Rainiers Put Aviators Clinching Party On Slow Down

Tacoma rolled into Las Vegas and took down the Aviators on Friday night, 4-2, getting terrific relief pitching from Zac Grotz and Matt Festa to seal the win.

The victory slowed down the playoff clinching plans of the Aviators, who have a two-game lead over El Paso in the Pacific-South division with three games to play. Because El Paso will win the tiebreaker if they reach that point, Las Vegas’s “magic number” to clinch is two.

The winner of the Pac-South will play Sacramento in the best-of-five Pacific Conference playoffs starting on Wednesday night at Raley Field.

Both American Conference divisions were clinched last night: Iowa won the American-North after a surprisingly long battle with Memphis, and Round Rock clinched the American-South over a San Antonio team that had been in first place for much of the summer.

Let’s see if the Rainiers can continue to annoy Las Vegas tonight!

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: The Rainiers rallied to score three runs in the top of the eighth inning and beat Las Vegas in the series opener on Friday night, 4-2. Jaycob Brugman hit the go-ahead two-run single, and John Andreoli had four hits. The Rainiers had two scoreless innings of relief from both Zac Grotz and Matt Festa.

ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday the Rainiers activated Shed Long from the injured list and transferred Kevin Santa to Everett.

TODAY: Tacoma (60-76) at Las Vegas (81-56), 7:05.

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Oakland A’s.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Fran Riordan. Riordan was voted the PCL Manager of the Year earlier this week.

SEASON SERIES: Las Vegas leads, 8-5.

PITCHERS: LHP Anthony Misiewicz (7-6, 5.62) at RHP Grant Holmes (–)

HOT HITTERS: Jaycob Brugman has hit seven homers and driven in 27 runs over his last 16 games… John Andreoli is 11-for-18 with six RBI on this road trip… Eric Filia has reached base safely in 14 straight games, and 21 of the last 22, and he is 8-for-14 on the road trip

OPPONENT NEWS: After sweeping Tacoma last weekend, Las Vegas went to Albuquerque and lost three of four. They also lost three key players: Seth Brown and Sheldon Neuse got called up, and Nick Martini was lost on waivers… Mark Payton and Alfonso Rivas have five-game hitting streaks.

FAMILIAR FACES: Las Vegas pitching coach and PCL veteran Rick Rodriguez pitched for the Tacoma Tigers from 1983 to 1987. Catcher Cameron Rupp played for Tacoma last year.

BROADCAST: The pregame show starts at 6:50 on South Sound Talk 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:

• Because top prospect Jesus Luzardo of Las Vegas had a terrific outing last night, we have an MiLB.com write-up of the game.
• The Mariners lost in Texas last night.
• All of the guys who have been rehabbing with the Rainiers recently flew to Texas and will be activated when the roster expands tomorrow.
• Erik Swanson has been doing a nice job in the bullpen recently, Lauren Smith writes.

In the PCL:

• Sacramento beat El Paso in ten innings, 2-1, to keep the Chihuahuas two games behind Las Vegas in the Pac-South with three games to play. Jaylin Davis had the game-winning RBI.
• Raudy Read went 3-for-3 with a double, a homer, and three RBI as Fresno took down Albuquerque, 6-5.
• Reno took an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning at Salt Lake, blew it, but then scored five runs in the top of the tenth and took down the Bees, 13-9. Kevin Cron had four hits and somehow they were all singles (wut?). Jared Walsh hit two home runs for the Bees, giving him 36 on the year.
• Iowa clinched the American-North with a 5-1 win over Memphis. The Cubs scored all five runs in the bottom of the first inning, with Robel Garcia hitting a grand slam.
• Round Rock backed into the American-South title. They were shut out by Jake Kalish and Omaha, 4-0, but won the division because…
• San Antonio lost in Nashville, 6-5. Patrick Wisdom snapped a 5-5 tie with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, knocking the Missions out of playoff contention.
• New Orleans starter Joe Gunkel was dealing as the Baby Cakes picked up a 6-1 win at Oklahoma City.

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Rainiers Arrive In Vegas For Final Weekend, League MVP Announced

After a six hour bus ride through the Mojave Desert, the Rainiers arrived in Las Vegas at 5:30 AM. Let’s get to it.

El Paso third baseman Ty France has been named the 2019 Pacific Coast League MVP. All he did was hit .399 with 27 home runs and 118 hits in just 76 games played. His flirtation with the .400 mark combined with his leading of for what most of the season was the league’s most prolific lineup made him an easy choice for MVP.

The press release reveals that four other players received votes.

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: Fresno scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking open a close game and beating Tacoma 13-5. Wilmer Difo went 5-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, and five RBI. Jaycob Brugman hit a three-run double for the Rainiers. Tacoma lost the series, three games to one.

TODAY: Tacoma (59-76) at Las Vegas (81-55), 7:05.

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Oakland A’s.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Fran Riordan. Riordan was voted the PCL Manager of the Year earlier this week.

SEASON SERIES: Las Vegas leads, 8-4.

PITCHERS: RHP Darren McCaughan (0-6, 8.67) at LHP Jesus Luzardo (1-1, 3.60)

HOT HITTERS: Jaycob Brugman has hit seven homers and driven in 25 runs over his last 15 games… John Andreoli went 7-for-13 with six RBI in the Fresno series… Eric Filia has reached base safely in 13 straight games, and 20 of the last 21, and he went 6-for-9 in Fresno.

OPPONENT NEWS: After sweeping Tacoma last weekend, Las Vegas went to Albuquerque and lost three of four. They also lost three key players: Seth Brown and Sheldon Neuse got called up, and Nick Martini was lost on waivers… Mark Payton and Alfonso Rivas have four-game hitting streaks.

