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| A nice day for baseball in Tacoma! |
We weren't so sure about how much scoring we would see. After all, the Rainiers are players deemed not yet ready for the bigs. They're the Triple-A affiliate of the Mariners, whose team batting average just earlier this week nosed back above the Mendoza line.
We were somewhat heartened when, in looking at pre-game lineups, we noted that the starting pitcher for Round Rock was one Brock Burke. In his two previous starts this season, Burke had lasted a total of just four innings and allowed eight earned runs on 10 hits and six walks in just four innings--a whopping ERA of an even 18.00.
The Rainier lineup included two recent demotees from the big club, catcher Luis Torrens and outfielder Taylor Trammell, as well as rehabbing outfielder Jake Fraley, penciled in at designated hitter for the day. Bernie Martinez was the starting pitcher for the Rainiers.
Burke got through the first just fine, fanning the first two Rainiers before allowing a single to Trammell and getting first sacker Sam Travis on a comebacker. The wheels came off in the second. Left fielder Dillon Thomas led off with a single and third baseman Jantzen Witte followed with a walk. A base hit by Luis Liberato, the right fielder, loaded the bases with nobody out. Shortstop Jack Reinheimer whiffed for out number one. Second baseman Ty Kelly hit a fly ball to right field that was deep enough to plate Thomas with Tacoma's first run. Fraley, the leadoff man, walked to re-load the bases, and then Torrens drilled one into the Rainier bullpen beyond the left field wall for a grand slam and a quick 5-0 lead.
That ended the day for Burke, who lasted 1.2 innings and allowed five earned runs on four hits, walking two and striking out three. His ERA actually went UP to 20.65. I know ERA isn't exactly in vogue as an indicator of pitching performance these days, but if you're above 20, well, that's not good.
Round Rock began to claw their way back into the game with a pair in the top of the third on a double by Delino DeShields. Liberato hit a solo home run with two out in the bottom of the third to make it 6-2. The Express got a run on three singles in the fifth, and Trammell answered with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the frame to make it 7-3. Jason Martin, the Round Rock first baseman, slugged a solo shot in the sixth to make it 7-4 and set up an interesting eighth inning.
With Ben Onyshko on the hill for the Rainiers after pitching a 1-2-3 seventh, DeShields led off with a grounder to short that Reinheimer fielded cleanly but threw away for an error. Round Rock third sacker Yonny Hernandez walked, and Andy Ibañez doubled to plate DeShields and move Hernandez to third. A base hit by Martin scored Hernandez and moved Ibañez to third, making it 7-6, and that was it for Onyshko.
Tacoma manager Kristopher Negron called on right hander Vinny Nitoli, who pulled quite a Houdini act. Martin swiped second to make it second and third with no outs. With the Rainier infield playing in, Nitoli fanned DH Carl Chester for the first out. An intentional walk to centerfielder Leody Taveras loaded the bases and set up a potential double play. But Nitoli struck out shortstop Anderson Tejeda for the second out and catcher Jack Kruger flied out to right to end this inning with Tacoma still on top.
Zach Weiss, Tacoma's seventh and final hurler on the day, earned a save by keeping Round Rock off the board in the ninth. He walked one, struck out one, and was saved further trouble when Liberato made a diving catch on a sinking liner to right by Ibañez for the final out of the contest.
Trammell went 4-for-4, including a homer, a double, and two singles. He's hitting .460 and has five homers in a dozen games since being farmed to Tacoma.
Family ties
DeShields is the son of former big-leaguer Delino DeShields. The younger Delino played parts of five seasons with the Rangers before being dealt to Cleveland, where he played last year. He re-upped with Texas as a free agent this winter but hasn't been up to the big club as yet. Delino the elder is presently the first base coach for the Reds.
Eric Young, Jr. is a coach for the Rainiers. He played for a number of MLB teams from 2009-2018. His father, a pretty fair player in his day, is the first base coach for Atlanta.
Andy Ibañez is no relation to former Mariner Raul.
