Tacoma breaks tie late after Davila dominates

Albuquerque, NM (5/17/23) – The Tacoma Rainiers (19-22) snapped a three-game skid on Wednesday evening, defeating the Albuquerque Isotopes (17-24) 3-2 with a superb pitching performance from a surprising newcomer, and a timely run in the eighth inning. A night after allowing 17 Isotopes runs on 21 hits (4 HR), the home side had only four hits on Wednesday, all singles.

Mason McCoy’s third home run of the season snuck over the left field wall and into the Albuquerque bullpen with nobody on and one out in the third inning, and Tacoma led 1-0. It was 2-0 in the fifth after Jack Larsen led off with a single, and Colin Moran doubled a batter later to the centerfield wall, plating Larsen all the way from first base. Moran’s 404-foot two-bagger was the evening’s furthest-traveling baseball.

The Isotopes tied it with a huge two-out knock in the home fifth, after the first two batters of the frame were retired. Hunter Stovall was hit by a pitch, stole second, and advanced to third on an error. Connor Kaiser then walked, and stole second. Yonathan Daza followed with a single up the middle just out of reach, scoring both runs.

In only his third career Triple-A start, Rainiers right-hander Nick Davila was electric for seven innings, despite the bad luck to end the fifth. Davila matched his career-long outing at any pro level (7.0 IP), and struck out a career-best eight for the third time. He scattered four hits and walked only two, and just one of the two runs against him was earned (94 pitches, 65 strikes).

Davila has not pitched fewer than 5.2 innings in three outings for Tacoma, after joining the club from Class A Modesto (California League) on May 5. While picking up his first Triple-A winning decision on Wednesday, he lowered his ERA at the level to 3.86, despite making two of three starts at hitter-friendly parks Salt Lake and ABQ (1.07 WHIP).

The Rainiers manufactured the winning tally in the eighth, beginning with Brian O’Keefe’s one-out walk. Mike Ford singled O’Keefe to third base, from where he scored on a Jake Scheiner sac fly. A Tacoma bullpen tandem of Riley O’Brien and Matt Festa did not allow a baserunner while pitching the eighth and ninth respectively; O’Brien struck out two, and Festa ended the game with a punchout to secure his sixth save in six chances (leads PCL).

The midpoint of this weeklong series will be on Thursday at Isotopes Park. Tacoma will send southpaw Tommy Milone to the mound, against fellow lefty and MLB vet Ty Blach for Albuquerque. First pitch is scheduled for 5:35 PT/6:35 MT.

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.