FAMILIAR FACES: Las Vegas pitching coach and PCL veteran Rick Rodriguez pitched for the Tacoma Tigers from 1983 to 1987. Catcher Cameron Rupp played for Tacoma last year.

BROADCAST: The pregame show starts at 6:50 on South Sound Talk 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 Mariners won in the ninth inning at Texas last night in the opener of a ten-game road trip.
• The Times has a piece on former Rainiers reliever Reggie McClain and how he is doing with the M’s.
• ESPN has a fun story on players getting their first Triple-A call-up, and includes a very Tacoma story from Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield.

In the PCL:

• A division has finally been clinched! Sacramento’s Chris Shaw belted three home runs and drove in seven, leading the River Cats to a 10-2 win over Reno and a clinching of the Pac-North title. Congratulations to manager Dave Brundage and his crew.
• Las Vegas lost at Albuquerque, 7-1, as ‘Topes starter Chris Rusin pitched seven shutout innings. It was another big year at the gate for Albuquerque.
• El Paso took a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning at home, but allowed four runs and lost to Salt Lake, 6-3. Justin Bour hit a go-ahead two-run homer as Chihuahuas reliever Gerardo “Lacerator of Spleens” Reyes gave it up. El Paso still trails Las Vegas by two games in the Pac-South.
• Memphis did what it had to do, gaining a game on Iowa to stay alive in the American-North. Memphis scored three run in the top of the ninth to spoil the final game in New Orleans, 8-5. Local Little League champions helped bid adieu to the Cakes.
• Iowa lost in Oklahoma City, 9-4, as PCL Pitcher of the Year Colin Rea got hit for six runs in six innings and took just his fourth loss of the season. Iowa has a four-game lead over Memphis and they open a four-game series against each other in Des Moine tonight.
• Round Rock built a three-game lead over San Antonio in the American-South by beating the Missions, 6-1. Brandon Bielak pitched six scoreless innings for the Express.
• Nashville’s Matt Davidson homered in his third straight game, giving him 32 on the year, in an 8-4 win at Omaha.

One Last 14-13 Game For The Road

The Pacific Coast League really, really PCL’d last night in Fresno.

Tacoma blew a seven-run lead – along with a pair of two-run leads, and a one-run lead – while the two teams combined for 27 runs on 37 hits in Fresno’s 14-13, ten inning victory. The game clocked in at 4 hours, 4 minutes.

Everybody in the lineup for both teams had at least one hit. Surprisingly, there were only four home runs. Two players, Tacoma’s John Andreoli and Fresno’s Matt Reynolds, were a triple shy of hitting for the cycle by the fourth inning. Neither got one, probably because Fresno’s Alec Keller hit two triples himself, reaching the triples quota for the night.

The game went to extra innings tied 12-12, and it was automatic runner time. The Rainiers scored their courtesy runner in the top of the tenth but couldn’t add on, and Fresno needed only four batters to get three hits and score twice in the bottom of the tenth to win the game.

Just another Wednesday night in the PCL.

Tonight the Rainiers finish the Fresno series, then hop on a bus for their longest bus trip since 2010: a six hour overnight trip to Las Vegas. It’s true: there are no commercial flights from Fresno to Las Vegas on an airplane large enough to carry the team’s equipment that arrive in time for a 7:00 game. We’re doing this last leg A-ball style.

—

Today in Awards Week the PCL announced its Pitcher of the Year, and the winner is… Colin Rea of the Iowa Cubs.

Rea is 14-3 with a 3.74 ERA, and he leads the league in both wins and earned run average. According to the press release, three other PCL pitchers received votes.

Tomorrow Awards Week will conclude with the announcement of the Most Valuable Player.

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: Fresno won a wild game against Tacoma on Wednesday night, taking it down 14-13 in ten innings on Jake Noll‘s game-winning RBI single. The Rainiers held leads of 7-0, 9-7, 11-9, and 13-12 in the contest. John Andreoli, Joe Odom, and Kelby Tomlinson each had three hits, and Jaycob Brugman hit a three-run homer.

ROSTER MOVE: Reliever Brandon Brennan returns for another rehabilitation assignment, and is expected to pitch in tonight’s game.

TODAY: Tacoma (59-75) at Fresno (60-75), 7:05.

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Washington Nationals.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Randy Knorr.

SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 9-6.

PITCHERS: RHP Mike Wright (2-4, 4.67) at RHP Paolo Espino (7-4, 5.46)

HOT HITTERS: Jaycob Brugman has hit seven homers and driven in 21 runs over his last 14 games… Eric Filia has reached base safely in 13 straight games, and 20 of the last 21, and he is 6-for-9 over the first three games of this series in Fresno.

OPPONENT NEWS: Fresno is back home after a three-city, 11-game road trip. They got swept in Tacoma, lost two-of-three in El Paso, and split in Albuquerque for a 3-8 record on the lengthy journey… Fresno was 52-49 on July 21st and then lost 22 of the next 25 games to fall into last place… Yadiel Hernandez homered three times in Albuquerque and has a seven-game hitting streak; he has hit six of his 31 homers this year against Tacoma… Raudy Read has a seven-game hitting streak with three homers… Taylor Gushue has a six-game hitting streak.

FAMILIAR FACES: Fresno infielder Luis Sardinas played for Tacoma in 2016… Grizzlies reliever Joan Baez is not the folk singer.

