Tagged: Jeff Clement
Seddon and Saunders KO Beavs
If there were one question that could
characterize tonight’s 5-3 Tacoma Rainiers win over the Portland Beavers, it
would be: What right hamstring?
In his first game back from the
disabled list, left fielder Michael Saunders proved that his sore right hammy
wasn’t so sore anymore, crushing a towering three-run home run in his first
at-bat with a clean bill of health, providing what proved to be the decisive
blow against pesky Portland.
The Rainiers middle infield staked lefty
starter Chris Seddon to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, and they did
it the hard way. With two outs and two on, shortstop Oswaldo Navarro and second
baseman Callix Crabbe took back-to-back doses from Beavers starter Matt
Buschmann, forcing in Tacoma’s first run of the game.
Seddon–who struck out seven Portland
hitters in 5.1 innings of work–gave up the tying run in the top of the next
inning on a solo shot by second baseman Matt Antonelli, but the tie was short lived, as the
Rainiers (41-46) came thundering back in the bottom half of the frame. With two
outs and two men on, hot-hitting catcher Adam Moore bounced a gound ball single
up the middle to drive in designated hitter Jeff Clement, reclaiming the lead
for Tacoma.
With men on first and third, Saunders
crushed the fifth pitch he saw from Buschmann high over the Funky Monkey sign
in right center field to put the Rainiers up 5-1.
Seddon took over from there, holding
Portland (42-46) scoreless through the next two innings before being rattled by
a long bomb from slugger Val Pascucci that cleared the visitor’s clubhouse
beyond the left field wall to lead off the top of the sixth. After allowing two
straight one-out singles, Seddon was lifted for lefty Denny Stark, who overcame
a run-scoring Erick Monzon error to strike out Antonelli and right fielder Mike
Baxter to end the threat.
Reliever Justin Thomas further
frustrated the Beavers, retiring the 2-3-4 hitters in order in the top of the
seventh. Thomas turned in perhaps his best outing of the season, allowing just
one hit over 1.2 innings of work, tallying one strikeout for his fifth hold of
the season.
When Thomas was lifted with two outs and
one on in the eighth for closer Randy Messenger, the big fella out of Reno,
Nev. kept the bullpen momentum going. After allowing a soft single to right to
catcher Yamid Haad, Messenger fanned Antonelli on four pitches, finishing off
the Portland infielder with some high cheese.
Messenger needed 14 pitches in the top of
the ninth to nail down his 17th save of the season–the second-highest total in
the PCL.
Rainiers Swat Back Late Bees Rally
The Tacoma Rainiers entered the bottom of
the ninth inning with a robust five-run lead, just three outs away from
salvaging a split with the Salt Lake Bees and catching a flight back to the
Northwest.
The Bees had decidedly different plans,
as they took advantage of two Rainiers infield errors to score four runs with
one out, bringing Sean Rodriguez–who went 6-for-14 in the first three games of
the series–to the plate with the winning run on first. But for all that late
sound and fury, Salt Lake came up short, falling 7-6 to Tacoma (40-45) as
closer Randy Messenger slammed the door, fanning Rodriguez to put an
exclamation point on his 16th save of the season.
The Los Angeles Angels Triple-A Affiliate
went down 1-0 early to the Rainiers, thanks to a two-out RBI single by first
baseman Brad Nelson in the top of the first. Nelson would go 2-for-4 on the
night, and is now hitting .333 in his past 10 games.
But that lead was short-lived, as the
Bees (44-42) came back with a two-out score of their own in the bottom half of
the frame against starter Ryan Rowland-Smith. After two quick strikeouts to
lead off the inning, Terry Evans reached base with a pop-fly single, and was
doubled in by Rodriguez.
Salt Lake pulled ahead in the bottom of
the fourth, when Brandon Wood dropped his 19th double of the season right onto
the chalk down the right field line and then scored on a groundball single off
the bat of Adam Pavkovich.
After being frustrated by Bees starter
Trevor Bell the first two trips through the lineup, the Rainiers finally got a
bead on the 22-year-old phenom. If there were any doubt that Tacoma had finally
rediscovered its collective power stroke, the Rainiers put all such doubt to
rest over the next several innings.
Designated hitter Jeff Clement came
through with his 12th longball of the season–a towering two-run shot to right
field in the top of the sixth–to put the Rainiers up 3-2. Right fielder Bryan
LaHair would lead off the very next inning with his team-leading 16th circuit
shot of the season to give Tacoma some much-needed insurance.
