Vogelbach Wins It In Rainiers Comeback

Tacoma had a stunning come-from-behind, walk-off 7-6 win over Albuquerque in Saturday night.

You could write a college term paper on this game, but no time for that with the day game today. So, some quick hits:

• Tacoma’s scheduled starter Cody Martin got called up, so the Rainiers had a “bullpen game.”
• The Rainiers played a doubleheader on Thursday, and the pitching staff wasn’t in good shape for a bullpen day.
• The Mariners sent two very inexperienced pitchers from Everett to help out.
• Pat Listach knew that he could only cover nine innings with his regular guys if everything went perfectly. Odds were, at least one of the young kids was going to pitch.
• Kraig Sitton was selected to make his first professional start, after nearly 300 career relief appearances. He was the most rested reliever.
• Sitton made it through three innings, and left with the score 1-1. So far, so good.
• Then two of Tacoma’s regular relievers (Kevin Munson and Paul Fry) struggled in the 4th and 5th innings, and now the Rainiers were down 6-2.
• Time to bring in one of the kids. Robert Dugger was brought in for the sixth inning – he was an 18th round draft pick in June out of Texas Tech, and he had exactly four career professional appearances – all in the Arizona Rookie League. But, he pitched in the College World Series this year. The big crowd wouldn’t spook him.
• Dugger pitched two shutout innings.
• Tacoma rallied to score three runs in the bottom of the seventh. They were gifts from the Albuquerque bullpen: four walks and one hit, a two-run single by Stefen Romero to make it 6-5.
• With the game close, Listach went to David Rollins in the eighth. He pitched two scoreless innings.
• We get to the ninth, and Albuquerque brings in veteran Brian Schlitter to close it out.
• Dario Pizzano leads off with a pinch-hit single, and Daniel Robertson walks. Zach Shank sacrifices the runners to second and third.
• Albuquerque elected to pitch to Romero, but when Schlitter fell behind in the count 3-1 they put him on to load the bases.
• The brought up Dan Vogelbach, who was 1-for-18 on the homestand. He lined a two-run single to right field, ending the game.

It was Tacoma’s seventh walk-off win of the season, and the Rainiers moved to a season-best 19 games over .500. The team hadn’t been 19 games over .500 since 2004.

The Rainiers have won three straight games, and each has been a one-run game. On to Sunday!

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Tacoma scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to beat Albuquerque, 7-6. It was the opener of a four-game series.

Today: Albuquerque (46-60) at Tacoma (63-44-1), 1:35 (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: Colorado Rockies.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 8-5.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Christian Bergman (1-3, 5.20) at RHP Jarrett Grube (1-2, 4.46)

Hot Rainiers: Daniel Robertson has a ten-game hitting streak, going 15-for-41 during the run… Rob Brantly has hit safely in five straight games… Dario Pizzano is 6-for-10 over his last four games.

Look Out For: Stephen Cardullo has a nine-game hitting streak, with multiple hits in six of the games… Tom Murphy is batting a torrid .569 in July (33-for-58), with eight home runs… catcher Dustin Garneau has hit safely in nine of his last ten games, with three homers.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 1:20 on South Sound Sports 850 AM. The broadcast also streams online via the TuneIn app – just click here. It’s a Sunday home game, so Bob Robertson joins me in the booth and he’ll call the middle innings.

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

Links:

• The Rainiers game story has some good notes in it. Here’s the video of Vogelbach’s game-winning hit.
• My weekly Minor League Notebook for the paper is on the unexpected transformation of Andrew Kittredge into a major league prospect.
• The Mariners had one of their best wins of the season on Saturday, beating Jake Arrietta and the Cubs.
• Bob Dutton’s Mariners Notebook covers the recall Cody Martin while recalling the Mariners last appearance on Sunday Night Baseball.
• Buster Olney’s advance for Sunday Night Baseball is on Felix Hernandez‘s change-up.
• The trade deadline is Monday at 1:00. Ryan Divish has an article on six Mariners who could be traded.
• John McGrath has graced us with his weekly MLB Power Rankings.

PCL Game Reports:

• The two teams chasing the Rainiers – Reno and Fresno – are playing each other now. Reno took a 4-2 lead into the ninth inning last night, only to see Fresno score *eight* runs in the top of the ninth and win the game, 10-4. Tacoma leads Reno by four games, and Fresno by 4.5 games.
• Las Vegas lost the opening game of a key series against El Paso, 6-5, and is now 7.5 games out of first place. These teams have seven head-to-head games remaining.
• Salt Lake’s Troy Scribner pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout at Sacramento in his Triple-A debut. Yowza.
• Jose De Leon gave Oklahoma City a strong start in an 8-4 win at Colorado Springs.
• Round Rock had a six-run third inning in a 13-7 shellacking of Memphis.
• Lefty Ross Detwiler pitched Nashville to a 2-0 win at New Orleans.
• Omaha starter Christian Binford has had a rough season, but everything came up aces for him in a 6-4 win over Iowa last night.

I’m excited about this double-dip: the Rainiers day game, followed by Felix and the Mariners on Sunday Night Baseball.

