Surging Rainiers beat Round Rock 4-1, improve to 13-7 in September

Tacoma, WA (9/23/22) – With five games remaining in the Triple-A season, the Tacoma Rainiers (71-74) still have a shot at .500, after dispatching the Round Rock Express (76-69) by a 4-1 final on Friday night at Cheney Stadium. The Rainiers have won three straight and lead the series 3-1, with only two games remaining on their final homestand of 2022.

A scoreless contest into the third inning, Mason McCoy singled with two out, and a batter later Cade Marlowe parked his third home run of the series to right field, his 23rd homer overall this season. Marlowe has now homered in three consecutive games and has reached base in seven straight with the Rainiers, after hitting 20 jacks with Double-A Arkansas this year.

Still leading 2-0 in the sixth, Drew Ellis smacked a solo homer to left, his 15th of this campaign with Tacoma. The red hot Ellis has hit safely in each of his last seven games, with five homers; he’s batting .448 in that span (13-for-29) with 10 runs driven in.

Tacoma starter Roenis Elias was electric over six shutout innings. The left-hander did not walk a batter and allowed only two base hits. Elias struck out seven to snag a winning decision. Round Rock RHP Spencer Howard worked five full innings on a rehab assignment (Texas Rangers): 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. Howard pitched innings two through six.

The Rainiers padded their lead in the seventh after Zach Green led off with a double that rolled to the wall in left field. Josh Morgan and Derek Hill (RBI) followed with singles to score Green.

The Express halted the shutout in the eighth; Ryan Dorow led off with a single and scored with the aid of an error, fielder’s choice and a Meibrys Viloria RBI groundout. Tacoma’s lead was reduced to 4-1, but the visiting run would be the last of the evening.

Southpaw Nick Ramirez struck out the side in order in the ninth, nailing down his PCL-leading 15th save.

The penultimate game of this weeklong series will be on Saturday, a 5:05 p.m. PT first pitch at Cheney Stadium. Lefty Austin Warner is scheduled to start for Tacoma, opposite Round Rock right-hander Tyson Miller.

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 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.