But the Rainiers weren’t done scoring. Not by a longshot.
After Bell exited Tacoma put three more runs on the board in the top of the
ninth. LaHair led off the frame with a walk, and came around to score on the
first triple of the season by the speedy Jerry Owens. After a walk to Mike Carp–his
second of the game–Clement came up big again, stroking his 25th double of the
season to left to extend the lead to 7-2.
PREVIEW: Rainiers Go for Sweep Over Rivals
Starter Andy Baldwin (5-5, 4.90 ERA) will take the mound tonight in search
of his second straight Independence Day weekend win, following his six-inning,
three-hit performance against the Portland Beavers on July 5 of last year.
Beavers starter Brian Lawrence–who started the season
with the Orange County Flyers of the independent Golden Baseball League–has
pitched at least six innings in each of his last three starts for Portland.
Despite his 2.70 ERA, Lawrence is hittable, giving up 22 hits over his 20
innings of work for Portland. Opposing hitters own a .282 batting average against Lawrence during his time in the PCL this season.
That should be music to the ears of several Rainiers hitters, who have caught fire in recent weeks. After slumping through the first three weeks of June, designated hitter Jeff Clement has awoken from his slumber, and over the past 10 games is hitting .385 with 13 runs scored, four home runs, four doubles and eight RBI. Then of course, there is the franchise’s new doubles king, All-Star Bryan LaHair. In his past 10 games, LaHair has hit .333 with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI.
After starting the season with Double-A West Tennessee, catcher Adam Moore has found the PCL a bit more to his liking. Over his 40 games with the Rainiers, the hard-nosed Texan is hitting .304 with 10 doubles, three home runs and 20 RBI. He’s been even better over his last 10 games, posting an average of .333.
So what does all this offense add up to? Tacoma has outscored Portland 25-13 in five games this season, and 93-39 over the last 13 in the series, of which the Rainiers have won 12. In fact, including all of last season, Tacoma is 15-6 against the Beavers in their last 21 meetings.
Tonight the Tacoma
Rainiers will celebrate Independence Day early with our largest Friday Night
Fireworks display of the season, brought to you by Rainier
Connect.
If you’ve ever
wanted to set foot on Cheney Stadium’s hallowed turf, tonight is your chance to
do just that, as fans will be let onto the outfield
grass following the series finale against the Beavers to watch our most
spectacular post-game show of the year.
Rainiers Flex Muscle in Second Straight Win
The Triple-A All-Star Home Run Derby
won’t officially start for another 10 days–141 miles away in Portland. But don’t
tell any of that to the Tacoma Rainiers. Last night, Tacoma hitters staged
their very own longball contest, with Cheney Stadium serving as ground zero.
The Rainiers played “anything you can
do, I can do better,” as they belted four home runs for the third time this
season en route to a booming 5-3 win over the Portland Beavers.
Right fielder Prentice Redman was the
first contestant, launching the first pitch he saw from Portland starter Will
Inman–an 87-mph fastball over the heart of the plate–onto the roof of the
visiting clubhouse beyond the left field wall for his 11th bomb of the year.
From 6-foot-3 Redman, the scoring then
shifted to the shoulders of 5-foot-7 second baseman Callix Crabbe, who struck
for his team-leading fourth triple in the bottom of the fourth to score catcher
Adam Moore.
The next slugger in Tacoma’s long-drive
contest was designated hitter Jeff Clement, who took out his Big Bertha driver
with one down in the bottom of the fifth, tagging the Charles River Clinical
panel of Cheney Stadium’s brand new scoreboard in deep right center field well over 400 feet away to put Tacoma
up 3-0.
Clement’s 11th circuit shot of the
season was his fourth in his last 10 games. Over that span, Clement has hit a
scorching .385, with nine extra-base hits and eight RBI.
Big first baseman Brad Nelson saw
Clement’s mammoth scoreboard shot and raised him one, leading off the bottom of
the sixth with his own titanic blast that rattled off the top of the
sixth-inning lights, square in the middle of the board to stake the Rainiers to
a 4-1 lead.
After being bludgeoned by longballs, the
Beavers (37-44) did their best to make the game interesting in the top of the
seventh off of reliever Eric Hull, who walked Brett Dowdy and Mike Baxter to
lead off the frame. After a sacrifice grounder from Craig Stansberry, Tacoma
relief ace Denny Stark took the hill inheriting a one-out, two-on jam.
