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 13, Albuquerque Isotopes 1

Tacoma starter Adrian Sampson pitched six innings of one-hit ball and the Rainiers scored four runs in the first and never looked back in a 13-1 rout of the Albuquerque Isotopes on a sunny afternoon Sunday at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.

Sampson, a local prospect who attended Skyline High School and Bellevue College and was a fifth-round draft pick by the Pirates in 2012, hit a batter, walked two, and struck out two while throwing 82 pitches during his start Sunday. We'd suggest that the Mariner organization ask its starters to work a little longer to avoid future gaffes such as the untimely removal of Felix Hernandez from his start against Oakland on Sunday.

Offensively the Rainiers got off to a quick start. Centerfielder Herschel Mack "Boog" Powell led off the game with a leg double to center, a hot grounder that skittered off the glove of Albuquerque second-sacker Joey Wong. Shortstop Chris Taylor followed with a walk, and designated hitter Efren Navarro singled to plate Powell and make it 1-0. After first baseman Stefen Romero bounced into a fielder's choice, catcher Mike Zunino singled to score Taylor. One out later third baseman Ed Lucas lined a double into the left field corner to score a pair and it was 4-0.

Tacoma scored two more on four singles in the second, Romero blasted a homer with Taylor aboard in the fourth, and the Rainiers completed their day's scoring with a five-spot in the fifth, helped along by a couple of Isotope miscues.

Tacoma won three of four in the series that opened the Pacific Coast League season.

Your bus ticket to Hartford is ready

Albuquerque starter Shane Carle heads for the showers after
getting the hook in the fifth inning against Tacoma Sunday,
while his mates discuss how they plan to come back from a
10-0 deficit. They didn't; the Rainiers won 13-1. Photo:
Greg Scheiderer.

Albuquerque starter Shane Carle, a former tenth-round draft pick out of Long Beach State, served up the tasty meal of meatballs for Tacoma hitters. Carle's line: 12 runs, 11 earned, on 12 hits in four-plus innings. He struck out three, walked three, and hit a batter. For his next start they'll list his ERA as 24.75 and opponents' batting average against him as a robust .522. Isotope manager Glenallen Hill was probably correct, if somewhat tardy, in removing his starter with no outs in the fifth. Carle was a respectable 14-7 with an ERA of 3.48 for AA New Britain last year. He may be headed back to AA if he doesn't get his ERA down below two dozen.

Every Tacoma starter had at least one hit, Powell leading the way with three hits and three runs scored. Romero had two hits and four RBI, and Taylor and right fielder Daniel Robertson had two hits each. Lucas was kept busy at the hot corner, logging six assists on the afternoon. Zunino was robbed of an RBI and saddled with an extra at-bat thanks to some poor baserunning in the second inning. He hit a booming fly ball to center with runners at the corners and one out. Taylor tagged at third and trotted plateward, expecting to score easily. However Romero inexplicably tagged at first and headed to second, where he was thrown out by Albuquerque center fielder Michael Tauchman and tagged before Taylor touched home.

Box score.

In search of perfection

My sweetie, the official scorer, and I have seen probably hundreds of games together by now and have never witnessed a no-hitter. We remind ourselves of this each game. At brunch at Mioposto Pizzeria before heading to Tacoma Sunday, our server, Mariel, noted us clad in our baseball jerseys (Sweetie wearing Edgar Martinez/M's, Greg wearing Rogers Hornsby/'51 Rainiers) and correctly deduced we were headed to a ballgame. Mariel said she'd only been to one game ever: Felix Hernandez's perfect game in 2012. Dammit.

Is something Wong?

Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong has a brother in the minors, but is not, so near as we can tell, related to Albuquerque's Joey Wong. Still, we think St. Louis should trade their ace starter to the Rockies for Joey just to find out if two Wongs make a Wainwright.

Tacoma Rainiers 2, El Paso Chihuahuas 0

Justin Germano pitched a complete-game, seven-hit shutout and Patrick Kivlehan hit a two-run homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth as the Tacoma Rainiers defeated El Paso 2-0 June 28 at Cheney Stadium. The game was certified as a dandy by my Sweetie, the official scorer, as it featured fewer than five runs scored total, a victory margin of less than three, and no errors.

Justin Germano

Germano was masterful, if not overpowering, in going the distance on a warm but cloudy summer afternoon. He struck out five and did not walk a soul. The one weakness in his game was the leadoff double, which he surrendered in three different innings, but only once were the Chihuahuas able to advance the runner beyond the keystone sack, and that was in the sixth inning when they squandered what turned out to be their best chance to score against Germano.

El Paso second sacker Rocky Gale led off the top of the sixth with a two-bagger against Germano and moved to third on Abraham Almonte's fly ball to center field. That brought up Chihuahua shortstop Mike McCoy, who lofted a fly ball to Kivlehan in medium-deep left field. Gale tagged and headed for the plate; Kivlehan's throw was high, and Tacoma backstop John Hicks had to go up the ladder a bit to get it. Gale, however, inexplicably decided not to slide, and Hicks tagged him for the final out of the frame as he attempted to cross the dish standing. The score remained tied at 0-0.

