May 15 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers vs. Salt Lake Bees

TACOMA RAINIERS (22-18) vs. SALT LAKE BEES (16-23)
Wednesday, May 15 • 6:05 PM • Cheney Stadium • Tacoma, WA
RHP Collin Snider (0-0, 3.38) vs. RHP Travis MacGregor (0-1, 3.10)

TONIGHT’S GAME: Tacoma and Salt Lake will play game two of their six-game series tonight, with two relievers getting the starting nod. For Tacoma, Collin Snider will take the ball, set to make the 11th start of his minor league career. The right-hander has pitched in 191 career minor league games and will be making his first start since Sept. 8, 2023, with Kansas City. Snider spun 2.0 scoreless innings in that outing, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out a batter. In seven games with Tacoma this year, the 28-year-old is 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out 12 in 8.0 innings pitched. Opposite Snider will be Travis MacGregor getting the start for the Bees, as their projected starter, Daniel Davis, was a late scratch. MacGregor will be making his first start of the season as well, pitching in 11 relief efforts for Salt Lake so far this year. The righty is 0-1 with a 3.10 ERA over that span, allowing seven earned runs on 16 hits including 10 home runs. He has walked nine while striking out 18 over his 20.1 innings. In two games against Tacoma this year, MacGregor has allowed two earned runs on two hits including a home run, walking three compared to one strikeout over 3.2 innings.

FIRST OF THE YEAR: Ryan Bliss is not in the starting lineup for Tacoma tonight, marking the first game all year in which he has had the night off. Bliss has played in all 40 games for Tacoma this year, leading the team in runs scored (28), doubles (7), triples (3), runs batted in (26), walks (32) and stolen bases (21). The middle infielder has made 19 starts at second base and 21 at shortstop this season and has never hit below fourth in the Rainiers’ lineup.

GOING BACK-TO-BACK: Tacoma’s win last night gave them back-to-back victories after taking the series finale in Reno on Sunday. It marked the first time the Rainiers have won back-to-back games since taking three in a row to end the El Paso series back on April 26-28. Prior to that, they hadn’t gone back-to-back since winning three straight from April 14-17.

JOINING THE ROSTER: Jake Slaughter will make his Rainiers debut tonight after being traded from the Iowa Cubs on May 14. The infielder spent last season with the I-Cubs, batting a .243 average in 2023 and a .279 in the 2024 season. Last season, Slaughter racked up 90 hits in 104 games, and batted in 77 runs. So far this season, he has already collected 33 hits, and will look to add to this in Tacoma. Tonight, Slaughter will play second base and bat fifth in the order against Salt Lake.

OUT OF RELIEF: Tonight’s scheduled starter, Levi Stoudt, will come out of relief for the first time this season. He will follow Collin Snider for the Rainiers, who is opening the game tonight. Stoudt has started all seven of his games so far this season, going 2-3 with a 5.46 ERA. He has allowed 19 earned runs on 35 hits including five home runs, walking 19 batters compared to 21 strikeouts over his 31.1 innings pitched. His lone start against Salt Lake back on April 5 was maybe his best of the year, tossing a season-high 5.1 scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out a season-high seven batters.

HOME SWEET HOME: Tacoma played their first of 12 straight home games last night after a season-long 12-game road trip. They beat the Salt Lake Bees, improving their home record to 12-4 through their first 16 games at Cheney Stadium. The win made it four in a row at home for Tacoma, dating back to game two of their doubleheader on April 26 against El Paso.

QUALITY DEBUT: Last night’s starter for the Rainiers, Emerson Hancock, made his Triple-A debut at Cheney Stadium. Through his 6.0 innings pitched, Hancock allowed no runs, four hits, four walks, and struck out two Salt Lake batters, earning the win for last night’s game. The 24-year-old began the year with Seattle, filling the fifth starter role in place of the injured Bryan Woo. The former first-round draft pick of Seattle skipped Tacoma on his way to his Major League debut last season, getting his contract selected on Aug. 9 from Double-A Arkansas.

AGAINST SALT LAKE: Tacoma and Salt Lake will meet for game two of their six-game set tonight, with the Rainiers leading the series 1-0 and the season series 5-2. The two teams played a six-game set back from April 2-7 at Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City, a series in which Tacoma took four-of-six from the Bees. They enter tonight’s game with a 5-2 record this year against Salt Lake and a 394-379-1 all-time record against the Bees.

SHORT HOPS: In last night’s win against the Bees, third baseman Michael Chavis extended his hitting streak to 8 games with his double in the third inning. Chavis is batting a .394 average over his last 8 games, with 13 hits (3 doubles), 8 runs, and 5 RBIs. Increasing his season batting average to .310, the twenty-eight-year-old will look to extend his hitting streak as the designated hitter in tonight’s matchup against Salt Lake.