BROADCAST: The pregame show starts at 6:50 on South Sound Talk 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 Yankees completed the sweep at Seattle as James Paxton got the win over Justus Sheffield.
• Greg Johns of MLB.com takes a shot at projecting who the Mariners September call-ups will be.
• Mariners top prospect Julio Rodriguez went 5-for-5 in the California League last night.
• It’s the final home game for New Orleans tonight, as the franchise moves to Wichita after the season, and the bickering has begun. Cakes radio commentator Ron Swoboda will not be moving with the team, as he calls the Crescent City home (good story here). Play-by-play announcer and loyal blog reader Tim Grubbs will say the final goodbye to pro baseball in New Orleans tonight.

In the PCL:

• Four days. Sacramento has had a magic number of one to clinch the Pac-North over Reno for four days, and still hasn’t gotten it done. Reno beat the River Cast last night, 5-1, getting a big three-run homer from Blake Swihart in the top of the eighth inning. Reno has won four in a row, Sacramento has lost five in a row. Day Five of Trying To Clinch is tonight at 7.
• Las Vegas topped Albuquerque 3-2 at Isotopes Park, getting outstanding pitching from Daniel Mengden and Tanner Anderson. Vegas continues to hold a two-game lead over El Paso in the Pac-South.
• El Paso hammered Salt Lake, 12-5. The Chihuahuas had 15 hits, including three each from the top three hitters in the lineup. Michael Gettys blasted a three-run homer, giving him 31 on the year for a new El Paso franchise record.
• San Antonio took a must-win game at Round Rock, 14-8, to pull within two games of the Express in the American-South. Rehabilitating former Rainier Ben Gamel went 3-for-4 with a homer and scored five runs.
• Iowa cut its magic number to clinch the American-North over Memphis down to one by beating Oklahoma City, 7-4. The Cubs snapped a 4-4 tie with three runs in the top of the ninth inning, as Dixon Machado belted a two-run homer.
• Memphis cruised to an 11-3 win at New Orleans, but trails Iowa by five games with five to play, so they have to win while Iowa loses tonight in order to have a chance to sweep their way into the playoffs at Iowa over the weekend. Tonight is the final home game for New Orleans – see more in the links above.
• Nashville’s Wes Benjamin had a strong start in a 6-1 win at Omaha.

Brugman Becomes One Of Tacoma’s Top Sluggers Of The Decade

When Jaycob Brugman launched his 21st home run of the year on Monday night in Fresno, he pushed himself into rare territory in recent Tacoma Rainiers history.

Brugman became the first Tacoma player to hit 21 homers in a single season since 2016, when Stefen Romero did it.

Since 2011, only three Tacoma players have hit more than 21 homers in a single season: Jabari Blash and Patrick Kivlehan each hit 22 home runs in 2015, and Alex Liddi had his massive 30-homer season in 2011.

If you want to take it back to the start of the decade, the PCL champion Rainiers had two sluggers in 2010: Greg Halman hit 33 homers, and Mike Carp had 29.

Brugman has joined these Rainiers power hitters while playing in just 72 games. He did not join the team until June 1, when the Mariners signed him.

As an aside, I can’t help but wonder how many homers Blash would hit in a full season of 140 PCL games with these juiced-up major league baseballs we are playing with this season. He’d reach forty for sure, right?

—

Awards Week continues in the PCL, and today the league announced its Rookie of the Year.

Ty France, come on down!

The El Paso third baseman – who is also the favorite to win the MVP award later this week – was called up by the no-fun San Diego Padres with his batting average sitting at .399. He was bidding to become the first PCL player to hit .400 since Ox Eckhardt in 1933. Instead, he was pitching in a blowout for the Padres last night.

Apparently he beat Albuquerque’s Sam Hilliard in a close vote. Read more about the PCL Rookie of the Year here.

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: Tacoma ended its six-game losing streak with a 4-1 win in Fresno on Tuesday night. Starting pitcher Sean Nolin was terrific, pitching seven shutout innings and allowing just two singles and a walk. Nolin retired the final 12 batters he faced and had thrown only 83 pitches when the Rainiers went to the bullpen in the eighth inning.

TODAY: Tacoma (59-74) at Fresno (59-75), 7:05.

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Washington Nationals.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Randy Knorr.

SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 9-5.

The Rainiers clinched a win of the season series against Fresno.

PITCHERS: RHP Andrew Moore (0-4, 8.08) at RHP J.J. Hoover (5-6, 8.08)

We are 133 games into the season and each starter has an ERA of exactly 8.08. Weird.

HOT HITTERS: Jaycob Brugman has hit six homers and driven in 18 runs over his last 13 games… Eric Filia has reached base safely in 12 straight games, and 19 of the last 20, and he has five hits over the first to games of this series in Fresno.

OPPONENT NEWS: Fresno is back home after a three-city, 11-game road trip. They got swept in Tacoma, lost two-of-three in El Paso, and split in Albuquerque for a 3-8 record on the lengthy journey… Fresno was 52-49 on July 21st and then lost 22 of the next 25 games to fall into last place… Yadiel Hernandez homered three times in Albuquerque and has a six-game hitting streak… Raudy Read has a six-game hitting streak with three homers… Taylor Gushue has a five-game hitting streak.

FAMILIAR FACES: Fresno infielder Luis Sardinas played for Tacoma in 2016… Grizzlies reliever Joan Baez is not the folk singer.

BROADCAST: The pregame show starts at 6:50 on South Sound Talk 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 Mariners got shut out by the Yankees last night, 7-0.
• James Paxton makes his return to the mound at Safeco err T-Mobile Park today.