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Rainiers Win Terrific Duel

We had a great pitcher’s duel last night, with Tacoma eventually beating El Paso, 2-1.

Tacoma starter Sam Gaviglio pitched 7.2 shutout innings in his longest start of the year. He was fantastic, getting ahead in the count repeatedly and eliciting tons of weak ground balls in the infield. Gaviglio did not walk a batter and allowed just four hits. Only one runner reached second base against him.

But Gaviglio left the game in a 0-0 tie.

El Paso starter Frank Garces carried a one-hitter into the eighth inning. Patrick Kivlehan‘s long double in the fifth inning was the only blemish on his record.

It was Kivlehan who led off the bottom of the eighth against Garces, and he got him again – this time for a homer to left-center, giving Tacoma a 1-0 lead.

The Rainiers added another run when Jesus Sucre singled to center, knocking out Garces. Rob Brantly pinch-ran for Sucre at first base.

With two outs, Daniel Robertson worked a full count before doubling sharply down the left field line, scoring Brantly from first base to make it 2-0.

That extra run proved crucial, because El Paso scored in the top of the ninth before Blake Parker recorded the final out to secure the win.

It was a fun game with an entertaining finish in front of a sellout crowd on a Friday night. These types of games – scoreless in the eighth inning – are rare in the Pacific coast League.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Tacoma topped El Paso in a pitcher’s duel, 2-1. Sam Gaviglio tossed 7.2 shutout innings, and the Rainiers scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to win it. Tacoma won the series, 3-2.

Roster Move: The Mariners called up pitcher Cody Martin, who was scheduled to start for Tacoma today. The Rainiers added 20-year-old righty Marvin Gorgis from Everett to help the staff. Robert Dugger is still here, too – one of these kids is probably going to pitch today.

Today: Albuquerque (46-59) at Tacoma (62-44-1), 7:05 (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: Colorado Rockies.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 7-5.

Starting Pitchers: LHP Harrison Musgrave (6-5, 4.83) at LHP Kraig Sitton (1-2, 2.12)

Cody Martin was supposed to start, but he got called up. It’s a ‘bullpen day,’ and Sitton will make the first start of his professional career.

Hot Rainiers: Daniel Robertson has a nine-game hitting streak, going 14-for-38 during the run… Rob Brantly has hit safely in four straight games.

Look Out For: Stephen Cardullo has an eight-game hitting streak, with multiple hits in six of the games… Tom Murphy is batting a torrid .569 in July (33-for-58), with eight home runs… catcher Dustin Garneau has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, with three homers.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 6:50 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 focuses on Oregon State Beavers staring for Tacoma on the team’s Washington Huskies Night. The Rainiers currently have five Beavers on the active roster.
• The Mariners got blasted by the Cubs on Friday, 12-1.
• Bob Dutton’s Mariners Notebook leads with the call-up of Guillermo Heredia. He also reports that Taijuan Walker will make a rehab start for Tacoma on Monday.
• During the Mariners broadcast today, Dave Simms and Mike Blowers discussed this famous home run by current Albuquerque manager Glenallen Hill.

PCL Game Reports:

• Reno had a come-from-behind victory over Sacramento, 5-4. Reno has won 12 of its last 14 games, but remains three games behind Tacoma in the standings.
• Fresno starter Brady Rodgers kept the Las Vegas 51s in a team-wide hitting slump in the Grizzlies 8-1 win last night.
• Salt Lake at Albuquerque got rained out – the Isotopes took two-of-three from the Bees.
• Omaha out-slugged Round Rock, 13-10, in a game that featured 32 hits.
• A three-run homer by Yadiel Rivera in the seventh inning gave Colorado Springs a 3-2 win at Nashville.
• The New Orleans offense was clicking in a 7-5 win over Iowa.
• Rob Segedin had another big game at the plate in Oklahoma City’s 9-3 win at Memphis.

Long Night Ends With Push

The Rainiers first (and hopefully only) doubleheader of the year ended with a split.

El Paso won the first game, 5-3, with a grand slam by veteran catcher Hector Sanchez serving as the game-winning hit.

Tacoma bounced back in the second game and won it, 5-4. Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Tacoma scored four times  – Daniel Robertson‘s two-run double gave Tacoma the lead. The Rainiers had excellent relief work from Andrew Kittredge and Blake Parker.

All told, it was about five-and-a-half hours of baseball. The proceedings started at 6:05 and ended at 11:28.

A glance at the standings this morning shows Tacoma’s lead over second-place Reno at three games, and Fresno is 4.5 games back.

Tonight we wrap up the El Paso series, and then Albuquerque comes to town on Saturday.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Tacoma and El Paso split the doubleheader yesterday, and the series is tied 2-2 going into the fifth and final game today.

Roster Move: The Mariners called up outfielder Guillermo Heredia and optioned reliever David Rollins to Tacoma. They wanted an extra position player for the NL-style series at Wrigley Field.

Today: El Paso (60-46) at Tacoma (61-44-1), 7:05 (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: San Diego Padres.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 7-4.

