Rainiers outlast the Cats, hit back-to-back jacks (Mejia & Wilson) in 6-5 win

Tacoma, WA (6/16/22) – The Tacoma Rainiers (26-36) outlasted the Sacramento River Cats (24-39) Thursday night at Cheney Stadium by a 6-5 final. Tacoma has now beaten Sacramento six of seven and are 7-2 against the River Cats this season.

Starting off the ballgame, Sacramento would score before the Rainiers for the first time in the series. A double for Heliot Ramos paired with a Donovan Walton walk led to Jason Vosler scoring Ramos from second base with a single in the top of the first inning.

In the bottom of the first Tacoma would respond with a pair of runs; Tacoma has now scored in the first inning in five of their last six games. The first three Rainiers loaded the bases against RHP Anthony DeSclafani (MLB rehab). With none out, Kevin Padlo singled to left scoring Forrest Wall (single) and Justin Upton (BB) for a 2-1 lead.

The Rainiers bats would continue to cause problems in the second. Alex Blandino started the inning with a walk, the third issued by River Cat starter DeSclafani. Mason McCoy and Wall both bunted base hits in consecutive at-bats. Wall’s bunt would result in a run scoring on a throwing error by the River Cat pitcher. The second Rainiers run of the inning (McCoy) would score on an Upton sacrifice fly, boosting the R’s lead 4-1.

RHP Konner Wade continued the trend of excellent Tacoma starting pitching during this series. Wade allowed a run in the opening frame, but shut the door for the next four innings. Wade allowed one hit over those four innings and would finish his outing retiring the final 10 batters he faced. (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.)

Tacoma got to Sacramento pitching again with two out in the fifth. Switch-hitter Erick Mejia smashed his eighth homer of the season (solo) and his sixth from the left side of the plate. Immediately following Mejia, Marcus Wilson collected his team-leading 12th homer of the year, putting the Rainiers well out in front 6-1. Wilson has now homered in four of his last five games dating to June 10 and the beginning of this homestand. It was the fifth time Tacoma has hit back-to-back home runs this season, and the second time either Mejia or Wilson were involved.

In the top of the sixth, Sacramento tallied three runs on a single with the bases loaded, a walk and a balk to tighten up the score, 6-4.

Sacramento added another run in the top of the eighth on a solo homer from Michael Papierski (3), giving him two RBI on the night. His home run would be the final tally on Thursday.

Matt Brash extended his scoreless streak to 10 appearances and recorded his second save in as many opportunities. He’s thrown 10.0 IP without allowing a run, surrendering only five hits with 16 strikeouts (2 BB) in that time. Brash sat the River Cats down in order in the ninth, striking out the first two and ending it with a groundout, on only 13 total pitches (nine strikes).

The Rainiers will continue this six-game series Friday, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. PT at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma is 5-1 on this nine-game homestand.

All 2022 Rainiers games, home and away, can be heard for free on the MiLB First Pitch app. HD video broadcasts of every 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.