Jason Lane, a former big-league outfielder now trying to stick as a pitcher at age 38, was the hard-luck starter for El Paso. The southpaw Lane went 7 2/3 innings and allowed no runs on seven hits, struck out two and walked just one. Tacoma's only real threat in the first seven innings came in the fifth, when Kivlehan and Zach Shank, a second baseman recently called up from Double-A Jackson after an injury to Leury Bonilla, stroked back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with two out. Rainier shortstop Chris Taylor grounded to short to end the inning.

Tacoma chased Lane in the bottom of the eighth. Taylor singled with one out and, after a flyout by Shawn "Oh, Really? No" O'Malley, Rainier first baseman Jesus Montero grounded a single through the hole at short. That brought up Justin Ruggiano, Tacoma designated hitter who, in an apparent message to Mariner management about his recent demotion from the big club, had hit three home runs and driven home seven the night before. El Paso manager Jamie Quirk came out with the hook and brought in righty Jerry Sullivan to face Ruggiano. The strategy worked for the moment, as Ruggiano whiffed.

The Chihuahuas put Germano into a little hot water in the ninth. Gale led off with an infield single, as Taylor and O'Malley nearly collided as they tried to field his chopper; Taylor grabbed it, but his throw to first was late. Gale moved to second on a groundout by Almonte, who wasn't able to get down a good bunt. McCoy then dunked one into shallow center for a base hit that put runners on the corners with one out.

Patrick Kivlehan receives congrats from
Tacoma manager Pat Listach as he
rounds third base following his game-
winning home run in the ninth inning
against El Paso Sunday. Photo: Greg
Scheiderer.

That brought Tacoma manager Pat Listach to the mound, causing Weisenheimer and my Sweetie, the official scorer to lament, as we often do, about the lack of complete games in baseball these days. But it appeared that the main reason Listach went to the hill was to give home plate umpire Jeff Morrow an earful about a non-strike call during McCoy's at-bat, which both Germano and Hicks had also done with considerable emphasis moments before.

Listach left Germano in there. The next batter, El Paso center fielder Jake Goebbert, dunked a Texas-Leaguer toward left on which Taylor made a fine, over-the-shoulder catch for the second out. Left fielder Alex Dickerson then flied out to left to end the frame.

In the bottom of the ninth against Sullivan Rainier center fielder Leon Landry singled with one out. Hicks then hit into a 5-4 force, and Kivlehan drilled one over the fence in right for the game-winning homer, his 14th round tripper of the season.

Box score.

Germano loves Weisenheimer and Sweetie

This was the second game we have seen Germano pitch this season, and he's been outstanding in both. Back on May 17 he pitched six shutout innings in a 4-0 win over Las Vegas. Overall this season he is 7-3 and Sunday's shutout lowered his ERA to 2.83. Germano has given up no runs or walks in 15 innings when we're present this year. We suggest that the Rainiers pay our way to all Germano starts, home and away.

Dog day afternoon

The game was played on dog day, apparently known as K-9 innings, which seems a ridiculous idea even if the opponents are named the Chihuahuas. The pup sitting in our row, just behind the statue of Ben Cheney in section K, was reasonably well behaved, only growling two or three times at other passing canine spectators whose looks he, for whatever reason, did not like. Remind us to be absent the next time Fresno is in town, in case it's Grizzly Bear night. I wonder if, the next time the Albuquerque Isotopes visit Tacoma, the first five thousand fans through the gates will receive a pound of pure plutonium.

Work, work, work

Goebbert, the El Paso center fielder, made eight putouts, including five in a row in the sixth and seventh innings.

Orel exam

We noticed the name Jordan Hershiser on the El Paso roster and, sure enough, his pop is former Dodger hurler Orel Hershiser. Jordan didn't play Sunday, but on Saturday night, in his second career appearance in a game above A-ball, he surrendered the third of Ruggiano's home runs.

Tacoma Rainiers 4, Albuquerque Isotopes 1

Forrest Snow pitched seven innings of one-hit ball and Shawn "Oh, Really? No" O'Malley hit a two-run homer as the Tacoma Rainiers beat the Albuquerque Isotopes 4-1 June 14 at Cheney Stadium on a simply gorgeous sunny Sunday afternoon.

A gorgeous day at Cheney Stadium as the Rainiers defeated
Albuquerque 4-1. Photo: Greg Scheiderer.

