Rainiers left on stand-by in 6-2 loss to Aviators

Tacoma, WA (5/27/22) –The Tacoma Rainiers (16-30) fell short against the Las Vegas Aviators (25-21) on Friday night at Cheney Stadium, by a 6-2 final score. Tacoma has dropped three in a row to Las Vegas, and trails the series three games to one with two to play.

LHP Justus Sheffield retired the first two Aviators batters of the game (5-3, K), but the next four would tally two singles (Langeliers, Davidson) and a pair of doubles (Garcia, Bride). Both doubles drove in runs; Dermis Garcia collected his 12th RBI of the season and Jonah Bride notched his third and fourth RBI in only his third Triple-A game.

In the bottom of the first, leading off the inning for the Rainiers, Jarred Kelenic hit his second career triple with Tacoma. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Erick Mejia (26th RBI) which got Tacoma on the board, yet still trailing, 3-1.

Rainiers right fielder Marcus Wilson hit his second triple of 2022 in the bottom of the second. Two triples tied a club season-high for a single game, equaling May 3 at Salt Lake.

In his second at-bat of the night, Kelenic hit a 108 MPH laser beam that left the ballpark for a solo home run (2) in the bottom of the third inning, cutting the Las Vegas lead to a run.

Las Vegas loaded the bases in the fourth inning against Sheffield; Drew Jackson worked a full-count walk to extend the Aviators lead to 4-2.

The Aviators would increase their lead to 5-2 in the top of the fifth, scoring on a wild pitch.

After a scoreless outing from RHP Asher Wojciechowski (1 IP, 0 H, 1 K), LHP Fernando Abad entered the game in the eighth. With two out, Garcia hit a solo homer (5) for his third hit of the night, giving Las Vegas a 6-2 lead which would be the final.

Following his two extra-base hits (3B, HR) Kelenic had two more singles, one to centerfield and the other to left, concluding his perfect evening at the plate (4-for-4).

The penultimate game of this weeklong series will be on Saturday at Cheney Stadium, a 5:05 p.m. PT first pitch. Right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon (4-2, 4.74) will start for Tacoma, against Las Vegas RHP Parker Dunshee.

Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto will have full coverage on TacomaRainiers.com. All 2022 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 at WeRTacoma.com, or by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand), Instagram (@tacomarainiers) and liking the team on Facebook.