June 13 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers @ Round Rock Express
TACOMA RAINIERS (35-30) @ ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (33-31) Thursday, June 13 • 5:15 PM PT • Dell Diamond • Round Rock, TX RHP Michael Mariot (2-3, 6.86) vs. RHP Johnny Cueto (1-0, 6.06)
TACOMA RAINIERS (35-30) @ ROUND ROCK EXPRESS (33-31)
Thursday, June 13 • 5:15 PM PT • Dell Diamond • Round Rock, TX
RHP Michael Mariot (2-3, 6.86) vs. RHP Johnny Cueto (1-0, 6.06)
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Rainiers and Express are set to play game three tonight, with each team winning one of the first two games. Michael Mariot will take the ball for Tacoma, set to make his ninth start of the year and first since May 23 against Las Vegas. The right-hander is 2-3 with a 6.86 ERA through his first 11 games of the season, allowing 30 earned runs on 40 hits over 39.1 innings pitched. He has walked eight and struck out 35 over that span, as eight of the 40 hits he has allowed have left the yard. Opposite Mariot will be Johnny Cueto getting the nod for Round Rock, set to make his fifth start of the season. Cueto is 1-0 with a 6.06 ERA through his first four starts, allowing 11 earned runs on 19 hits and five walks over 16.1 innings pitched. He has fanned 15 batters, while opponents are hitting .288 against him. Tonight will mark his first-career start against Tacoma in his 28th-career Triple-A start.
NEED THE BIG HIT: Tacoma recorded just two runs on five hits last night, as not a single player recorded a multi-hit game. Six of the nine starters struck out at least once, with three of the six recording multi-strikeout games. The Rainiers applied pressure multiple times last night, but couldn’t come up with a big hit, going just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They stranded six men on-base in their one-run defeat.
APPLYING PRESSURE: Tacoma has led the league in base-stealing all season long, applying pressure to opposing defenses and pitchers with their speed. They stole six more bases last night, one shy of their single-game season-high seven back on May 5 at Sacramento. Jonatan Clase and Luis Urias each stole two bases, while Jason Vosler and Samad Taylor checked in with one. Tacoma has three active players in the top-10 amongst Pacific Coast League players in stolen bases, with Cade Marlowe leading the way with 31, Taylor in third with 21 and Clase in seventh with 17. Ryan Bliss, who has been with Seattle since May 27, is still in second with 28 stolen bases this year. The Rainiers have stolen 134 bases as a team entering play tonight, 44 more than the next closest team in the PCL (Albuquerque, 90), and 38 more than any other team in Triple-A (Toledo, 96).
MAKING AN IMPACT: Tacoma has added six pitchers to their roster over the last two days and have gotten great performances out of the first four to enter games. On Tuesday, in the Rainiers’ 8-4 victory, Matt Tabor and Jason Ruffcorn combined to throw four scoreless innings. It started with Tabor, who entered the fourth inning with no outs and the bases loaded, with Tacoma already trailing 4-3. He induced a pop fly and a double play to get out of the inning without allowing anymore damage, then worked around a walk with a strikeout to throw a scoreless fifth inning as well. Ruffcorn took over from there, allowing one hit while striking out one over his two innings of work, earning his first Triple-A victory in his debut at the level. Despite losing 3-2 last night, the Rainiers got more of the same from their new relievers, as Logan Gragg and Chris Jefferson didn’t allow a run over 3.1 combined innings. Gragg retired the last batter of the fifth inning and went on to throw two more scoreless innings, striking out one along the way. Jefferson then entered the game and walked one batter, but struck out two of the three he retired to get out of the inning with a zero. After a bullpen day on Tuesday and 3.1 more innings last night, Tacoma’s relievers have been taxed through the first two games of the series, but have held up well, allowing just seven runs as a team through two games.
GLOVE WORK: Tacoma played another error-free game last night, marking their fifth-straight game without an error. It is just the second time all year they have gone five straight games without an error defensively, tying a season high set back on May 18-23. Despite losing last night, this usually bodes well for the Rainiers, as they are 19-15 in games without an error this season.
NOT A STRANGER: Tonight will be Michael Mariot’s 15th game against Round Rock in his career, marking his third start. Mariot most recently faced the Express back in 2018, as a member of the Omaha Storm Chasers. He played them from 2013-15 and again in 2018, going 0-1 with four saves and a 2.39 ERA over that span. Tonight will be the right-handers’ first start since May 23 this year, when he spun 4.1 innings against Las Vegas. In that start, he allowed five earned runs on five hits and a season-high eight strikeouts. Since that game, he has pitched just two innings of relief, once on June 2 against Sacramento and once last Sunday at home against Reno.
AGAINST ROUND ROCK: Tacoma and Round Rock will play game three of their six-game series tonight, with the series now even at one game apiece. The Rainiers lead the all-time series by 14 games, at 55-41, despite going 4-11 last year against the Express. They will look to get back on the winning track tonight, with the chance to match their total wins from last year against Round Rock here at Dell Diamond.
SHORT HOPS: Last night’s loss moved Tacoma to just 1-5 in one-run road games; they are 6-8 overall in one-run games, going 5-3 in such games at home…the Rainiers are just 2-13 when their opponent scores first on the road, going 9-19 overall when the opposition touches home first…despite both striking out three times last night, Cade Marlowe (4) and Jake Slaughter (5) each extended their hitting streaks; for Slaughter, five games is his longest streak since joining the Rainiers.
Here are the weirdest plays and stats from MiLB in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Podcast features first-base promotions for Caglianone, Eldridge
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Cubs' Rojas, Mets' Tong headline May's Minor League Players of the Month
Minor League Baseball announced the Player and Pitcher of the Month Award winners for May in Major League Baseball’s player development system.
Minor League Baseball, Joe Torre Safe At Home partnership enters ninth year
For the ninth year, Minor League Baseball and Joe Torre Safe At Home have teamed up to raise awareness about violence and abuse and to inspire fans of all ages to join them in SAH’s critical work. This year, 63 MiLB teams will participate in an in-ballpark initiative from May
MiLB podcast discusses Anthony, Caglianone at Triple-A
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
These are the greatest Minor League promos happening in June
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
New playoff format coming to 2025 Dominican Summer League
Minor League Baseball announced the 2025 Dominican Summer League (DSL) season will begin June 2 with Opening Day festivities taking place at the Boston Red Sox Academy in Guerra. The 2025 campaign will also see the introduction of the DSL Cup, a new playoff format that will see 16 DSL
Debating best Minor League home caps on podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
The Omaha Storm Chasers' 'Take Meow-t' cat night included a Litter Box Sundae
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Boston's Triple-A affiliate throws birthday bash for Roman Anthony
With all the hype that has surrounded Roman Anthony over the past two seasons, it’s easy to forget how young he really is. MLB's No. 1 prospect played 70 games at the highest level of the Minors before he could order a beer. But he can now. Roman Anthony turned
Friendly foes, 2024 first-rounders Moore and Caglianone trade first Triple-A homers
For years, Christian Moore and Jac Caglianone laced up their cleats against one another in the SEC. A rivalry that spanned Florida, Tennessee and other landmarks across the South moved to Salt Lake City this week as the Royals and Angels' top prospects got simultaneous Triple-A promotions. So it was
Phillies' Moore, Fausnaught join MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's