In the PCL:

• Those Reno Aces are like cockroaches, they just can’t be eliminated. Sacramento’s magic number to clinch the Pac-North is still one (and has been for three straight days), because Reno beat ’em again last night 5-4. The Aces had a terrific start from Bradin Hagens, who allowed one hit over seven innings. Josh Prince and Domingo Leyba hit back-to-back homers in the sixth.
• El Paso closed the gap on first place Las Vegas in the Pac-South. The Chihuahuas topped Salt Lake, 7-6, using a go-ahead home run by Peter Van Gansen in the sixth inning. El Paso is now only two games out.
• Las Vegas lost in Albuquerque, 10-6. Elliot Soto and Pat Valaika each had three hits, and Brian Mundell hit a three-run homer.
• Round Rock opened up a three game lead in the American-South by beating San Antonio again, 4-3. It was 4-0 after Express starter Kent Emmanuel delivered eight scoreless innings of one-hit ball. Pressure is on the Missions; they need to start winning now.
• Iowa lost at Oklahoma City, 5-2, as Kyle Garlick homered twice for the Dodgers. Logan Bawcom had a terrific start, pitching into the seventh inning and allowing one run. Iowa leads Memphis by five games with six to play, and they finish the season with a four-game series against one another in Iowa.
• Memphis split a doubleheader in New Orleans, making up for Monday’s rain out. The Redbirds won the first game 3-2 behind the pitching of Jake Woodford. The second game was a thriller, with Memphis tying the game 4-4 in the top of the seventh on a three-run homer by Randy Arozarena, only to get walked off in the bottom of the inning on Magneuris Sierra‘s RBI single.
• Omaha took down Nashville, 8-5. Storm Chasers starter Foster Griffin allowed two runs over six strong innings to earn his eighth win.

Positive Signs For 2020: Misiewicz Finishing Strong

The Rainiers season is winding down, and the team is struggling on the field. But there are still things to look for, some little bits of positiveness that could provide hope for next year.

One of those things is the pitching of left-handed starter Anthony Misiewicz, who has shown visible improvement during his first Triple-A season.

Promoted from Double-A in late May, Misiewicz struggled to a 7.52 ERA over his first 13 appearances. You could see that he had pretty good stuff for a left-handed starter, but too many pitches left over the middle of the plate – especially in key situations with runners on base – led to a lot of runs scoring.

Misiewicz has turned a corner, and is finishing the season strong.

It started with a strong outing against Omaha at Cheney Stadium on July 30th, when he allowed one earned run in six innings. Then came the memorable no-hit bid against Iowa on August 4. He had a rather ordinary outing in his next start, but has followed that with two more solid games.

All told, in his last five starts Misiewicz has pitched 28.2 innings, giving up 19 hits and five earned runs for a 1.57 ERA. He has struck out 33 and walked six during this time.

It’s an encouraging stretch at the end of the season, and gives hope for 2020.

—

Awards Week continues, and the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year award goes too… drumroll please…. Fran Riordan of the Las Vegas Aviators!

Vegas is 80-53 and appears to be on the verge of clinching the Pacific-South division title.

The press release says it was a very close election, with eight different managers receiving votes.

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: The Rainiers took an early 3-0 lead, led 3-2 in the middle of the sixth, and saw the game get away as Fresno took the series opener, 9-3. Wilmer Difo‘s three-run triple was the key hit in the bottom of the sixth. Eric Filia had his first three-hit same for Tacoma, with a two-run double, and Jaycob Brugman launched a solo homer.

RSOTER MOVES: The Mariners ended the rehab assignment of Mitch Haniger (remains on IL), and transferred the rehab assignment of reliever Austin Adams to Double-A Arkansas.

TODAY: Tacoma (58-74) at Fresno (59-74), 7:05.

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Washington Nationals.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Randy Knorr.

SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 8-5.

PITCHERS: LHP Sean Nolin (5-3, 5.32) at RHP Wil Crowe (0-3, 7.03)

HOT HITTERS: Jaycob Brugman has hit six homers and driven in 17 runs over his last 12 games… Eric Filia has reached base safely in 11 straight games, and 18 of the last 19… Jordan Pacheco has hit safely in six of his last seven games.

OPPONENT NEWS: Fresno just finished a three-city, 11-game road trip. They got swept in Tacoma, lost two-of-three in El Paso, and split in Albuquerque for a 3-8 record on the lengthy journey… Fresno was 52-49 on July 21st and then lost 22 of the next 25 games to fall into last place… Yadiel Hernandez homered three times in Albuquerque and has a six-game hitting streak… Raudy Read has a five-game hitting streak with three homers… Matt Reynolds has homered in back-to-back games.

FAMILIAR FACES: Fresno infielder Luis Sardinas played for Tacoma in 2016… Grizzlies reliever Joan Baez is not the folk singer.

BROADCAST: The pregame show starts at 6:50 on South Sound Talk 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:

• Tacoma starter Darren McCaughan won the Texas League Pitcher of the Year award for his work before being promoted to Triple-A.
• The Mariners lost the series opener to the Yankees, 5-4. Tonight it will be Yusei Kikuchi against Masahiro Tanaka.
• Kyle Seager says that a batting stance fix has caused his improved results.

In the PCL:

• Reno refuses to go quietly. They beat rehabilitating Johnny Cueto and Sacramento last night at Raley Field, 9-5. Sacramento’s magic number to clinch the Pac-North remains one.
• Albuquerque scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to upend Las Vegas, 8-7. Brian Mundell went 4-for-4 with the game winning RBI single. Vegas retains a three-game lead over El Paso in the Pac-South with seven to play.
• Salt Lake’s Drew Hutchison pitched seven shutout innings at El Paso and the Bees easily won, 11-3. Jo Adell and Justin Bour each had three hits for Salt Lake.
• Round Rock took the opener of the showdown for the American-South, shutting out San Antonio 6-0 to build a two-game lead. Express starter Jose Urquidy pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, and two relievers finished off a four-hitter.
• Iowa won a six-inning rain-shortened game at Oklahoma City, 7-2. Cubs starter Tyson Miller was credited with pitching a complete game, and he hit a three-run homer.
• Omaha shut out Nashville, 5-0 as Arnaldo Hernandez tossed eight innings of one-hit ball. Former Rainiers catcher Adam Moore hit a solo homer.
• Memphis at New Orleans was rained out and they will try to play two today.

