Rainiers Beat Heat And River Cats

Tacoma took down Sacramento on Sunday afternoon, 8-1, in a game played in sweltering heat at Raley Field.

A five-run third inning gave Tacoma control of the game. The Rainiers were up 8-1 in the fourth and coasted to the win.

It was the hottest temperature the team has played in this season, and the guys might as well get used to it: it’s supposed to be even hotter today, although at least it’s a night game. There are some approaching dates on the schedule that promise to be real cookers, like the Fourth of July in Fresno, and an end-of-July run through El Paso and Las Vegas.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Pat Kivlehan hit a two-run homer in the second inning before the Rainiers scored five runs in the third and cruised to an 8-1 win at Sacramento, ending the River Cats five-game win streak.

Today: Tacoma (26-32) at Sacramento (28-30), 7:05.

Opponent Affiliation: San Francisco Giants.

Season Series: Sacramento leads, 4-2.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Sam Gaviglio (5-4, 4.31) at LHP Ty Blach (5-5, 3.63)

Hot Rainiers: Franklin Gutierrez had two hits yesterday, and his hitting streak has reached 14 games – he’s 20-for-54 during the streak, which is a .370 batting average. Shawn O’Malley has a six-game streak going 9-for-26 with two homers and eight RBI. James Jones has drawn nine walks in his last nine games. Reliever Logan Bawcom has allowed just one run in his last 16 innings pitched.

Look Out For: Sacramento part-time catcher Trevor Brown hit the go-ahead three-run double Saturday night, and he now has a six game hitting streak during which he has gone 10-for-22. Brown did not play Sunday.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 6:50 (Pacific) on South Sound Sports 850 AM. The broadcast also streams online via the TuneIn app – just click here.

PCL Scoreboard: Follow all Pacific Coast League games in real-time with links to Gameday screens right here.

Links:

• The Rainiers game story from The News Tribune details the big inning.
• The Mariners closed out a miserable homestand with a 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday. Hopefully they’ll regroup on the road.
• Here is pinch-hitter Christian Caple’s Mariners Notebook.
• Seattle’s struggles at Safeco Field have had one positive impact: they made John McGrath compare the M’s to a scene from The Wizard Of Oz.
• The Marlins called up Olympia High School and Washington State product Adam Conley from New Orleans.
• The MLB Draft starts in a few hours and the Mariners are not going to be picking until No. 60. Ryan Divish previews the Mariners draft, while T.J. Cotterill looks at players from around the region who may be selected, and USS Mariner has an in-depth Q&A with draft analyst Chris Crawford.
• In the PCL, there was a wild ride in Fresno: the Grizzlies blew a six-run lead in the top of the ninth inning, and then beat Reno in the bottom of the ninth, 15-14. Shortstop Carlos Correa had the game-winning RBI and then got called up. Reno’s Cody Ransom and Fresno’s Matt Dominguez each had seven RBIs.
• Kyle Parker homered in the top of the tenth inning and Albuquerque beat Salt Lake, 6-5. Parker’s draft day was interesting – here’s a story on it.
• El Paso walloped Las Vegas, 15-8, using a 22-hit attack. The story focuses on Las Vegas catcher Johnny Monell.
• Round Rock’s Anthony Ranaudo delivered seven shutout innings in a 6-0 win at Oklahoma City.
• Tyler Cravy pitched Colorado Springs to a 4-0 win at Omaha. A Omaha pitcher lost a bet and was forced to get a really unfortunate haircut.
• Nashville scored in the ninth inning to beat New Orleans, 3-2.
• Iowa walked off Memphis 3-2 but lost star infielder Javier Baez to a fractured finger.

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