Starting Pitchers: LHP Frank Garces (4-4, 5.10) at RHP Sam Gaviglio (0-0, 5.40)

Hot Rainiers: Daniel Robertson has an eight-game hitting streak, going 13-for-34 during the run… Rob Brantly has hit safely in four straight games.

Look Out For: Hector Sanchez hit a grand slam yesterday and has six RBI over the first four games of this series… Hunter Renfroe leads the PCL with 25 home runs… catcher Austin Hedges went on an epic home run binge right before the all-star break, but his pace has slowed lately. Still, he has 15 homers in his last 34 games.

Ex-Rainiers: El Paso has popular ex-Rainiers slugger Jabari Blash, who made his major league debut with the San Diego Padres earlier this season… Brandon Morrow is working out of the El Paso bullpen.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 6:50 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 talks about D.J. Peterson making a rare start at third base in the opening game of the doubleheader.
• The Mariners were off yesterday. They’re hoping a change of scenery will help new reliever Drew Storen.
• Now the M’s are playing at Wrigley Field – a place that John McGrath loves.
• Mariners Double-A outfielder Tyler O’Neill is heating up again, and he made an appearance on Baseball America’s weekly Prospect Hot Sheet.
• There is some serious drama going down in the Florida State League for those who love team names: the Brevard County Manatees (great name!) are in their final season, and are moving to Kissimmee next year. Kissimmee is down to six finalists for their new name… a list which includes the Rodeo Clowns.

PCL Game Reports:

• Reno used one five-run inning to beat Sacramento, 5-1, and pick up a half-game on Tacoma.
• Las Vegas split a doubleheader at Fresno. The Fresno paper has a feature on outfield prospect Teoscar Hernandez.
• Albuquerque arrives in town on Saturday, and they’ll bring red-hot catcher Tom Murphy with them. He had three hits in an 8-3 win over Salt Lake last night.
• Nashville topped Colorado Springs, 2-1, as Chris Smith pitched well.
• Four Omaha pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout in a 4-0 win at Round Rock.
• New Orleans scored a bunch of late runs in a 7-1 win over Iowa.
• Oklahoma City and Memphis split a doubleheader. Brock Stewart tossed a gem in the opening game for the Dodgers.

What’s the line? Win a game, win a series?

Let’s Play Two!

The Rainiers play their first doubleheader of the year today, with two seven-inning games against El Paso starting at 6:05.

It’s incredible that we have made it this long without playing a doubleheader. Today we are making up the April 12 game that was rained out.

As a refresher, here are some basics on the doubleheader:

• Gates open at 5:00, baseball starts at 6:05.
• One ticket gets you in for both games – we are not emptying the stadium between games.
• Each game will be seven innings long. This is a Minor League Baseball rule for all doubleheaders.
• There will be a break of roughly 25 minutes between games.

It’s going to be a long night of baseball. Most doubleheaders end up being splits – but not all of them. Maybe the Rainiers can get two wins tonight.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Tacoma had 15 hits (14 singles and one double) in an 11-1 win over El Paso last night. Dario Pizzano led the way, going 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBI. Joe Wieland lasted seven innings and allowed one run, and Paul Fry worked the final two innings – effectively preserving the pitching staff for today’s doubleheader.

Roster Move: Tacoma has added pitcher Robert Dugger from the Arizona Rookie League to provide some insurance for today’s doubleheader. Tacoma had an open roster spot.

Today: El Paso (59-45) at Tacoma (60-43-1), 6:05 (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: San Diego Padres.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 6-3.

Starting Pitchers:

Game One: RHP Michael Kelly (5-1, 4.41) at RHP Zach Lee (0-2, 5.81)

Game Two: RHP Bryan Rodriguez (4-3, 4.83) at RHP Donn Roach (6-5, 4.01)

Hot Rainiers: Daniel Robertson has a six-game hitting streak… Guillermo Heredia has missed four games with a shoulder injury, he’s day-to-day. He has hit safely in 21 of 25 games since joining the Rainiers.

Look Out For: Manuel Margot had his 16-game hitting streak end last night… Hunter Renfroe leads the PCL with 25 home runs… catcher Austin Hedges went on an epic home run binge right before the all-star break, but his pace has slowed lately. Still, he has 15 homers in his last 33 games.

Ex-Rainiers: El Paso has popular ex-Rainiers slugger Jabari Blash, who made his major league debut with the San Diego Padres earlier this season… Brandon Morrow is working out of the El Paso bullpen.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 5:50 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 focuses on Dario Pizzano.
• The Mariners got worked over by Pittsburgh on Wednesday, 10-1. They are off today before starting the series at Wrigley on Friday.
• Bob Dutton’s Mariners Notebook suggests that we may see a Taijuan Walker rehabilitation start for the Rainiers on Monday.

