Las Vegas Aviators 8, Tacoma Rainiers 4

My Sweetie, the official scorer, and I typically attend Tacoma Rainiers games on Sunday afternoons, but I had a rare opportunity to catch a game at Cheney Stadium under the lights when I caught the game against the Las Vegas Aviators on Tuesday, August 17. The occasion was a Mariners game-day staff outing, and several members of the ticket office were in attendance as the Aviators topped the Rainiers 8-4.

Things started off well enough for Tacoma starter Darren McCaughan, who blanked Las Vegas on just one hit over the first couple of innings. The Aviators' starter Argenis Angulo matched that, allowing just one hit over two and the score was 0-0 going into the top of the third. 

Things then came apart a bit for McCaughan. Pete Kozma and Buddy Reed opened the frame with singles, and then local product Nate Mondou drilled a base hit to plate Kozma with the first run of the game. Chad Pinder hit a sacrifice fly to bring in a second run, then Skye Bolt bounced into a niftily turned 3-6-1 double play to end the frame.

Sam Travis

Sam Travis put the Rainiers on the board with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the third. After two out Jantzen Witte singled, and that was the end of the night for Angulo. Aaron Brown came on in relief, and immediately picked Witte off of first to end the third with Vegas up 2-1.

The Aviators got right back after McCaughan in the fourth. First sacker Francisco Pena cracked a leadoff homer, and DH Khris Davis, recently signed by the Oakland Athletics to a minor-league contract, was hit by a pitch. After an out, Kozma and Reed singled, Davis scoring on the latter and Kozma reaching third. Moudou hit a fly ball to left deep enough to score Kozma and it was 5-1 Las Vegas.

Tacoma scratched its way back into the game with two runs in the fifth without getting a hit. Jose Godoy led off with a little dribbler out in front of the plate.  Las Vegas catcher Aramis Garcia over-ran the ball and was charged with an error. Marius Wilson walked, but Travis and Jack Reinheimer both struck out looking. Donovan Walton was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Witte hit a slow grounder to third. In a rush to get the final out, Mondou threw wild to first and two runs came in to make it 5-3.

Bolt homered for Las Vegas leading off the eighth and the Aviators scored two more in the ninth.  Travis hit his second homer of the game leading off the ninth to close out the scoring.

Box score

Jose Marmolejos

Jose Marmelejos is leading the AAA-West in hitting with a robust .372 average and has 21 home runs in 279 plate appearances for Tacoma this season. His slugging hasn't translated to the big leagues, where he's batted just .177 with nine home runs in 209 plate appearances over the past two seasons with the Mariners.

Hometown product

Mondou is from Lake Tapps and attended Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma. He played college ball at Wake Forest and was drafted by Oakland in the 13th round in 2016. It's his first year at the Triple-A level, where he's batting .315 and has seven home runs.

The Aaron Brown who pitches for Las Vegas is NOT the former Seattle TV news anchor who later worked for ABC, CNN, and PBS.

Rainiers split Sunday twin bill with Sacramento

 

July 25 was a beautiful day to play two at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.

The Tacoma Rainiers and Sacramento River Cats split a doubleheader at Cheney Stadium on Sunday, July 25. The Rainiers won the opener 4-0 and the River Cats took the nightcap 3-2.

Ian McKinney

The game 1 starter was southpaw Ian McKinney, who also had a strong outing in our last Rainiers game, a 4-0 loss to Salt Lake the previous weekend. This time McKinney wasn't quite as sharp but came away with a win. He pitched five innings and allowed just one hit, walked four and struck out six. Wyatt Mills and Jimmy Yacabonis each pitched a scoreless inning as the Rainiers combined for a two-hitter in the seven-inning affair. Left fielder Jantzen Witte was the hitting star of the game. His leadoff home run in the second proved to be all Tacoma needed, and the Rainiers added three in the sixth on a rally started by Witte's one-out single that included an RBI double by Sam Travis and a run-scoring single by Jack Reinheimer.

Game 1 box score

We never get to see a no-hitter, not even a fake one

Readers of Weisenheimer are no doubt familiar with our lament that my Sweetie, the official scorer, and I have never seen a no-hitter despite having seen hundreds of games together over the last 30 years. We didn't see one today, either, though we got closer than usual. 

There wasn't much suspense on the River Cat side, as the first batter of the game, former Rainier Braden Bishop got a single on the first pitch of the game from Tacoma starter Brian Schlitter. The Rainiers didn't get a hit until Taylor Trammell's leadoff double in the fourth. Neither team scored early in the "bullpen" game for both clubs, and it was 0-0 through four. The Rainiers finally broke through in the fifth. Wyatt Mathisen led off with a hit by pitch and, after two outs, Luis Liberato cracked a home run for a 2-0 lead.