Slugger Val Pascucci lofted a sacrifice
fly to center to plate Dowdy, and with designated hitter Chad Huffman’s RBI
single to left, Portland pulled to within one.
After that brief interlude, the
home-run-hitting contest resumed. All-Star left fielder Bryan LaHair did his
best to tune up for a possible Home Run Derby appearance, leading off the
bottom of the seventh with his team-leading 14th jack of the season to put the
Rainiers ahead for good.
Tacoma closer Randy Messenger then came
on for a four-out save–his 15th of the season–to nail down a second straight
win for the Rainiers (38-42).
NOTES: The Rainiers have now won four out
of five games against Portland this season, and 12 of the past 13 dating back
to last year … Callix Crabbe went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple, the first
time he has collected both a two- and three-bagger in the same game since the
season opener on April 9 at Sacramento … First baseman Brad Nelson went
2-for-3, raising his average to .259 … In his last 10 games, Nelson is hitting
.342 … Ryan Rowland-Smith, back from a five-game suspension, went 5.1 innings, allowing eight hits and one run while striking out three to earn his second win of the season for the Rainiers.
LaHair Provides His Own Friday Night Fireworks in Comeback Win
Bryan LaHair stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the
ninth inning last night with the bases loaded, one double away from tying the
franchise record for two-baggers. The Cheney Stadium crowd stood
as one and chanted his name. Was it history they got? No, it was even better.
With the infield drawn in, LaHair drilled the third pitch he
saw from Las Vegas 51s closer Sean Stidfole through the right side for a
single, completing an electrifying comeback as the Tacoma Rainiers defeated the
Las Vegas 8-7 to close out the homestand.
The Rainiers got out to an early 4-2 lead over the 51s only
to see the game slip away, as Las Vegas scored five runs over four innings to
take a commanding 7-4 lead heading into the final frame.
Right fielder Prentice Redman led off the ninth with a walk,
a seemingly innocent beginning, but one that dealt a big blow to 51s reliever
Brian Wolfe’s composure. Wolfe proceeded to give up an RBI double to left
fielder Michael Saunders, and then a game-tying RBI single to designated hitter
Jeff Clement.
Up stepped one of the hottest hitters in the PCL: third
baseman Chris Shelton, hitting .314 in the month of June. Wolfe, clearly
rattled, was unable to put Shelton away. As the crowd got louder, Wolfe got
wilder, throwing four straight balls–one of which skipped past catcher Michael
Barrett, allowing Saunders to score and putting Clement at second.
Wolfe was then pulled due to injury, putting
newly-christened Las Vegas closer Stidfole right in the teeth of a two-on,
no-out jam with the powerful Mike Morse striding to the plate.
The 6-foot-5 Rainiers shortstop tried to catch the 51s off
guard by squaring around to bunt, but abandoned that strategy after Stidfole
got ahead 1-2. Morse then ripped a
single through the left side to load the bases.
A stadium full of youngsters clearly up past their bedtime
on Boy Scout Night became deafening as LaHair–Tacoma’s home-run leader–came to
bat.
LaHair dug in against Stidfole with history–and more
importantly, the game–on the line.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder took Stidfole’s first pitch off
the plate away. Ball one. He then took a mighty cut at Stidfole’s second
offering, but came up empty, evening the count at 1-1. The next offering missed
high and away as chants of “Bry-AN! Bry-AN!” echoed throughout the packed Cheney
grandstand. Stidfole missed high and away. 2-1. A hitter’s count.
Second baseman Joe Inglett and shortstop Angel Sanchez crept
up onto the grass in hopes of cutting the slow-running Clement off at the
plate. Though LaHair needed a double to tie the franchise mark, he refused to
take personal accolades over the team, and shortened his swing, looking not for
history, but for victory. And he got it. He bounced a grounder right between
Inglett and first baseman Randy Ruiz, catapulting the Rainiers bench onto the
field for a jubilant celebration.
Rainiers Relinquish Early Lead
When a team chases the starter after
less than three innings, forcing that starter to throw 71 pitches along the
way, it’s reasonable to assume that that team is going to have a relatively
productive evening.
But what started out as an offensive
outburst quickly turned sour for the Tacoma Rainiers last night at Cheney
Stadium, as they turned an early three-run lead into an 11-4 loss, their second
defeat in as many nights at the hands of the Las Vegas 51s (32-42).