PCL Game Reports:

• Catcher Dan Rohlfing homered twice as Reno beat Sacramento, 7-3. The Aces remain 3.5 games behind Tacoma.
• A Fresno pitcher got raked in his Triple-A debut, and Las Vegas beat the Grizzlies 6-3. Fresno is back to 4.5 games out of first.
• Salt Lake hammered Albuquerque, 11-6, and after the game the Isotopes went back to playing Pokemon. Many Rainiers players are addicted, too.
• Veteran utility infielder Doug Bernier hit for the first cycle in Round Rock Express history during a 6-5 loss to Omaha.
• Oakland A’s pitching prospect Raul Alcantara earned his first Triple-A win with seven shutout innings in Nashville’s 2-0 whitewashing of Colorado Springs.
• The Iowa Cubs scored early and often in an 8-2 win at New Orleans.
• Oklahoma City at Memphis got rained out.

Let’s do this doubleheader.

Rainiers Lose After Odd Delay

We had a new one last night: the start of Tacoma’s home game against El Paso was delayed 35 minutes due to umpire travel problems.

The PCL has official league umpires, and they travel throughout the circuit just like the teams do. But we never hear about umpire travel problems – and I’m guessing this is because there are only three of them in a crew, so if they have flight problems it is comparitively easy for them to redirect or book different flights.

Yesterday we had a crew coming in from Las Vegas, and they had one flight cancelled and another one delayed. They landed in SeaTac around 5:30 – but their suitcases (including their umpiring equipment) ended up on a different plane. They had to wait another thirty minutes for that plane to land, then wait for the baggage, and then negotiate the SeaTac-to-Tacoma traffic corridor at 6:30 on a weekday.

The Rainiers helped them along the way – our Director of Baseball Operations Ashley Schutt met them at the airport and hustled them down to Tacoma as quickly as possible – but we still couldn’t get the game started until 7:40.

In retrospect, maybe we would have been better off with a postponement. Tacoma managed just two hits and lost, 6-0.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Carlos Pimentel and Michael Dimock held Tacoma to just two hits in what was probably the best-pitched game against Tacoma so far this year. El Paso won, 6-0.

Today: El Paso (59-44) at Tacoma (59-43-1), 7:05 (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: San Diego Padres.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 5-3.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Daniel McCutchen (9-6, 5.78) at RHP Joe Wieland (8-5, 6.07).

Hot Rainiers: Daniel Robertson is 9-for-26 with three walks since returning to Tacoma from Seattle… Guillermo Heredia has missed three games with a shoulder injury, he’s day-to-day. He has hit safely in 21 of 25 games since joining the Rainiers.

Look Out For: Manuel Margot has a 16-game hitting streak, going 25-for-72 during the run… Hunter Renfroe leads the PCL with 25 home runs… catcher Austin Hedges went on an epic home run binge right before the all-star break, but his pace has slowed lately. Still, he has 15 homers in his last 32 games… Hector Sanchez hit a two-run double last night, and he has a nine-game hitting streak.

Ex-Rainiers: El Paso has popular ex-Rainiers slugger Jabari Blash, who made his major league debut with the San Diego Padres earlier this season… Brandon Morrow is working out of the El Paso bullpen.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 6:50 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 is kind of bleak. It just wasn’t our day.
• Kyle Seager had a big game, and Felix Hernandez got back in the win column as the Mariners beat Pittsburgh on Tuesday, 7-4.
• The Mariners and Blue Jays traded under-performing relievers, with the M’s getting Drew Storen for Joaquin Benoit. Bob Dutton’s Mariners Notebook leads with the trade.
• Here’s how to turn a triple play with no defensive player touching the ball.

PCL Game Reports:

• Rehabilitating Hunter Pence homered to help Sacramento pound Reno, 12-4, and keep Tacoma 3.5 games ahead in the division. The Reno paper has a feature on red-hot outfielder Mitch Haniger.
• Fresno pulled into a second-place tie with Reno by beating Las Vegas last night, 1-0. Cesar Valdez and two relievers combined on a two-hitter. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies revealed the jerseys they will wear for their annual Taco Truck Throwdown (which is their biggest night of the year).
• Albuquerque also had a delay – the baseball equipment truck arrived a little late – before the Isotopes jumped on Salt Lake, 8-4. Jeff Hoffman pitched well. A reporter took his wife and two kids to Isotopes Park to see how much a Triple-A baseball family excursion really cost.
• New Orleans used a big inning to take down Iowa, 9-5.
• Oklahoma City scored in the ninth inning to edge Memphis, 3-2. Logan Bawcom started and pitched six shutout innings; the ex-Rainiers pitcher has a 1.96 ERA.
• Brett Nicholas had the big hit as Round Rock beat Omaha, 4-3.
• Colorado Springs had a strong start from Wily Peralta and won at Nashville, 5-2.

Let’s see if the Rainiers can even-up the series tonight.

Rainiers Sweep Bees, Head Home

Look out Tacoma – the Rainiers are coming in hot!

The team returns home for a nine-game, eight-day homestand starting with Tuesday’s game against El Paso, and this team is scorching:

• The Rainiers just finished a four-game road series sweep at Salt Lake. It was Tacoma’s first sweep at Salt Lake since 2010.
• Tacoma has won 12 of its last 14 games.
• The team is 59-42 on the year – that’s the best record in the PCL.
• At Cheney Stadium, Tacoma is 32-15. That’s the best home record in the league.

