadium. First pitch is at 11:35 AM, and if you can’t come join us for a long lunch, you can listen to the game on 850 AM and streaming online right here. Tacoma starts LHP Anthony Vasquez (2-2, 3.62) against Sacramento RHP Travis Banwart (5-6, 5.24).

Look for Seattle Mariners reliever Shawn Kelley to make a rehab appearance for the Rainiers today.

Links:

• Larry LaRue stopped by Cheney and wrote the Rainiers game story for The News Tribune.
• 17.
• You know its a long streak when baseball writers are referencing the Cleveland Spiders.
• Eric Wedge is breaking out all of his moves: first he shaved his mustache, then he told the players not to show up at the ballpark until later. The two strategies had similar results.
• Send good thoughts out to the Peanut Man, as he needs them right now.
• Kirby Arnold wrote a piece answering some questions you might have about Mariners minor leaguers Nick Franklin, Alex Liddi, Marcus Littlewood, and James Paxton.
• The Seattle Times has a feature on former Rainiers knuckleballer Charlie Haeger, who is now in Double-A with the Red Sox.
• So this is now considered to be safe, not out? I need someone to update me on the new baseball rules.
• Ex-Rainier Greg Dobbs had a career day for the Florida Marlins.
• In the PCL, Reno blasted Las Vegas, 10-5, and the Aces lead the division by 11.5 games. Juan Miranda hit a grand slam. According to the story, Collin Cowgill was promoted to Arizona and David Winfree is out with another (unknown) injury. At least Sal Fasano Konrad Schmidt is still there, tougher than ever.
• Anthony Rizzo is hitting again, but his Tucson Padres lost to Colorado Springs.
• Fresno got lit up by Salt Lake – the Bees have won four in a row.
• The Round Rock Express rescued Val Majewski from the independent Atlantic League.
• Nashville topped Oklahoma City on a two-run double by Erick Almonte in the tenth inning.
• The Omaha Storm Chasers received the next wave of Royals prospects – but they lost to Albuquerque on a Russ Mitchell homer in the ninth.

Today’s blog was a football-free zone – well mostly, anyway, there is this. Theory: nobody (including me) knows how to judge a defense-first team in the Pac-12, since we normally don’t have those.

Back Home

The Rainiers open up an eight-game homestand tonight at Cheney Stadium, after going 4-4 on a road trip to Tucson and Salt Lake City.

Tacoma lost the last three games in Salt Lake City, including a 9-2 decision on Monday evening.

This team has been terrific on the road all season, and this was its first stumble in a long, long time.

Tacoma lost a road series for just the second time this year – and the first time since dropping three of four at Fresno, April 11-14.

The Rainiers have lost three road games in a row for the first time since early May.

Monday’s defeat leaves Tacoma back under .500, at 51-52 on the year.

Tonight’s game against Sacramento is at 7:05, and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM, and streaming online right here. Tacoma starts LHP Luke French (7-6, 5.37) against Sacramento LHP Josh Outman (6-1, 3.83).

As usual, Sacramento is playing well – they just won four out of five games against Reno, helping the Rainiers stay 10.5 games behind the first-place Aces. Sacramento has a big lead in the South and is well on the way to winning the division for the 10th time in the last 12 years.

One particularly hot River Cat to look out for: third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff. Kouz has homered in three straight games, and he has five home runs in his last five games. Let’s see if the Rainiers can keep him in the ballpark.

Links:

• Here is my Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• Sixteen.
• Larry Stone asks, how embarrassing is it?
• Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) compares the 2011 Mariners to the 1960 Phillies.
• The Mariners are going to activate Erik Bedard from the disabled list so he can start Friday. Blake Beavan has pitched well enough to make the companion roster move not so obvious.
• Sacramento beat Reno so soundly, the Aces had 38-year-old third baseman Andy Tracy on the mound.
• Salt Lake reliever Michael Kohn was a shortstop in college – and his fortunes changed with one bullpen session.
• Las Vegas catcher Ryan Budde is PCL to the core – heck, even his father is in the league, working in the front office of the Oklahoma City RedHawks.
• Fresno finally beat Colorado Springs – the Grizzlies went 4-12 against the Sky Sox this year.
• Oklahoma City completed a four-game sweep of Memphis, and outfielder J.B. Shuck is the most difficult batter to strikeout in the PCL.
• Nashville can send a gift basket to the PCL schedule maker for giving them eight straight games against Iowa – they won seven of them.
• The World Series Champions met the president, and if you haven’t seen the photo of crazed Giants closer Brian Wilson giving President Obama a respectful stare-down, well… here it is.