Tacoma (35-38) got on the board first in
the bottom of the second inning, when Las Vegas starter David Purcey loaded the
bases with no outs, allowing a Brad Nelson single sandwiched between walks to
Chris Shelton and Adam Moore.
Left fielder Bryan LaHair struck first,
rapping an RBI single through the right side. Next, second baseman Callix
Crabbe delivered a sacrifice fly to plate Nelson and advance the runners to
second and third.
Center fielder Michael Saunders then
grounded the second pitch he saw from Purcey softly to the hole at short.
Though 51s shortstop Jonathan Diaz was able to get to the ball, he whiffed on
the bare hand attempt as the speedy Saunders hit the bag at first for an RBI
infield single.
That 3-0 lead–and the sense of certainty
it brought–held for exactly one inning, as Las Vegas exploded for nine runs in
the fourth and fifth frames, rattling off nine hits–seven of those for extra
bases–and chasing Rainiers righty Gaby Hernandez.
Hernandez allowed six hits and eight runs
in his four innings of work, striking out four and walking two. Reliever Brodie
Downs didn’t fare much better, surrendering five base knocks and two runs in
his three innings of relief. The 51s seemed to square up nearly every ball they
made contact with, and ended the night with 13 hits to show for it, among them
five doubles and one home run.
Tacoma’s post-second inning offensive
highlight came in the bottom of the sixth, when designated hitter Jeff Clement
hit his second home run in the past three games, after going homerless since
May 30.
Las Vegas Evens Season Series
For as much offense as
the Las Vegas 51s and Tacoma Rainiers have generated over their season series
(60 combined runs and 110 combined hits in the first five games), last night’s
contest was all about pitching, as the 51s hurlers out-dueled the Rainiers in a
closer-than-the-score 4-1 win.
Second baseman Joe
Inglett led off the game with a ground ball single to right field on Seddon’s
2-0 offering, and came around to score on a two-out RBI double by slugging
first baseman Randy Ruiz. The two-bagger was Ruiz’s 27th of the season.
The Rainiers were in a
position to give as good as they got in the bottom of the frame, with a one-out
single by Michael Saunders and a two-out walk to Jeff Clement setting the table
for the team’s hottest hitter, third baseman Chris Shelton.
Shelton however proved
unequal to the task, becoming the second of nine strikeout victims who fell at
the feet of 51s lefty Mark “Eye Chart” Rzepczynski.
Las Vegas inched ahead
again in the top of the second, getting yet another clutch two-out RBI hit–this
time a single on a soft grounder up the middle from shortstop Jonathan Diaz.
That was the last run
that lefty starter Chris Seddon would allow, as he tossed a very strong six
innings, scattering seven hits and notching three strikeouts on 97 pitches.
But Rzepczynsky was
just that much better, surrendering just two hits over his 5.2 innings of work.
After some solid relief work on the parts of both bullpens, the Rainiers looked
like they might just break through in the bottom of the eighth. With one swing
of the bat, Saunders cut the lead in half with his ninth home run of the year,
and just like that, Tacoma was back in the game.
But the 51s responded
in the top of the ninth, when reliever Justin Thomas was unable to hold the
line after entering the game for Eric Hull with one out and one on. Thomas
promptly allowed two straight singles and a run-scoring fielder’s choice, as
Las Vegas pulled ahead for good.
Notes: There is still time to vote your favorite Tacoma Rainiers into the Triple-A All-Star Game! Polls close at 11:59 p.m. on June 26, so make your voices heard. With first baseman Mike Carp out of the picture thanks to a call-up to the Seattle Mariners (who is hitting .429 in seven at-bats over his first four big league games), leading Rainiers candidates still in the mix include third baseman Chris Shelton (.321 average, 10 HR, 54 RBI), designated hitter Jeff Clement (.277, 8, 41) and outfielder Michael Saunders (.288, 9, 24).
Rainiers Launch 51s Into Orbit
No one could blame the Las Vegas 51s for
asking what they ever did to deserve a beating the likes of which they received
last night at Cheney Stadium. The answer to that question, of course, is that
they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, facing the wrong
lineup.
After averaging an uncharacteristically
low 2.6 runs per game over a five-game losing streak, the Tacoma Rainiers
(35-36) finally decided enough was enough, and proceeded to hammer the Toronto
Blue Jays’ Triple-A Affiliate to the tune of 14-4.
The Rainiers pounded out 16 hits–five for
extra bases–off of two Las Vegas pitchers, scoring multiple runs in four
innings, including a six-run seventh, and going 5-for-10 with runners in
scoring position.
