Tacoma Falls To Las Vegas, 5-2
TACOMA, Wash. - The Tacoma Rainiers (74-55) were handed a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Las Vegas 51s (61-69) on Monday night at Cheney Stadium.
Rainiers starting pitcher Jarrett Grube struck out six batters over 6.0 innings of work while allowing three runs on seven hits. He surrendered one run while taking his fourth loss of the year with Tacoma.
Second baseman Mike Freeman notched the Rainiers only multi-hit performance, going 2-for-3 with one run and one walk.
Travis Taijeron lifted the 51s to a 2-0 lead with a two-out, two-run home run to left field in the top of the second inning - it was his 19th home run of the season.
Las Vegas notched another two-out run in the top of the sixth when Kevin Plawecki struck an RBI single that scored Eric Campbell, who had tripled to deep center field two batters earlier, making the score 3-0.
Michael Conforto took rehabbing Rainiers reliever Evan Scribner deep to right field for a solo home run to lead off the top of the eighth inning, pushing the 51s lead out to 4-0. The visitors tacked on their fifth and final run on a wild pitch that scored Kevin Plawecki from third.
The Rainiers avoided a shutout with a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth. The first three batters to the plate reached base, capped by an RBI single from designated hitter Dae-Ho Lee. Following two strikeouts looking, catcher Jesus Sucre poked an RBI single through the right side to score first baseman Dan Vogelbach, creating the final score of 5-2.
Scribner allowed two total runs on three hits over 1.2 innings of work - he walked one and struck out three. Kraig Sitton wrapped up the game for Tacoma, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings.
Tacoma and Las Vegas wrap up their series tomorrow, Tuesday, August 23. The Rainiers have yet to name a starting pitcher, while the 51s are slated to start left-hander Darin Gorski (4-3, 6.93). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PT.
All tickets, group outings and suites packages for the 2016 season are available for purchase in-person at the Cheney Stadium Box Office, online at www.tacomarainiers.com, or over the phone at (253) 752-7707. The most up-to-date news and notes about the Rainiers throughout the season can be found by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand) or liking the team on Facebook.