Pressing “publish” from the Salt Lake City airport – can’t wait to get home!

Break Out Your Tape Measure

Yesterday before the game myself, trainer Jeremy Clipperton, and “Performance Specialist” Charlie Kenyon walked out to the worst seats at Spring Mobile Ballpark, for the purpose of measuring the mammoth home run that Carlos Peguero hit on Saturday.

Later, during the game, Peguero lost a routine fly ball in the sun and it fell in for a two-out, inside-the-park grand slam. Whoops!

The Rainiers lost on Sunday night, 10-2. Mauricio Robles had a nightmare outing, Peguero lost that ball, and Forrest Snow pitched well in his Triple-A debut. You can get the details in the Rainiers game story – click the first link down below.

It was, in three words, an ugly game. So let’s get back to Peguero’s tape-measure home run!

It was the ninth inning on Saturday, and he hit it off Salt Lake reliever Michael Kohn.

In Salt Lake City, the center field fence is 420 feet from home plate. There is a backdrop behind the center field fence, and behind that is a walking path that goes around the perimeter of the outfield. The walking path is above the grassy berm.

Just to the right of center, there is a covered picnic area on the other side of the walking path. Peguero’s home run hit the yellow “Siegfried & Jensen” sign on the roof of the picnic area. 

Peguero's homer hit the yellow sign on the roof of the picnic area.

I stood under the yellow sign, and stepped off 55 feet to the outfield fence, which is 420 feet from home. So that was 475 feet.

We then estimated where the ball would have landed, based upon its trajectory, and we selected a spot behind the picnic area.

The three of us agreed that Peguero’s homer was roughly 507 feet.

View from the right field berm - you can see how far the picnic area is behind the center field fence.

The picnic area is pleasant enough, but it’s a long, long way away from home plate.

View home from the picnic area where Peguero's home run landed.

Finally, a view of the whole field from the broadcast booth. I was able to see the home run ball roll down the roof after hitting the yellow sign.

View from the booth.

Tonight we complete this road trip with a 6:05 (Pacific) game here in Salt Lake City. Tacoma starts RHP Jarett Grube (1-2, 9.00) against RHP Matt Palmer (4-9, 7.95). Grube is working on three days rest so it could be yet another short outing for a Tacoma starting pitcher.

As always, you can hear the broadcast on South Sound Sports 850 AM, and streaming online right here.

Links:

• Here is my Rainiers game story for The News Tribune. In the Deseret News story, Jeremy Moore talks about his ITPGS.
• Tough day for baseball media. First, Nashville broadcaster Stu Paul took a tumble in Iowa and is out indefinitely. Then, friend of the blog Dave Cameron told us he has leukemia. We wish the best to both in their recoveries.
• At the TNT blog, Ryan Divish wrote a personal piece on Cameron’s illness.
• Over at Cameron’s website, we have the weekly Mariners Minor League Wrap.
• The Mariners set a franchise record that they had no interest in breaking.
• Jason Churchill has a round-up of the new Mariners catching prospects.
• Sacramento beat Reno in the 11th inning yesterday, so Tacoma is still 10.5 games out of first. Adrian Cardenas had the game-winning hit. A Reno pitcher smoked Josh Donaldson again.
• The Sacramento paper has an excellent feature on Reno manager Brett Butler.
• Tucson blew a four-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, then won in the 13th on a James Darnell home run at Las Vegas.
• Fresno lost to Colorado Springs. The Grizzlies have Bill Hall on rehab, and he is the ninth major leaguer to rehab with Fresno this year.
• Albuquerque pitcher Tim Sexton took an epic beating from New Orleans yesterday: five innings pitched, 16 runs allowed (all earned). Eventually Mother Nature had seen enough, ending the game in the seventh inning with a rain storm.
• And on the seventh day, they won: after six losses to Nashville in six days, Iowa finally beat the Sounds. Their eight-game series ends today. Iowa Cubs prospect Ryan Flaherty is playing at his old stomping grounds.
• Eric Hurley tossed a gem and Round Rock defeated Omaha.

