So extra:  Rainiers pound 10 XBH in consecutive game

Reno, NV (7/7/23) – The Tacoma Rainiers (43-42, 6-4) won a third straight road game for the first time this season on Friday night, scoring the final eight runs of a 9-4 victory over the Reno Aces (48-37, 4-6). Of Tacoma’s 11 hits, the last 10 went for extra bases (3 HR), equaling a season-high for XBH they set a day earlier in Thursday’s 17-5 drubbing of the Aces. The Rainiers are 12-10 vs. Reno this season, with two games remaining against their division rival in 2023.

The clubs traded solo shots in the early innings. Diego Castillo’s second homer of the season, to left field, made for Reno’s first run in the first. Mason McCoy tied it with his 10^th in the visiting third, a Statcast-measured 448 feet to straightaway centerfield, and the evening’s furthest-traveling baseball by 27 feet.

Reno, a club not known for its power, with the fewest home runs in the PCL, socked their way to a 4-1 lead with two more longballs. Tristin English lofted his eighth out to right in the fourth, with Phillip Evans on base (single). Castillo’s second of the game was a solo blast to center in the fifth.

Tacoma cut into the lead in the sixth after Didi Gregorius led off with a double. A batter later, Jake Scheiner homered, doinking an opposite-field liner off the foul pole in right. It was Scheiner’s 22^nd home run, a new career-high in only game #76 of his Triple-A debut season. Scheiner hit 21 last season at Double-A Arkansas, over 127 games.

Aces southpaw starter Blake Walston exited after 5.0+ innings, following the tough start to the sixth. He threw 96 pitches (61 strikes), allowing three earned runs on six hits. He walked three, and also struck out three.

The Rainiers rallied for five runs in the eighth with the aid of five Reno walks, taking their first lead and then some. Run-scoring doubles by Brian O’Keefe and Sam Haggerty (2 RBI) were the only two hits of the frame; Gregorius drew a bases loaded walk and Haggerty scored on a wild pitch for tallies four and five, and an 8-4 advantage. Haggerty’s night ended with three doubles, O’Keefe had a pair of two-baggers. Haggerty has a hit in seven consecutive games, a season-high since being optioned to Tacoma. O’Keefe extended his season-best hit streak to 10 games; he had previously hit safely in his first nine games of this season.

Rainiers RHP Darren McCaughan narrowly missed an official quality start, but logged the longest outing this season for Tacoma, throwing exactly 100 pitches over 7.2 IP (67 strikes). McCaughan also had Tacoma’s previous long outing, 7.1 IP on June 10. He scattered seven hits and struck out four; the four runs against him were earned and he was lifted following his lone walk, with two down in the eighth. Righty Ryder Ryan pitched the final inning and a third in McCaughan’s stead (1 H, 0 R).

Adam Engel’s solo shot to left field in the ninth, his fifth homer with Tacoma, was the final scoring play.

The penultimate game of this weeklong series is scheduled for Saturday at 6:35 PT at Greater Nevada Field. RHP Jose Rodriguez (Tacoma) and RHP Slade Cecconi (Reno) are the probable starting pitchers. The contest will also be the second-to-last for each club before the All-Star Break (July 10-13).

Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto will have full coverage on TacomaRainiers.com. All 2023 Rainiers games, home and away, can also be heard for free on the MiLB First Pitch app. HD video broadcasts of every home game can be viewed with a MiLB.TV subscription.

About the Tacoma Rainiers

The Tacoma Rainiers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The Rainiers are a member of the Pacific Coast League and have been a Mariners affiliate since establishing the Rainiers moniker in 1995.

The most up-to-date news and notes about the Tacoma Rainiers and Cheney Stadium can be found by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand), Instagram (@tacomarainiers) and liking the team on Facebook.