The guys are having fun. Being around it every day, I can tell you that the players are enjoying this team success and aren’t wrapped up in individual results.

It’s five games in four days against El Paso – there is a doubleheader on Thursday at 6:05, a makeup from an April rainout – and this series might be a playoff preview. Both teams are in first place, and would face each other in the first round if they hang on and win their respective divisions.

El Paso is good. They have the league’s home run leader, an electrifying leadoff man, a catching prospect having a breakout season, and a dangerous former Tacoma slugger.

It’s going to be a good series.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Rob Brantly had the big hit, a go-ahead three run homer in the sixth inning as Tacoma beat Salt Lake 6-4, completing a four-game series sweep. Cody Martin pitched six innings to earn the win, and Daniel Robertson got things off to a fast start by hitting the first pitch of the game for a very long home run to left. Tacoma finished the season 13-3 against Salt Lake – the best single-season record against Salt Lake in franchise history.

Today: El Paso (58-44) at Tacoma (59-42-1), 7:05 (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: San Diego Padres.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 5-2.

The first seven games were all played during the first two weeks of the season, and the Rainiers clearly had the upper hand back then. It’s been a long time since they have seen each other.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Carlos Pimentel (9-5, 6.04) at RHP Jarrett Grube (1-1, 4.15).

Hot Rainiers: Stefen Romero has a five-game hitting streak in which he has gone 9-for-20 with two homers among his five extra-base hits… Guillermo Heredia has missed two games with a shoulder injury, he’s day-to-day. He has hit safely in 21 of 25 games since joining the Rainiers… Zach Shank went 8-for-16 at Salt Lake… Daniel Robertson was 7-for-20 at Salt Lake.

Look Out For: Manuel Margot has a 15-game hitting streak, going 24-for-68 (.353) during the run… Hunter Renfroe leads the PCL with 25 home runs, including four in his last nine games, but much of his damage is done in his home ballpark. Renfroe might have the best outfield arm in the PCL, and the Rainiers won’t be running on him… catcher Austin Hedges went on an epic home run binge right before the all-star break, but his pace has slowed lately. Still, he has 15 homers in his last 31 games.

Ex-Rainiers: El Paso has popular ex-Rainiers slugger Jabari Blash, who made his major league debut with the San Diego Padres earlier this season.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 6:50 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:

• Manager Pat Listach pretty much said that the Rainiers swept because they made few mistakes in the series – check out the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• Bob Dutton has a piece on the Mariners approach to the trade deadline.
• Ken Griffey Jr. slipped into storytelling mode on Monday, T.J. Cotterill writes.
• Larry Stone has a column reviewing his trip to Cooperstown.

PCL Game Reports:

• Reno’s Kyle Jensen homered twice – including the game-winner in the ninth inning – and the Aces won in Las Vegas, 3-2. Reno is still 3.5 games behind Tacoma. The Las Vegas paper has a feature on the life of a minor league player’s wife. The Review-Journal also has a look at the five-day routine of a starting pitcher.
• A.J. Reed hit two doubles and a homer to help Fresno to a 7-3 win over Albuquerque. Fresno remains 4.5 games behind Tacoma.
• Just-traded ex-Rainiers pitcher Jordan Pries earned the win as the Iowa Cubs won in Memphis, 6-2. Efren Navarro homered off him.
• Nashville sucked the Storm Chasers into a cyclone, 12-5.
• Oklahoma City’s Jose De Leon – who stifled the Rainiers over eight brilliant innings in his last start – allowed eight runs and got only four outs in a 9-3 loss to New Orleans last night. What?
• Colorado Springs took down Round Rock in ten innings, 6-5, as Eric Young Jr. broke the franchise record for career stolen bases.

We were only gone for four days, but it’s great to be heading home again!

Rainiers Not Bothered By Bees

Tacoma took down Salt Lake in the tenth inning last night, 7-5 and has won the first three games of this four-game series against the Bees. The Rainiers go for a sweep tonight.

This year’s Rainiers team has had nearly unprecedented success against Salt Lake. Going into tonight’s final meeting of the season between the clubs, Tacoma has a 12-3 advantage in the season series.

Only one time since the Bees rejoined the PCL in 1994 has Tacoma had similar domination against Salt Lake. That was in 2010, when Tacoma went 12-4 against the Bees. You may recall that was a very good season for the Rainiers – a season which ended with a PCL championship.

That was also the last year that Tacoma swept Salt Lake on the road – a four-game whitewashing, July 4-7, 2010.

In the older days of the PCL, the 1962 Tacoma Giants are the only team in franchise history to beat Salt Lake City 13 times in one season – and back then, the teams played each other 22 times!

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Patrick Kivlehan‘s flare down the right field line brought in two runs in the top of the tenth inning, leading to Tacoma’s 7-5 win over Salt Lake. Dan Vogelbach hit another home run, and Zach Shank had a big two-run double. The Rainiers go for a four-game series sweep tonight.

Today: Tacoma (58-42-1) at Salt Lake (47-52), 6:05 (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 12-3.