Final Road Trip Begins, Team Awards Announced

The final road trip has begun, as the team woke up before dawn this morning to make the flight down to Fresno. We play four games here in Fresno, and then four at Las Vegas to complete the season.

Another great crowd saw the Rainiers last home game of the season on Sunday. Attendance was 6,624, which brought the Rainiers season attendance up to 347,378 for an average of 5,109 (68 home dates – we lost two, one to rain and one after Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs passed away as we were set to play their Triple-A affiliate Salt Lake). Thanks again for coming out to the park this year!

On the field, look for the team to start scoring again on this road trip. The Rainiers have played Fresno very well this year, going 8-4 against them. Then the return series to Las Vegas should be much higher scoring than the one we just played, due to the high elevation ballpark.

We’ll have all of the games on 850 AM down the stretch, as always.

—

The Rainiers announced the annual team awards prior to the home finale yesterday.

Hitter of the Year: Tim Lopes

Lopes hit .302 with 31 doubles, ten homers, 60 RBI, and 26 stolen bases in 95 games for Tacoma. He’s now with the Mariners.

Pitcher of the Year: Ryan Garton

Garton is 4-2 with a 4.21 ERA in 36 appearances out of the Tacoma bullpen. In 62 innings he has allowed 56 hits, with 75 strikeouts and 28 walks.

Gold Glove: Kristopher Negron

Negron played solid defense at seven different positions for the Rainiers (including pitcher). He’s currently in the majors with the Dodgers, but on the injured list.

Community Service Award: Aaron Northcraft and Andrew Moore

Northcraft and Moore made the most visits to the children’s hospital and participated in other community outreach programs the Rainiers are involved with.

Congrats to all!

—

It’s Awards Week in the Pacific Coast League, and today the league announced its All-PCL Team. No Rainiers were voted in this year, unfortunately – unless you want to count catcher David Freitas, who played in six game for Tacoma before being traded to San Antonio, where he proceeded to have a monster season.

You can see the entire All-PCL Team right here.

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: The Rainiers were shut out for the second time in three days, as Las Vegas completed the series sweep with a 2-0 win on Sunday afternoon. Rainiers starter Darren McCaughan had his best Triple-A start of the year, delivering six shutout innings and leaving with the game tied 0-0. A two-run homer by Nick Martini in the eighth inning decided the game.

TODAY: Tacoma (58-73) at Fresno (58-74), 7:05.

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Washington Nationals.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Randy Knorr.

SEASON SERIES: Tacoma leads, 8-4.

PITCHERS: LHP Anthony Misiewicz (7-6, 5.95) at LHP Ben Braymer (0-6, 7.76)

HOT HITTERS: Jaycob Brugman has hit five homers and driven in 16 runs over his last 11 games… Eric Filia has reached base safely in ten straight games, and 17 of the last 18… Jordan Pacheco has hit safely in six of his last seven games.

OPPONENT NEWS: Fresno just finished a three-city, 11-game road trip. They got swept in Tacoma, lost two-of-three in El Paso, and split in Albuquerque for a 3-8 record on the lengthy journey… Fresno was 52-49 on July 21st and then lost 22 of the next 25 games to fall into last place… Yadiel Hernandez homered three times in Albuquerque and has a five-game hitting streak… Raudy Read has a four-game hitting streak with three homers… Matt Reynolds and Brandon Snyder have homered in back-to-back games.

FAMILIAR FACES: Fresno infielder Luis Sardinas played for Tacoma in 2016… Grizzlies reliever Joan Baez is not the folk singer.

BROADCAST: The pregame show starts at 6:50 on South Sound Talk 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:

• Here’s the Rainiers game story from The News Tribune on the home finale.
• Marco Gonzales and the Mariners took down Toronto on Sunday, and the M’s continue to play well. They have won four straight series, going 8-4 during that time.
• This week’s edition of the Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet includes two highly-ranked Mariners.
• New Orleans starts its final home series tonight – a four-gamer – before the team moves to Wichita. New Orleans will be without pro baseball in 2020.

In the PCL:

• Fresno had a strong start from Scott Copeland, and Taylor Gushue hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning to beat Albuquerque, 5-3.
• Sacramento missed a chance to clinch the Pac-North yesterday, getting shut out in El Paso, 6-0. Dillon Overton and two relievers combined on a six-hitter as El Paso remains three games behind Las Vegas in the Pac-South.
• Reno stayed alive in the race dramatically, scoring three runs in the bottom of the tenth inning for a 10-9 win over Salt Lake, with Kevin Cron delivering the game-winning RBI single. Salt Lake’s Jared Walsh homered three times, including a two-run shot in the top of the tenth for a 9-7 lead. Walsh became the 20th player in the PCL to hit three homers in a game this season – and it was his second time doing it.
• Christian “Tim’s Brother” Lopes hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to lead Nashville to a 7-5 win at Iowa, which had its lead trimmed to five games in the American-North by Memphis.
• Memphis won its sixth straight game, a 9-2 whacking of Omaha. Adolis Garcia homered twice to give him 30 on the year.
• Round Rock lost a pitcher’s duel to Joe Gunkel and New Orleans, 2-1, on Yadiel Rivera‘s go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning.
• San Antonio took advantage, shutting out Oklahoma City 4-0 behind the rehabbing Brent Suter. San Antonio is one game behind Round Rock in the American-South and they begin a four-game series in Round Rock starting tonight.