Every Tacoma starter had at least one
base hit, with five hitters enjoying multi-hit days. The 3-4-5 hitters for the
Rainiers went a combined 8-for-13 (.616) with nine runs scored and four RBI.
Leading that charge was designated hitter
Jeff Clement, who hit his first home run since May 30 when he blasted a
two-out, two-run longball in the bottom of the first inning.
It turned out that the Rainiers were
just getting started, as they added another run in the bottom of the second on
a Prentice Redman RBI double and three runs in the bottom of the third thanks
to a two-run Mike Morse double and a sac fly off the bat of Erick Monzon.
Starter Ryan Rowland-Smith was cruising
as he entered the fourth inning, pitching with good command and a six-run
cushion. But after getting two quick outs, Rowland-Smith gave up three straight
hits, capped off by a two-run double from Aaron Mathews.
After getting two quick strikes on Angel
Sanchez, Rowland-Smith appeared rattled when, on his 0-2 delivery, Sanchez
called time mid-pitch. The next pitch sailed up and in, hitting Sanchez in the
helmet and causing home plate umpire John Brammer to eject the Australian
lefty.
Whether it was on a wave of emotion
inspired by the incident, or in spite of it, the Rainiers scored eight runs
over the next three innings to finish off Las Vegas (30-42).
In the six-run seventh, Tacoma sent 10
men to the plate, banging out five hits including a leadoff double by Clement,
who went 3-for-5 on the night with four runs scored and a double to go along
with his first-inning blast.
Another key contributor for the Rainiers
was third baseman Chris Shelton, who went 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBI,
slugging his 10th home run of the season.
Tacoma battered 51s starter Brian Burres
for 13 hits and 12 runs–10 of them earned–in six innings, drawing three walks.
The Rainiers then proceeded to tag Edward Buzachero for two runs on three hits
in his two innings of work.
In contrast, Tacoma relievers allowed two
runs on four hits in 5.1 innings, with Venezuelan righty Jesus Delgado earning
his second win of the season after turning in 3.1 innings of one-run ball.
Aces Show Surprising Firepower
Despite jumping out to an early lead on
solo home runs by Mike Morse and Michael Saunders, the Tacoma Rainiers bowed in
the face of superior firepower last night at Cheney Stadium, losing 8-5 to the
Reno Aces in a game that saw a combined 23 hits between the two clubs.
After allowing just one run on three hits
through four innings, Rainiers starter Chris Seddon got roughed up for four
runs on four hits–three of them for extra bases–through the next two frames.
Two of those extra-base hits came in the form of back-to-back dingers in the
sixth inning.
Second baseman Rusty Ryal got the fire
going, leading off the inning with his seventh longball of the year. A
rehabbing Tony Clark–a veteran of 14 major league seasons–then muscled up as
well, lining a laser that snuck between the scoreboard and the top of the right
center field wall. The shots were the first back-to-back home runs in Reno
franchise history.
While it was Morse who led the offensive
charge for the Rainiers–going 3-for-4 with two singles and his second inning
circuit shot–it was third baseman Chris Shelton who provided the bulk of the
night’s drama.
With two out in the bottom of the seventh
inning, and Tacoma (34-33) down 5-2, Shelton stepped to the plate with Callix
Crabbe on second, Jeff Clement on first and his five-game hitting streak on the
line.
Shelton worked a full count from reliever
Travis Blackley and then drove a hard liner to the gap in right-center field,
bringing the crowd to its feet and the Rainiers to within one run of Reno
(32-36). Next up was right fielder Brad Nelson, who drove Blackley’s eighth
offering of the at-bat to right center for an RBI single, tying the game at
5-5.
The Aces pulled ahead again in the top of
the eighth, when Ryal put his second home run of the night over the right
center field wall. Ryal’s four-bagger was the third of four on the night for
the Aces, who came into the game with the PCL’s second-lowest longball total.
The final blow came off of reliever Denny Stark in the top
of the ninth inning. With shortstop Ed Rogers on first base courtesy of a bunt
single up the third base line, third baseman Ruben Gotay hammered the sixth
home run of the evening–and his third of the year–over the right field wall to
put the Aces up for good.
VOTE RAINIERS! Polls Close on June 26!
There’s still time to vote your favorite Tacoma Rainiers into the starting lineup for this year’s Triple-A All-Star Game at Portland’s PGE Park. Polls close at 11:59 p.m. on June 26, so vote early, and vote often!
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