Sacramento answered with a run in the top of the sixth. Bishop led off with a triple and scored on a fly ball to Trammell in deep center. Sacramento took the lead in the top of the seventh. Chadwick Tromp singled with one out. Pinch runner Arismeady Alcantara went to third on a double by Mitchell Tolman. Will Toffey's single plated Alcantara, and Tolman scored on a groundout. The Rainiers went out quietly in the bottom of the seventh.

Game 2 box score

My Sweetie, the Official Scorer, notes that even if one of the teams had not registered a base hit, it would not have been a no-hitter, as she doesn't recognize seven-inning games as real baseball.

Ballpark music

The Rainiers have been leaning on barbershop quartets for music, at least in recent games we have attended. The national anthem Sunday was performed by the Clef Jumpers, who also sang a couple of other barbershop standards during inning breaks. The previous Sunday the featured performers were the Four Tunes. They burned three of their tunes on the anthem and God Bless America, plus one barbershop classic, so they only have one song left in their repertoire.

Family ties

The River Cats have an infielder named Peter Maris, but we find no indication that he's related to former single-season home run record holder Roger Maris. Sacramento pitcher Yunior Marte does not appear to be related to any of several active players who share his surname. Outfielder Joe McCarthy is a brother of Jake, currently playing for Reno. Neither appears to be related to the long-time Yankees manager or the Red-baiting US Senator of the 1950s.

Salt Lake Bees 4, Tacoma Rainiers 0

Cheney Stadium on a lovely Sunday afternoon, July 18, 2021

My Sweetie, the Official Scorer and I have seen many hundreds of baseball games together over the last 30 years and have yet to see a no-hitter. We typically lament that "We never get to see a no-hitter" once both sides have put a safety up on the board. We didn't get to see a no-hitter yesterday at Cheney Stadium, either, but it was closer than we usually get as the Rainiers fell to the Salt Lake Bees 4-0.

Brian Johnson

Big Salt Lake southpaw Brian Johnson retired the first 13 batters he faced before Tacoma designated hitter Jantzen Witte grounded an eight-hopper up the middle. Bee shortstop Gavin Cecchini made a game attempt, but the ball tipped off the end of his glove. I was certain that My Sweetie, usually pretty strict about these things, would rule an error, but both she and the Rainiers official scorer credited Witte with a single. He was immediately erased when Tacoma catcher José Godoy grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, preserving the perfect game (which, under My Sweetie's rules, means facing the minimum regardless of how many runners reach.)

Meanwhile Tacoma lefty Ian McKinney was having a pretty decent outing himself, allowing just three hits in the first six innings while walking three and striking out 10 with some sneaky slow stuff and a fastball that touched 92 at times. We arrived at the seventh inning in a 0-0 tie.

Salt Lake third baseman Jake Gatewood led off against McKinney, worked a full count, fouled off a couple of two-strike pitches, and then blasted a long, majestic home run well over the wall in left center field and it was 1-0 Bees. When first baseman Preston Palmeiro hit a warning-track fly ball to right, Tacoma manager Kristopher Negron decided McKinney's day was done.

Daniel Zamora got the final two outs of the seventh with no trouble, but things fell apart in the eighth. After one out, Zamora walked Jo Adell and gave up a single to José Rojas. Vinny Nittoli was summoned from the pen and uncorked a wild pitch that moved the runners to second and third. A walk loaded the bases. Salt Lake catcher Anthony Bemboom lifted a sacrifice fly to right deep enough to advance all three runners, and Gatewood lined a single to plate the final two runners and end the scoring.

Johnson continued his excellent work. With the score 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh he allowed his second hit of the game, a leadoff dunker to center by Jake Hager. Taylor Trammell followed with a walk and the Rainier faithful stirred, hoping for a comeback. But José Marmolejos whiffed and Witte bounced into a 6-4-3 double play, and that was that. Johnson ended up pitching eight innings, allowing the two hits and one walk and striking out five. Tacoma got just four baserunners and bounced into two twin killings. They really didn't hit anything hard all afternoon.

Box score

Family ties

Preston Palmeiro is the son of former big-league slugger Rafael Palmeiro. Preston was a seventh-round draft pick of the Orioles in 2016 and bounced around their minor league system for several seasons. He signed as a free agent with the Angels organization this spring and his playing his first season at the Triple-A level. 

Tacoma Rainiers 7, Round Rock Express 6

A nice day for baseball in Tacoma!

My Sweetie, the Official Scorer, and I made it to Cheney Stadium in Tacoma last Sunday for our first in-person ballgame since August of 2019 and were treated to a Rainiers win. Tacoma jumped out to an early lead and then held on for a 7-6 victory over the Round Rock Express.

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.

Box score

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.