The Rainiers went 7-1 against Salt Lake at home, and are 5-2 so far in Salt Lake City.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Cody Martin (8-6, 3.91) at RHP Kyle McGowin (4-7, 5.70).

Hot Rainiers: Stefen Romero has a four-game hitting streak in which he has gone 8-for-18 with two homers among his five extra-base hits… Guillermo Heredia left Saturday’s game with a “jammed shoulder” suffered while diving into a base and he was off yesterday; he has hit safely in 21 of 25 games since joining the Rainiers…Zach Shank is 7-for-12 in this series.

Look Out For: Kaleb Cowart has an eight-game hitting streak, going 14-for-32 during the run… Rafael Ortega is 6-for-14 in this series, and is 17-for-35 over his last nine games… speedster Quintin Berry has been successful in his last 15 stolen base attempts.

Ex-Rainiers: Salt Lake has former Rainiers reliever Lucas Luetge, and former Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 5:50 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:

• Patrick Kivlehan snapped out of a slump with his game-winning hit – read about it in the Rainiers game story.
• The Mariners were unable to finish a road sweep at Toronto, getting shut out on Sunday 2-0.
• Ken Griffey Jr. was inducted into the Hall of Fame yesterday – here is a transcript of his speech. Larry Stone wrote that Griffey’s speech made him more human. John McGrath wrote that Griffey showed that he cares.
• Michael Baumann has a story on The Ringer about the Mariners playoff chances and trade deadline strategy.

PCL Game Reports:

• Torrid outfielder Mitch Haniger hit two more homers last night, helping Reno to a 7-4 win at Las Vegas. In 42 games for the Aces, Haniger is batting .390-18-45. Reno turned a triple play in this game.
• Brady Rodgers tossed seven shutout innings and Fresno beat Albuquerque, 6-2. Fresno has lost top prospect Alex Bregman to a major league call-up.
• Sacramento and El Paso split a doubleheader. In the first game, River Cats lefty Ty Blach tossed a CG and became the first 11-game winner in the PCL – and he was also named PCL Pitcher of the Week. Meanwhile, El Paso has put playoff tickets on sale in July!
• Billy Burns had four hits including the game-winner as Nashville topped Omaha, 6-5.
• Memphis won its eighth straight home game, a 5-1 decision over Iowa in which Arturo Reyes pitched well.
• Oklahoma City outfielder Will Venable hit a two-run homer in a 5-3 win over visiting New Orleans.
• Colorado Springs edged Round Rock, 5-4.

Tonight is the final game of the super-quick four-day road trip. We’re back home Tuesday for nine games during an eight-day homestand, which includes a Thirsty Thursday doubleheader (which should be sponsored by Uber). Come see the Rainiers, these guys are good!

Romero Ends Pitcher’s Duel In 11th

Tacoma made it two straight victories in Salt Lake City with a 4-1, 11-inning win on Saturday night.

Stefen Romero cranked a three-run homer on a full count with two outs in the top of the 11th inning, snapping a 1-1 tie. It was the third home run of the past two days for Romero, and his 14th of the year.

Tacoma’s Zach Lee had his best start since joining the team, delivering seven strong innings of two-hit ball. But Tacoma couldn’t get anything going against Salt Lake starter Chris Jones, and Lee left the game with the score tied 1-1.

There was a key moment in the bottom of the ninth inning: with the score 1-1, Salt Lake loaded the bases with one out. Tacoma brought Donn Roach in from the bullpen to face Ryan Jackson, and Roach fell behind in the count 3-1.

Forced to throw a strike or else lose the game, Roach got Jackson to ground into an inning-ending double play. Third baseman Zach Shank fielded the grounder and started the double play through second base, even though the winning runner was headed home. It proved to be the right decision, as second baseman Daniel Robertson‘s relay to first base beat Jackson by a couple of steps.

That play preserved the tie, sent the game into extra innings, and set the stage for Romero’s game-winning homer.

It was a good day in the standings, too, as both second-place Reno and third-place Fresno lost in one-run games. Tacoma has a 3.5 game lead now.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Stefen Romero snapped a 1-1 tie with a three-run homer in the top of the 11th inning, and Tacoma beat Salt Lake 4-1. Zach Lee had his best start since joining the Rainiers, going seven innings and allowing one run on just two hits.

Today: Tacoma (57-42-1) at Salt Lake (47-51), 6:05 (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 11-3.

The Rainiers went 7-1 against Salt Lake at home, and are 4-2 so far in Salt Lake City.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Sam Gaviglio (0-0, 4.50) at RHP Javy Guerra (3-1, 4.41).

This is only Gaviglio’s second Triple-A start of the year – at Double-A Jackson, he went 5-5, 4.15 in 18 games. It’s a bullpen day for Salt Lake.

Hot Rainiers: Rob Brantly is 11-for-27 with two home runs in his last eight games… Guillermo Heredia left yesterday’s game with a “jammed shoulder” suffered while diving into a base and he’ll probably get a day off today; he has hit safely in 21 of 25 games since joining the Rainiers… Zach Shank has had two straight three-hit games.