Rainiers Play Final Home Game Today

The Tacoma Rainiers wrap up the home portion of the 2019 schedule today, with a 1:35 game against Las Vegas.

Thank you to all of the fans who came out to see the club this year. It has been a fun season, and hopefully the team can leave Cheney Stadium with a victory today.

We’ll keep updating the blog as the team hits the road for the final eight-game road trip starting Monday night in Fresno. And remember to check in occasionally during the offseason – we’ll have updates throughout the PCL playoffs, and news on signings and other tidbits throughout the winter.

Thanks again for your support!

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: Las Vegas made it three straight wins over Tacoma with a 4-2 decision on Saturday night. Once again the Aviators had excellent starting pitching, with Parker Dunshee delivering 5.2 shutout innings, striking out nine. Tacoma had a streak of 21 straight scoreless innings end when Braden Bishop homered in the eighth inning. Rainiers starter Mike Wright was very good, allowing one run in 5.2 innings.

TODAY: Las Vegas (79-52) at Tacoma (58-72), 1:35.

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Oakland A’s.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Fran Riordan.

SEASON SERIES: Las Vegas leads, 7-4.

PITCHERS: LHP Jesus Luzardo (1-1, 4.43) at RHP Darren McCaughan (0-6, 10.38)

HOT HITTERS: Jaycob Brugman has hit five homers and driven in 16 runs over his last ten games… Eric filia has reached base safely in nine straight games, and 16 of the last 17… Jordan Pacheco has hit safely in five of his last six games.

OPPONENT NEWS: Las Vegas just swept Reno in a three-gamer and has won eight straight, scoring 62 runs during the win streak… Franklin Barreto and Seth Brown each have nine-game hitting streaks.

FAMILIAR FACES: Las Vegas pitching coach and PCL veteran Rick Rodriguez pitched for the Tacoma Tigers from 1983 to 1987. Two ex-Rainiers are on the Las Vegas injured list: lefty reliever Dean Kiekhefer and catcher Cameron Rupp.

BROADCAST: The pregame show starts at 1:20 on South Sound Talk 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 News Tribune has a Rainiers game story, along with an article on the rehabilitating Braden Bishop.
• Felix Hernandez returned to the Mariners and pitched very well – but the bullpen didn’t, and Toronto won the game 7-5.
• Enjoy these final days of Felix, Larry Stone writes.
• Seattle U. product and longtime El Paso Chihuahuas reliever Eric Yardley made his major league debut earlier this week. Adam Jude tells his unlikely story.
• As usual, Ryan Divish’s Mariners Q&A starts out with some serious answers to good questions, and then drivels down into pure nonsense.

In the PCL:

• El Paso remains three games behind Las Vegas in the Pac-South. The Chihuahuas ran amok in an 18-8 win over Sacramento last night, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to break open a close game. Matthew Batten had four hits and scored three runs.
• Salt Lake scored six runs in the top of the ninth inning and held on for a 11-7 win at Reno, as Michael Hermosillo homered and drove in four runs. Reno is on the brink of elimination in the Pac-North – Sacramento’s magic number is down to one.
• Albuquerque catcher Drew Butera came a homer away from hitting for the cycle in a 17-7 win over Fresno. Butera went 4-for-4 with a double and a triple, scoring three runs and driving in four.
• Round Rock swept a doubleheader from New Orleans. The Express won the first game 7-1 as Rogelio Armenteros pitched a complete game six-hitter, and they took the second game 5-4 behind the pitching of starter Carson LaRue. Kyle Tucker became a 30/30 man – the fifth in PCL history.
• San Antonio trounced Oklahoma City, 15-3, and the Missions are two games behind Round Rock in the American-South with nine to play. They have a four-game series at Round Rock starting Monday.
• Mark Zagunis hit a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning as Iowa took down Nashville, 5-3. The I-Cubs hold their six game lead over Memphis in the American-North.
• Memphis shut out Omaha, 4-0, behind a stellar performance from starter Genesis Cabrera. Cabrera pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, striking out 12. He struck out nine consecutive batters during one stretch.

Rainiers Eliminated From Playoff Contention, Continue Final Homestand Tonight

Tonight is the second-to-last home game of the year, and our final night game at Cheney Stadium this season/year/decade.

The Rainiers were unable to play spoiler last night, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Aviators. In fact, Las Vegas boosted its lead in the Pac-South to three games over second place El Paso, with ten to play.

Meanwhile, the Rainiers were mathematically eliminated by Sacramento. We knew it was coming eventually. Tacoma can still try to finish in second place, as the club trails Reno by just 1.5 games.

Las Vegas has thrown major league pitchers at the Rainiers the past two nights, with Matt Harvey and Sean Manaea taking the bump. That will not be the case tonight, when an at-the-appropriate-level Triple-A pitcher starts for the Aviators.

Let’s have some fun at Cheney for these final two homes games!

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: Sean Manaea dominated for seven innings, allowing just two hits while striking out 12 in a 3-0 win over Tacoma on Friday night. The Rainiers matched their season low of two hits while being shut out for the eighth time this season.

ROSTER MOVES: Today we anticipate the arrival of outfielder Braden Bishop to continue his rehabilitation assignment, which began at Class-A Modesto earlier this week. Reliever Zac Grotz was optioned to Tacoma by the Mariners today, who had to make room for Felix Hernandez to come off the injured list.

TODAY: Las Vegas (78-52) at Tacoma (58-71), 7:05.