Last day of the road trip – we’ll be home at Cheney Stadium on Tuesday night, and keep in mind we have a mid-week day game on Wednesday – time for a long lunch at the ballpark!

Nothing To See Here – Move Along!

Well, I don’t really want to spend a lot of time writing about last night’s game.

Tacoma was down 10-0 in the first inning, and it was 16-0 after five.

Eventually, the Rainiers lost 18-9.

Here’s a positive: catcher Ralph Henriquez hit his first Triple-A home run, a three-run blast in the eighth inning off Jason Bulger.

Also, Carlos Peguero hit a titanic home run just to the right of the batter’s eye in center field. The ball landed on the roof of a covered picnic area a good 475 feet from home plate.

And at least the guy who went bonkers for Salt Lake is a Washington native. Bees catcher Kevin Richardson graduated from Bellingham High School and Gonzaga University – he homered twice and had seven RBI.

Hopefully the Rainiers will have a happier Pioneer Day. That is today’s state holiday here in Utah, and I’ve been told it celebrates the day Brigham Young hiked over the mountains, looked over the beautiful Salt Lake valley, and said “this is the place.” It’s like some sort of Utah/Mormon combo-birthday, and its a major holiday here.

We have a rare Sunday night game tonight, so that the Bees can celebrate the holiday with a fireworks show. First pitch is at 6:05, and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM, or streaming online right here. Tacoma starts LHP Mauricio Robles (1-0, 0.00) against Salt Lake RHP Jerome Williams (4-1, 5.40).

The Rainiers made a roster move today, adding pitcher Forrest Snow to the roster, and placing Josh Fields on the Temporary Inactive List. Snow is a UW product who was in the starting rotation at High Desert.

Snow has been brought up because if the Rainiers have another short outing from the starting pitcher today, they’ll have some big bullpen issues…

On to the Sunday links!

• We start with a recap of the bad news – the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune, or if you prefer you can read the story from the Salt Lake perspective.
• More bad news: the Mariners dropped their 14th in a row, tying a record*. On the plus side, Blake Beavan continues to deal and Mike Carp homered.
• The M’s streak has caused Eric Wedge to go to an act of desperation: he shaved his mustache. As I write this, it appears that the ‘stache was not the problem.
• In my Minor League Notebook for the TNT, I wrote about the Luis Mendoza near-no-hitter, respected Dick “Double No-Hit” Estelle, and provided a Brett Lawrie update.
• Geoff Baker reports that Erik Bedard and Shawn Kelley had successfully simulated games, and Mariners hitting coach Chris Chambliss is not happy.
• Is it Sunday? Well, the Seattle Times has the Larry Stone baseball package, so it must be Sunday. He wrote about the Mariners trade possibilities, he’s got a few quality notebook items including a Stephen Strasburg update, and of course the power rankings (I like #3 because I remember Rafael Ramirez).
• Stone also has a big feature on former Mariners general manager Pat Gillick, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame today.
• I’m a sucker for fantastic baseball columns, and when an old-school wordsmith like Bruce Jenkins writes about a modern entertainer like Nyjer Morgan, great things happen. Jenkins cites a 1957 Baseball Digest in this story – enough said.
• Speaking of great columnists… we know that Mike Morse is having a big season, and the former Rainier is making that Mariners trade look bad, but now Thomas Boswell is writing about him?
• There is truth in this piece on the A’s and trade rumors: player’s wives often follow the rumors more than the actual players.
• In the PCL, Reno split a doubleheader at Sacramento. Their hitters have been preaching patience. Roster-wise, Wily Mo Pena cleared waivers and was released – I’m guessing at his own request – and they signed Angel Berroa to replace Cody Ransom.
• Here’s more on Brett Lawrie, from the Las Vegas paper. Tucson beat Vegas last night, 6-4, as Aaron Cunningham had four hits.
• Colorado Springs won at Fresno, thanks to a grand slam by Matt Macri. As expected, Fresno set broke its franchise stolen base record.
• Omaha beat Round Rock, but Luis Mendoza allowed a bunch of hits.
• Nashville beat Iowa for the sixth day in a row, thanks to some ridiculous scheduling. They have two more games to go…
• Fantastic old photo from the Des Moines Register archives, of the day the umpire’s luggage was lost so he called the game wearing Iowa Cubs gear.