Look Out For: Sherman Johnson homered last night, and he has reached base in 23 of his last 24 games… Kaleb Cowart has a seven-game hitting streak… speedster Quintin Berry has been successful in his last 15 stolen base attempts.

Ex-Rainiers: Salt Lake has former Rainiers reliever Lucas Luetge, and former Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 5:50 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:

• We start with the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune.
• My Sunday minor league notebook for the paper leads with new acquisition Dan Vogelbach, and has a bit about how the Rainiers schedule will affect the division race.
• Nelson Cruz homered twice and the Mariners blasted Toronto on Saturday, 14-5.
• In his Mariners Notebook, Bob Dutton suggest the team might adjust the roster prior to National League games in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
• Ken Griffey Jr. officially entered the Hall of Fame today. We’ll have a link to his entire speech tomorrow, but for now check out John McGrath’s story on the Griffey display in Cooperstown. Or marc w’s Griffey post from USS Mariner.
• On a recent trip to Seattle the White Sox refused to pay visiting clubhouse manager Jeff Bopp, who is a former Rainiers clubbie and friend of the blog.
• Meg Rowley of Baseball Prospectus looks at manager Scott Servais‘s first season so far.

PCL Game Reports:

• The Fresno Grizzlies shifted top prospect Alex Bregman to left field, and then lost to Albuquerque, 5-4. David Dahl had four hits for the ‘Topes, look our for him at Cheney Stadium this coming weekend.
• Las Vegas hung on for a 7-6 win over Reno, despite two more home runs by Mitch Haniger.
• The River Cats overwhelmed the Chihuahuas, 12-0.
• Nate Orf drove in the winning run as Colorado Springs topped Round Rock in 12 innings, 5-4.
• Omaha’s Raul Mondesi had three hits, and his speed caused a miscue allowing the winning run to score in the ninth inning at Nashville last night.
• Oklahoma City scored four runs in the first inning and held on for a 4-3 win over New Orleans.
• Memphis swept a doubleheader from Iowa, and the Redbirds have won their last seven home games.

Instant Impact

Dan Vogelbach joined the Rainiers yesterday, and here’s how his first game went:

First at-bat: pulled 2-2 pitch from lefty Nate Smith over right field fence for solo home run.

Second at-bat: facing Smith again, drove 400-foot double to left-center, driving in another run.

Third at-bat: against Smith, line drive single over shortstop.

Fourth at-bat: facing righty reliever Geoff Broussard, draws a walk.

Then Pat Listach said “that’s enough for today” and pinch hit for him in the ninth inning with Tacoma leading, 8-1.

Pretty nice debut for the 23-year-old first baseman/designated hitter.

After the game, Listach said he pinch-hit because Vogelbach had spent the entire day flying from Des Moines, so why not give him a break. He was a triple away from a cycle, but Listach said, “Really, what are the odds he’s going to hit a triple?”

He makes a fair point, but Vogelbach does have two triples this season.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Stefen Romero homered twice, Dan Vogelbach went 3-for-3, and Zach Shank also had three hits as Tacoma herded the Bees, 8-3. Joe Wieland had a nice start, going six innings and allowing one run to earn his eighth win.

Roster Moves: The Mariners called up David Rollins again (he never stays anywhere for more than 48 hours). The Rainiers have an open spot on the roster.

Today: Tacoma (56-42-1) at Salt Lake (47-50), 5:35 (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 10-3.

The Rainiers went 7-1 against Salt Lake at home, and are 3-2 so far in Salt Lake City.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Zach Lee (0-2, 5.44) at LHP Chris Jones (3-8, 7.71).

Hot Rainiers: Rob Brantly is 11-for-26 with two home runs in his last seven games… Guillermo Heredia had his 11-game hitting streak end last night; he has hit safely in 20 of 24 games since joining the Rainiers.

Look Out For: Sherman Johnson’s streak of reaching base in 22 straight games ended last night… Kaleb Cowart had three hits last night, and he has a six-game hitting streak… catcher Carlos Perez was sent down by the Angels and has hit safely in six of his first seven games… speedster Quintin Berry has been successful in his last 15 stolen base attempts.

Ex-Rainiers: Salt Lake has former Rainiers reliever Lucas Luetge, and former Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 5:20 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 does not appear online today.
• James Paxton was dealing as the Mariners won in Toronto on Friday night, 2-1. Nori Aoki doubled and tripled.
• Bob Dutton’s Mariners Notebook includes status reports on injured relievers Mayckol Guaipe, Jonathan Aro, Steve Johnson, and Ryan Cook. Not much good news here.
• In his Notebook from Friday, Dutton reports that Danny Hultzen‘s pitching career is over. Sad news for the one-time top prospect.
• More Ken Griffey Jr. Hall of Fame coverage: I enjoyed this story on Junior’s relationship with Dave Niehaus. That link includes a sidebar with all kinds of Seattle Times coverage of Griffey.
• John McGrath has a column on Hall of Fame speeches, and T.T. Cotterill caught up with Ken Griffey Sr.