My Sweetie, the official scorer, and I have never seen a no-hitter, and we always point that out to each other once each side has a safety in a game. Today's contest was as close as we've come, but it wasn't that close. Albuquerque's lone hit of the day was an emphatic one, a booming, 410-foot leadoff triple to left center in the top of the second by Isotope center fielder Drew Stubbs. Snow, who is a tall drink of water out on the mound at 6'6", did his best to strand Stubbs. He got Albuquerque catcher Dustin Gameau to squib one right in front of home plate, and Tacoma backstop Steve Baron pounced on it and fired to first to retire Gameau for the first out, with Stubbs holding. The next batter, second-sacker Angelys Nina, hit a fly ball to fairly shallow center field. Stubbs tagged and scored as Leon Landry's throw was weak and off line.

Tacoma took the lead for good in the bottom of the third when shortstop Chris Taylor hit a one-out single off Isotope starter Yohan Flande, and O'Malley followed with his third home run of the season, a no-doubt blast over the fence in left center. The Rainiers added single runs in the sixth and eighth. They could have had more, especially in the sixth, when they had the sacks full and one run already in with no outs, but three straight shallow fly balls didn't advance a soul.

Forrest Snow.

Snow was a little wild, as he walked four and struck out three in seven innings of work, leaving after throwing 98 pitches, 57 for strikes. He evened his record at 4-4 and lowered his earned run average to 2.43. Edgar Olmos closed it out for Tacoma, retiring Albuquerque in order in the eighth and ninth, striking out three of the six batters he faced and notching his first save of the year. Tacoma piled up 13 hits, with three from Carlos Rivero and two each from Taylor, O'Malley, and Landry. Taylor, recently banished to Tacoma after a short stint with the big club, was robbed of a third hit when his leadoff screamer in the seventh was snared on a leaping grab by first-sacker Matt McBride. Baron was the only Rainier without a knock. Tacoma somewhat limited its scoring chances by hitting into two double plays and having two runners thrown out stealing; squandering baserunners seems to be an organizational imperative at all levels.

Marte out

It was disappointing not to see top prospect Ketel Marte. The shortstop broke his thumb June 1 and will be out for at least four more weeks. He's hitting .343.

Montero makes the play

Jesus Montero will probably never make anyone forget John Olerud defensively down at first base, but he made a couple of nice plays Sunday. His diving stop of a hot grounder by Albuquerque right fielder Roger Bernadina turned what looked like a base hit into a 3-1 out. In the fourth Montero made a nice pick when Taylor fielded Gameau's grounder deep in the hole at short, whirled, and fired a short-hopper to first.

No free parking

We were a bit surprised to be charged $10 for parking at Cheney Stadium Sunday. It has been $5 since we can remember. It may be the first parking hike there since 1967. Nevertheless, a 100-percent bump is a little surprising. Our car needs washing, badly, and for that price they could have done a little detailing!

Box score

Tacoma Rainiers 4, Las Vegas 51s 0

Justin Germano pitched six innings of six-hit shutout ball, top Mariner prospect Ketel Marte hit his first home run of the season, and the Tacoma Rainiers blanked the Las Vegas 51s 4-0 Sunday in Tacoma.

Germano was fantastic in his six frames, never allowing a baserunner past second. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. A few balls were hit hard against him, particularly a leadoff double by Alex Castellanos in the fourth, but several of the six hits he allowed were seeing-eye grounders.

Justin Germano delivers a pitch against Las Vegas Sunday in
Tacoma. Germano pitched six shutout innings in the Rainers'
4-0 victory over the 51s. Photo: Greg Scheiderer.

Las Vegas' best chance for a rally came in the sixth, when T.J. Rivera and Matt Reynolds opened the inning with back-to-back singles, but they didn't move from first and second. Germano got Castellanos and Brandon Allen to fly out to shallow right, then fanned Travis Taijeron to end the inning and his day's work after 94 pitches. He improved his record to 3-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.46 over four starts and 10 total appearances.

Lucas Luetge pitched two perfect innings in relief and Mayckol Guaipe set down the 51s 1-2-3 in the ninth as the Rainiers retired the final 12 Las Vegas batters to come to the plate.

The Rainiers got all the runs they needed in the second when Patrick Kivlehan doubled with two out and, following a walk to Leon Landry, scored on a single by Shawn "Oh, really? No" O'Malley. Marte hit his first home run of the season, a line shot over the fence in right, with one out in the third. Tacoma tacked on two more in the seventh on only one hit, helped along by three walks and an error.

Marte, the Rainier shortstop, also walked and drove in a run on a groundout. He is batting .349 and has eight doubles and a triple to go with his home run and has stolen 13 bases in 16 tries. The 21-year-old switch hitter has some tools. We're anxious to see him called up, if only so the Mariners can open a new concession brand: Ketel Corn.

We were anxious to see the skinny version of Jesus Montero, who didn't play in the first game we attended at Tacoma last month. Montero was a feeble 0-for-4 Sunday with a whiff, a popup, and two groundouts, but is hitting .324 with four home runs on the campaign. He looks in great shape, though he's still the slowest runner we've seen since Edgar Martinez, or maybe even Alvin Davis.

O'Malley went 3-for-4 with a run, an RBI, and a steal, and was the only Rainier to log more than one hit.

Box score.