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Oakland A’s.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Fran Riordan.

SEASON SERIES: Las Vegas leads, 6-4.

PITCHERS: RHP Parker Dunshee (3-4, 5.23) at RHP Mike Wright (2-3, 5.03)

HOT HITTERS: Jaycob Brugman has hit five homers and driven in 16 runs over his last nine games… Joseph Odom had his five-game hitting streak end last night… Jordan Pacheco had his four-game hitting streak end as well.

OPPONENT NEWS: Las Vegas just swept Reno in a three-gamer and has won seven straight, scoring 58 runs during the win streak… Sheldon Neuse has a ten-game hitting streak, with five homers during the streak… Franklin Barreto, Seth Brown, and Mark Payton each have eight-game hitting streaks, and Payton has homered six times during his streak.

FAMILIAR FACES: Las Vegas pitching coach and PCL veteran Rick Rodriguez pitched for the Tacoma Tigers from 1983 to 1987. Two ex-Rainiers are on the Las Vegas injured list: lefty reliever Dean Kiekhefer and catcher Cameron Rupp.

BROADCAST: The pregame show starts at 6:50 on South Sound Talk 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 News Tribune dubbed last night’s Rainiers game a “strikeout fest.”
• The Mariners called up Justus Sheffield from Double-A Arkansas yesterday, and are activating Felix Hernandez from the injured list today, so they moved Wade LeBlanc to the bullpen.
• Sheffield’s first major league start looked a lot like many of his Triple-A starts for Tacoma earlier this year. Ryan Divish has a thorough report.
• Minor league players enjoyed Felix’s recent rehab starts for Everett and Tacoma.
• Reliever Chasen Bradford underwent ‘Tommy John’ surgery and is out for at least a year. That and many more injury updates here.
• New in the PCL: Sacramento’s ballpark is no longer Raley Field – after twenty years, they have a new naming partner. Thank goodness it’s a 15-year deal.

In the PCL:

• Sacramento scored eight runs over the final three innings and won at El Paso, 11-5. The River Cats magic number to clinch the Pac-North over Reno is down to two. Meanwhile, El Paso dropped three games behind Las Vegas in the Pac-South.
• Reno got an early three-run homer from Andy Young and hung on to beat Salt Lake, 7-5.
• Yadiel Hernandez had four hits including his 29th home run as Fresno picked up an 8-2 win at Albuquerque.
• Round Rock took down New Orleans, 3-2, on Lorenzo Quintana‘s game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning.
• San Antonio had an early two-run homer from Tyler Austin in a 4-2 win over Oklahoma City. The Missions remain 1.5 games behind Round Rock in the American-South.
• Tim Federowicz hit a two-run single in the top of the ninth inning to lead Nashville to a 3-1 win at Iowa.
• Memphis got seven shutout innings from Austin Warner in a 9-1 win over Omaha, with Andrew Knizner going 4-for-4 with two solo homers.

Harvey Tops Rainiers As Tacoma Tries To Play Spoiler Role

Las Vegas won the opening game of the Rainiers final home series of the year last night, 8-2 behind the pitching of former New York Mets star Matt Harvey. Harvey went six innings, allowing two runs on three hits, and needed just 69 pitches to make it that far into the game.

It was the first of eight games left between Tacoma and Las Vegas, who finish the regular season with a four-game series at Las Vegas Ballpark over Labor Day weekend.

Tacoma has an opportunity to play “spoiler” in the Pac-South division race. Vegas now has a two-game lead over second place El Paso, with 11 games left. The Rainiers can make it tough on the Oakland A’s affiliate by winning a few of these games down the stretch.

These are the final schedules for the contenders in the Pac-South:

• Las Vegas: 3 games at Tacoma, 4 at Albuquerque, 4 vs. Tacoma
• El Paso: 3 games vs. Sacramento, 4 vs. Salt Lake, 4 at Sacramento

Who are we rooting for here? El Paso has won the Pac-South four years in a row, so it would be nice for someone else to get a shot, but Las Vegas is the Oakland A’s affiliate… yuck. Tough call. As you can see from the schedules, the Rainiers can decide this one on the field.

—

Pyromaniacs be aware: tonight is our final Friday Night Fireworks show of the 2019 season. First pitch is set for 7:05, and the fireworks go off right after the game.

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: Las Vegas belted three home runs, including a pair of three-run shots, and beat the Rainiers 8-2 in the series opener. Tacoma had just four hits in the game, two by Jaycob Brugman who hit his 20th homer of the year for the Rainiers. Aaron Northcraft had a terrific relief appearance, tossing two perfect innings with four strikeouts.

ROSTER MOVES: Mariners reliever Austin Adams joined the Rainiers on a rehabilitation assignment yesterday, while Mitch Haniger‘s rehab assignment appears to be on a slow-down.

TODAY: Las Vegas (77-52) at Tacoma (58-70), 7:05.

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Oakland A’s.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Fran Riordan.

SEASON SERIES: Las Vegas leads, 5-4.

PITCHERS: LHP Sean Manaea (2-1, 4.29) at RHP Andrew Moore (0-3, 8.42)

HOT HITTERS: Jaycob Brugman has hit five homers and driven in 16 runs over his last eight games… Joseph Odom has a five-game hitting streak… Jordan Pacheco has a four-game hitting streak.

OPPONENT NEWS: Las Vegas just swept Reno in a three-gamer and has won six straight, scoring 55 runs during the win streak… Sheldon Neuse has a nine-game hitting streak, with homers in each of the last three… Franklin Barreto, Seth Brown, and Mark Payton each have seven-game hitting streaks, and Payton has homered in his last three games.