PCL Game Reports:

• The Las Vegas 51s had a travel nightmare, and then lost to Reno, 8-4. The Aces remain 2.5 games behind Tacoma in the standings. Reno has a seven-game win streak.
• Max Stassi‘s walk-off home run gave Fresno a 4-3 win over Albuquerque. Tyler White played the entire game at shortstop. Fresno is 3.5 games behind Tacoma.
• Sacramento scored six runs in the first inning, including a Miguel Olivo grand slam, and beat El Paso 7-3.
• Nashville overcame a travel delay and beat Omaha on a walk-off wild pitch, 2-1. The fans played Pokemon during the delay.
• Oklahoma City worked over New Orleans, 8-5.
• The Memphis Redbirds were unable to travel home from El Paso due to flight cancellations, so their game against Iowa was postponed.
• Eric Young Jr. homered to help Colorado Springs to a 10-2 win over Round Rock.

It’s a state holiday weekend here in Utah (Pioneer Day) and a huge crowd is expected for tonight’s game. Should be fun!

Four Days In Salt Lake City

Travel day, so we’re going straight to the round-up. But tonight should be interesting, with Vogelbach reporting to the club.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: The Rainiers dropped a thrilling but ultimately disappointing game on Thursday to Oklahoma City, 6-4. There were five lead changes, but O’Koyea Dickson‘s three-run homer with two outs in the top of the eighth inning won the game. Tacoma closer Blake Parker blew his first save of the season – he was 15-for-15 on the year prior to last night. The Rainiers missed three straight scoring opportunities by hitting into double plays – and two of them were line drive double plays.

Roster Moves: The Rainiers have added Sam Gaviglio from Double-A Jackson to take the starting rotation spot created when Jordan Pries was traded to the Cubs on Wednesday. Dan Vogelbach is expected to report today. Infielder Luis Sardinas was recalled by Seattle, and reliever Guido Knudson has been sent to Double-A Jackson.

Today: Tacoma (55-42-1) at Salt Lake (47-49), 5:35 (Pacific).

Opponent Affiliation: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 9-3.

The Rainiers went 7-1 against Salt Lake at home, and are 2-2 so far in Salt Lake City.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Joe Wieland (7-5, 6.41) at LHP Nate Smith (6-3, 3.98).

Hot Rainiers: Guillermo Heredia has hit safely in 11 straight games, and 20 of 23 games since joining the Rainiers… Rob Brantly is 11-for-26 with two home runs in his last seven games… Jesus Sucre threw out two attempted basestealers last night, and he also picked a runner off first (Oklahoma City did not read the scouting report lol).

Look Out For: Sherman Johnson has reached base in 22 straight games, and he has drawn a walk in eight straight games… Nick Buss is healthy; the veteran outfielder has only played in three of the first 12 games Salt Lake has played against Tacoma… catcher Carlos Perez was sent down by the Angels and has hit safely in six of his first seven games… speedster Quintin Berry has been successful in his last 15 stolen base attempts – can’t wait to see him try to run against Sucre.

Ex-Rainiers: Salt Lake has former Rainiers reliever Lucas Luetge, and former Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 5:20 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:

• In the Rainiers game story, manager Pat Listach says that Blake Parker threw a good pitch that resulted in the three-run homer – Dickson was simply on it.
• The News Tribune has a story on D.J. Peterson, who is welcoming the arrival of Dan Vogelbach. Both guys will be in the lineup every day.
• The Mariners were off yesterday, so the Times has an off-day story on Leonys Martin.
• The Seattle Times has started to roll out its Ken Griffey Jr. Hall of Fame coverage. This link takes you to their main page, which includes a cool story from Larry Stone on the making of Griffey’s Hall of Fame plaque.
• Oklahoma City’s Jose De Leon – the guy who ended Tacoma’s eight-game winning streak on Wednesday – ranks No. 1 in this week’s Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet.
• John Sickels has some insight on recently-acquired pitcher Paul Blackburn in this post.

PCL Game Reports:

• Reno picked up a game and is 2.5 games behind Tacoma. Matt Bushmann tossed a gem as the Aces took down Colorado Springs, 7-2.
• Fresno is still 3.5 games back, thanks to Round Rock starter Michael Roth. The PCL’s earned run average leader, Roth worked the first seven innings of a two-hit shutout. Joey Gallo‘s three-run dinger gave the Express a 3-0 win.
• Rehabilitating Hunter Pence doubled and homered, helping Sacramento to a 5-4 win at New Orleans. Let’s all assume he celebrated on Bourbon Street.
• Salt Lake edged Iowa, 5-4, and took three of four in that series. The Des Moines paper focused on rehabilitating Jorge Soler.
• Mets pitching prospect Robert Gsellman is finally healthy, and he stifled Omaha for seven innings to earn his first Triple-A win for Las Vegas.
• El Paso took down Memphis, 7-2, for its PCL-leading 57th win.
• Oh my. Albuquerque’s Eddie Butler carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and then Nashville put together a seven-run rally. Nashville won, 8-4.

Just four games here in Salt Lake City – we’re back home Tuesday, for a nine-game homestand which includes a Thursday night doubleheader.