Here’s hoping for a more competitive game today!

* when writing for the TNT, I am expected to follow A.P. Style, and I try to do that here on the blog, too, That being said, it’s brutal when the Mariners losing streak requires me to use numerals instead of spelling out the numbers. Another way of saying: Yikes!

Vasquez Delivers; Rainiers Win Again

Anthony Vasquez had the best start of his brief tenure with the Rainiers on Friday night, limiting Salt Lake to one earned run on just four hits over 7.2 innings. He picked up the win in the Rainiers 7-2 victory.

Vasquez was in command, getting ahead of most of the hitters. He allowed very little in the way of hard contact, mostly getting weak grounders and soft pop-ups.

The 24-year-old from San Antonio has made four starts for Tacoma, and in each one he has pitched into at least the seventh inning.

Offensively, Tacoma had 17 hits and scored seven runs. Through eight innings, the Rainiers had 13 hits but only three runs and it looked like it might become a tough loss – but the team rallied to score four runs in the ninth, with Michael Saunders driving a key two-run triple to deep left field.

Kyle Seager returned to the Tacoma lineup and hit three singles. He has hit safely in all 13 games he has played in for Tacoma, and he has had multiple hits in 10 of the 13 games.

Shortstop Alex Liddi scored two more runs, giving him 92 on the year. He has a chance to break the franchise record of 107, set by Hosken Powell of the 1977 Tacoma Twins. No Rainiers player has scored 100 runs in a single season since Brian Raabe in 1997.

Tacoma (51-49) has won three in a row, and the team is 7-2 since the all-star break. Overall the club has gone 18-8 in the last 26 games.

On the road, the Rainiers are now 30-22 for the year, with wins in 19 of the last 26 away games.

Tonight’s game is at 6:05 (Pacific) and you can hear it on South Sound Sports 850 AM, or streaming online right here. Tacoma sends LHP Nate Robertson (3-2, 6.54) to the mound against Salt Lake RHP Trevor Bell (1-2, 6.19).

Links:

• Here is my Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• That’s 13 in a row for the Mariners, but at least Mike Carp jacked a three-run homer.
• Carp and Greg Halman had to learn how to play the Green Monster.
• Erik Bedard is getting closer to returning from the disabled list.
• Hey, check it out! The Reno Aces actually lost a game. Tacoma is ten back. JJ Putz rehabbed with the Aces.
• Here is the full story on Hank Conger’s demotion to Salt Lake.
• Las Vegas lefty Brad Mills didn’t pitch well, but he won the game.
• Fresno received a solid rehab start from Jonathan Sanchez, but the Grizzlies lost in the ninth inning to Colorado Springs.
• More ridiculous scheduling in the PCL: Nashville and Iowa are playing each other eight times in a row. Nashville has won the first five.
• Manager Tony D is hoping his RedHawks can reach .500 during a 12-game homestand.
• Omaha defeated Round Rock, and I’m still waiting for the “Chasers” to get sponsored by that hangover pill.
• Will Clark visited Fresno – he was one of my favorite players growing up. I love the answer to the final question…
• Jeff Sullivan wrote about Pat Gillick, who is being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

It’s another beautiful day here in Salt Lake City – great for a night at the ballpark!