FAMILIAR FACES: Las Vegas pitching coach and PCL veteran Rick Rodriguez pitched for the Tacoma Tigers from 1983 to 1987. Two ex-Rainiers are on the Las Vegas injured list: lefty reliever Dean Kiekhefer and catcher Cameron Rupp.

BROADCAST: The pregame show starts at 6:50 on South Sound Talk 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 News Tribune has a brief game story from last night, and more interestingly a feature on new reliever Brian Ellington, who looks like he might be able to help the big league club.
• The Mariners are back home, and Ryan Divish writes that it is going to be an interesting weekend.

In the PCL:

• Sacramento hit five home runs – two by Joey Rickard – and won at El Paso last night, 9-3. The River Cats magic number to clinch the Pac-North over second-place Reno is down to three. Meanwhile, El Paso fell two games behind Las Vegas in the Pac-South.
• Jo Adell and Kaleb Cowart each had three hits as Salt Lake picked up a 5-3 win in Reno.
• Albuquerque out-slugged Fresno, 10-9, in a game that featured 33 hits. Noel Cuevas led the way for the ‘Topes, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI.
• Memphis took a jackhammer to Round Rock, 14-2. Seven Memphis players had multiple hits, with Justin Williams going 3-for-5 with a homer and five RBI.
• Matt Swarmer pitched Iowa to a 1-0 win over San Antonio, as he and three relievers combined on a one-hitter.
• Both Omaha at New Orleans and Nashville at Oklahoma City were cancelled by rain.

Nothing To See Here, Move Along

That old saying about if you go to the ballpark every day you’ll see something you have never seen before came true yet again on Wednesday night, when we all got to see a game that didn’t exist.

Tacoma and Salt Lake had their game cancelled on Wednesday night, when the skies opened up in the top of the fifth inning with the score tied 2-2. It was absolutely pouring, the umpires called for the tarp, and then they called the game 43 minutes later.

Because the teams were playing each other for the final time this season, the game could not be suspended and resumed at a later date. And because five full innings had not been played, it was not an official game per Minor League Baseball rules.

So the whole thing was cancelled, and the statistics that had been generated during the game were wiped away.

Tacoma’s Ryan Court lost a homer. Starting pitcher Anthony Misiewicz had amassed eight strikeouts, which are no more.

Losing the most of all was Salt Lake’s Jo Adell. The outfielder is universally regarded as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, but he has been struggling since being promoted to Triple-A at the start of the month.

Last night he hit his first two Triple-A home runs. He opened the game with a drive to right-center, and then hit another oppo-bomb in the third.

But these home runs will not count on his stat line, and he is still looking for his first Triple-A home run. Officially, anyway. Pretty sure I saw him hit his first two yesterday, though.

Weird, huh?

RAINIERS DAILY

YESTERDAY: Nothing happened. There was no game. It never existed. Those home runs were not hit.

TODAY: Las Vegas (76-52) at Tacoma (58-69), 7:05.

OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Oakland A’s.

OPPOSING MANAGER: Fran Riordan.

SEASON SERIES: Tied, 4-4.

PITCHERS: RHP Matt Harvey (0-0, 0.00) at LHP Sean Nolin (5-2, 4.83)

HOT HITTERS: John Andreoli has reached base in 16 straight games, with hits in 13 of them, going 18-for-58 with 14 walks during this stretch… Jaycob Brugman has hit four homers and driven in 15 runs over his last seven games… Joseph Odom has a five-game hitting streak… Ryan Court has a four-game hitting streak.

OPPONENT NEWS: Las Vegas just swept Reno in a three-gamer and has won five straight, scoring 47 runs during the win streak… Sheldon Neuse has an eight-game hitting streak, with homers in each of the last two… Dustin Fowler has a seven-game streak… Franklin Barreto, Seth Brown, and Mark Payton each have six-game hitting streaks.

FAMILIAR FACES: Las Vegas pitching coach and PCL veteran Rick Rodriguez pitched for the Tacoma Tigers from 1983 to 1987. Two ex-Rainiers are on the Las Vegas injured list: lefty reliever Dean Kiekhefer and catcher Cameron Rupp.

BROADCAST: The pregame show starts at 6:50 on South Sound Talk 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 News Tribune has a recap of the events.
• MiLB.com has a story on the weirdness of Jo Adell‘s lost home runs.
• The Mariners blew a lead in the ninth and were unable to finish a road sweep at Tampa yesterday. Still, it was a great road trip, with a 6-3 record.
• Jake Fraley made his major league debut yesterday.

In the PCL:

• Las Vegas hit seven home runs and blasted Reno, 17-4, to keep hold of first place in the Pac-South. Catcher Sean Murphy came off the injured list and hit two homers with six RBI – he has homered in five straight PCL games, with a three-week gap during the streak.
• El Paso rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning, scoring three runs to beat Fresno 9-8. Austin Allen singled home the winning run.
• Albuquerque starter Rico Garcia and two relievers combined on a six-hit shutout as the ‘Topes took down Sacramento, 9-0. Still, the River Cats magic number to clinch the Pac-North is down to five.
• Memphis scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to overtake Round Rock, 5-4. Adolis Garcia hit a crucial two-run homer.
• San Antonio picked up a game on the Express in the American-South by beating Iowa, 9-4, as Travis Shaw homered twice and drove in six runs. The Missions are 1.5 games out of first.
• PCL veteran Tim Dillard tossed seven strong innings as Nashville took down Oklahoma City, 7-2.
• New Orleans was a 5-3 winner over Omaha, as Austin Dean hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. In the game story we learn that Wichita has a TV station KAKE that is covering the Baby Cakes down the stretch. KAKE. Really.