April 18 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers @ Las Vegas Aviators

TACOMA RAINIERS (13-4) @ Las Vegas Aviators (5-11)
Thursday, April 18 • 7:05 PM • Las Vegas Ballpark • Las Vegas, NV
LHP Dallas Keuchel (2-0, 0.90) vs. RHP Joey Estes (0-2, 8.78)

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Rainiers and Aviators will play game three of their six-game series tonight, with Tacoma currently leading the series 2-0. Tacoma will send veteran lefty Dallas Keuchel to the mound, set to make his third start of the year. Keuchel comes into tonight’s game with a 2-0 record and a 0.90 ERA through his first two starts of the year, blanking Salt Lake on April 7 and allowing just one run on April 12 against Reno. Opposite of Keuchel will be right-hander Joey Estes taking the ball for Las Vegas, still in search of his first win of the year. Estes comes into tonight’s game with an 0-2 record and an 8.38 ERA, allowing 13 earned runs on 17 hits including seven home runs. He has walked four batters while striking out 13 over his 13.1 innings pitched, allowing opponents to hit .304 against him.

ON FIRE: After scoring eight runs on 16 hits last night, Tacoma has now scored 35 runs on 46 hits over their last three games. Entering Sunday’s series finale against Reno, the Rainiers were tied for ninth in the Pacific Coast League in team batting average, at .236. They were eighth in runs (76) and ninth in hits (102). Since scoring 13 runs on 16 hits in Sunday’s game, 14 runs on 14 hits in Tuesday’s game against Las Vegas and eight runs on 16 hits in last night’s win, they have rocketed up those respective rankings. They now rank fourth in team batting average, at .269, up 39 points in three days. They are second in runs scored with 111 and fifth in hits with 148.

TWO DIFFERENT OUTCOMES: Tonight’s starter, Dallas Keuchel, has faced Las Vegas twice in his long career. The southpaw pitched as Las Vegas back on Aug. 4, 2011, allowing 11 earned runs on 12 hits including a home run and two walks over just 3.1 innings. In his only other outing against Las Vegas on May 9, 2012, Keuchel tossed 7.1 scoreless innings, allowing four hits while striking out five. The 36-year-old will look to repeat his most recent performance and earn his first win at Las Vegas. In his two outings for Tacoma this year, Keuchel has allowed just one earned run on five hits and two walks, striking out seven over his 10.0 innings. He enters play tonight with a 2-0 record and a 0.90 ERA, limiting opponents to a .147 batting average against him.

FAMILIAR TERRITORY: Tacoma’s victory over Las Vegas last night gave them three straight wins in a row dating back to their series finale against Reno back on April 14. With a win tonight, the Rainiers could tie their season-long four-game winning streak for the third time already this season. Dating back to April 3, Tacoma has won 11 of their last 13 games, with a loss splitting up each of their previous four-game winning streaks.
A PERFECT DAY: One of Tacoma’s roster moves yesterday was Sam Haggerty getting activated from his major league rehab stint and optioned back to Tacoma to be on the Rainiers’ active roster. Haggerty responded to getting optioned with a perfect 4-for-4 game at the plate, scoring a run, driving in a run and taking a free pass. Between his rehab and first game active last night, Haggerty has now played seven games for Tacoma and is hitting a team-high .400 (10-for-25) over that span. The switch hitter has scored three runs, hit a double, driven in one run and walked four times compared to six strikeouts. His four walks and 10 hits in 29 plate appearances gives him an on-base percentage of .483 which also leads the Rainiers’ roster.

A PERFECT DAY: One of Tacoma’s roster moves yesterday was Sam Haggerty getting activated from his major league rehab stint and optioned back to Tacoma to be on the Rainiers’ active roster. Haggerty responded to getting optioned with a perfect 4-for-4 game at the plate, scoring a run, driving in a run and taking a free pass. Between his rehab and first game active last night, Haggerty has now played seven games for Tacoma and is hitting a team-high .400 (10-for-25) over that span. The switch hitter has scored three runs, hit a double, driven in one run and walked four times compared to six strikeouts. His four walks and 10 hits in 29 plate appearances gives him an on-base percentage of .483 which also leads the Rainiers’ roster.

HELLO, OLD FRIENDS: Kirby Snead took the mound in the seventh inning of last night’s game with Tacoma clinging on to a one-run lead. Snead did what he has done all season for the Rainiers, keeping Las Vegas off the board. The southpaw spun 2.0 perfect innings, striking out three of the six batters he faced, throwing 12 of his 17 pitches for strikes. His two scoreless frames kept his ERA at 0.00 in his seven games with Tacoma this year. He has allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out 10 over his 7.2 innings for the Rainiers. Last night was also his first time facing his former team, as Snead pitched in 34 games for the Aviators over the past two seasons.

AGAINST LAS VEGAS: Tacoma will go for their fourth straight win and third against Las Vegas, as the two teams get set to play game three of their six-game series. Their current six-game series will be the only time the two teams play at Las Vegas Ballpark this year, where the Rainiers were just 2-4 last season. Tacoma enters play tonight leading the all-time series by seven games over Las Vegas, at 305-298.

SHORT HOPS: Blake Hunt went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two doubles and an RBI last night, marking his third-career three-hit game at the Triple-A level; his last three-hit contest in Triple-A came on July 26 last season with Durham, a game in which he also recorded two doubles…Michael Chavis recorded his fourth consecutive multi-hit game last night, going 9-for-17 with eight runs scored, three home runs and six RBI over his last four games…Dallas Keuchel enters play tonight with an even 31-31 record in 101 career minor league games…Ryan Bliss got caught stealing for the first time last night, making him 11-for-12 this year, falling one behind teammate Cade Marlowe, who is 12-for-14…a win tonight would give Tacoma more wins (3) at Las Vegas Ballpark than they had all of last year, as they went 2-4 on the road against the Aviators.