Results tagged ‘ Friday Night Fireworks ’
PREVIEW: Seddon Slings in Must-Win Clash
The last time that Chris Seddon took the hill, he pitched the Rainiers to a 6-3 win over the rival Portland Beavers in front of a hearty group of road-tripping Rainiers fans cheering him on from the stands at PGE Park.
That win put Tacoma into a first-place tie with tonight’s opponent, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Perhaps there is still a little magic yet in that left arm of his, because tonight, the Rainiers will need every trick Seddon can muster in front of a playoff-hungry home crowd as they try take the first step towards sweeping the Sox, which would clinch Tacoma’s first division title since 2005.
Remember to stay after tomorrow night’s game for our final Friday Night Fireworks show of the season, brought to you by Courtyard by Marriot. All throughout this weekend, Windex will be sponsoring special seat upgrades–where four lucky fans will receive Venture Bank Gold club tickets–as well as lucky row giveaways of Windex products.
Saturday will be Kids Night Out here at Cheney Stadium, where, thanks to generous donations by local businesses, underprivileged youth will receive a hot dog, chips, a special t-shirt and a ticket to the ballgame to help them make a memory to last a lifetime.
PREVIEW: Pennant Race Comes to Cheney
The Rainiers return to Cheney Stadium
tomorrow night absolutely white-hot, having won nine straight games on back-to-back
sweeps of Fresno and Portland to move into a tie with the Colorado Springs Sky
Sox for the division lead.
The season comes
down to these final eight games, as Tacoma faces off against a hungry
third-place Salt Lake–coming off a four-game sweep of the Sky Sox–and then
takes on the Sox themselves in the final four games of the season.
The Rainiers return to
a homestand filled with drama, playoff implications, and some great promotions.
This week, fans
can enjoy Tasty Thursday, Friday Night Fireworks and the Little Caesars Family
Meal Deal on Sept. 5, where with your purchase of four special tickets, you get
four limited edition Rainiers ballcaps, four slices of pizza at Cheney Stadium,
two youth passes to Point Defiance Zoo or Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and
vouchers for two large Hot-N-Ready Pizzas and two orders of Crazy Bread.
PREVIEW: Rainiers End Series with Fireworks
Tacoma will look to salvage a series split with the Royals,
and most assuredly has the firepower to do it. Over the course of the first
three games of their series with Omaha, the Rainiers have scored 21 runs on 33
hits, including five home runs, six doubles and a triple.
Omaha lefty Dusty Hughes will try to hold one of the PCL’s
most explosive offenses down–a tall task to say the least, especially
considering that Hughes owns a 5.58 ERA with runners on and a 7.20 ERA with
runners in scoring position.
Tonight after the game, enjoy our traditional Friday Night
Fireworks, brought to you by US Foodservice.
After tonight’s series finale against the Omaha Royals, the
Rainiers will go on the road for four games against the Fresno Grizzlies
(67-59) and five games against the rival Portland Beavers, who own a
league-worst 53-73 record and are 3-8 against Tacoma this season.
The Rainiers return home for their final homestand of the
season on August 31.
PREVIEW: Pennant Race Beckons Rainiers
With just 25 games left in the regular season, the Tacoma
Rainiers find themselves right in the thick of one final sprint for the Pacific
Coast League Pacific Northern Division crown.
After a huge 6-2 road trip against the Round Rock Express
and the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Tacoma Nine return to Cheney Stadium tonight
to kick off an eight-game homestand against the Iowa Cubs (60-58) and the Omaha
Royals (48-69), who have a combined .460 winning percentage on the year.
The last time the I-Cubs paid a visit June 2-5, 2007, they
took three of four from Tacoma. But the past is merely prologue, as only Bryan
LaHair, Oswaldo Navarro and Iowa’s Micah Hoffpauir remain from those teams.
The Rainiers come into tonight winners of a league-best
seven of their last 10, averaging 5.8 runs per game over that stretch–nearly
half a run more than their season average–and sit just 4.5 games behind the
sinking first-place Colorado Springs Sky Sox and one game behind the
second-place Salt Lake Bees. Both of the top two teams are just 5-5 in their
last 10 games, and are struggling down the stretch.
In contrast, Tacoma finds itself armed with a resurgent
starting rotation featuring PCL Pitcher of the Week Andy Baldwin, the stifling
southpaw Chris Seddon (2-1, 2.74 ERA since the All-Star Break) and tomorrow’s
starter Brandon Morrow, who has gone 1-0 in his last two starts with a 2.08 ERA
over 13 innings.
At the dish, the Rainiers have re-acquired the services of
slugging cornerman Chris Shelton, outrighted back to Tacoma from Seattle on
August 5. Wearing a Tacoma uniform this season, the redhead from Salt Lake City
has hit .315 with 24 doubles, 12 homers and 66 RBI.
Along with Shelton, Tacoma has also benefitted from the
return of third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo from midseason elbow surgery. Since his
return to the lineup on July 16, Tui is hitting .296 (29-for-98) with five home
runs, eight doubles, 22 RBI and a slugging percentage of .531.
But it hasn’t been all new faces for the Rainiers. Big Brad
Nelson has been a cornerstone of the Tacoma lineup since the All-Star Break,
hitting .292 (19-for-65) with 13 runs, three doubles, six home runs, a triple,
10 RBI and 10 walks to just 13 strikeouts. But thunder like Nelly’s needs its
lightning, and for the past month an a half, center fielder Jerry Owens has
been pure electricity at the top of the lineup. In July and August, the
speedster from Hollywood, Calif. has gone 51-for-129 (.395) with 29 runs, three
doubles, six triples, two home runs, 17 RBI, six stolen bases and an on-base
percentage of .451.
Be sure to stay after the game tomorrow night for our
traditional Friday Night Fireworks, brought to you by Charles River Clinical.
Remember that Saturday is our Little Caesars Family Meal
Deal, where with your purchase of four special tickets, you get four limited
edition Rainiers ballcaps, four slices of pizza at Cheney Stadium, two youth
passes to Point Defiance Zoo or Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and vouchers for
two large Hot-N-Ready Pizzas and two orders of Crazy Bread.
PREVIEW: Seddon Searches for Eighth Win
Tacoma lefty Chris Seddon has been nothing short of dominant
in his last 10 starts, going 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA, striking out 38 and walking
just 18 over 58 innings pitched. Seddon is tied with reliever Eric Hull for the
team lead with seven victories on the season.
His opponent Ramon Ortiz has faced the Rainiers twice this
season, throwing 4.2 innings in relief, allowing two hits, two earned runs and
four walks while striking out five.
The Grizzlies are just 13-18 against southpaw starters this
season, but are hitting a respectable .276 against lefties on the season in
1,022 at-bats.
Tacoma lefty Chris Seddon has been nothing short of dominant
in his last 10 starts, going 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA, striking out 38 and walking
just 18 over 58 innings pitched. Seddon is tied with reliever Eric Hull for the
team lead with seven victories on the season.
His opponent Ramon Ortiz has faced the Rainiers twice this
season, throwing 4.2 innings in relief, allowing two hits, two earned runs and
four walks while striking out five.
The Grizzlies are just 13-18 against southpaw starters this
season, but are hitting a respectable .276 against lefties on the season in
1,022 at-bats.
Tomorrow is Day Camp Day at Cheney Stadium, as the Rainiers look
to close out their season series against the Grizzlies with a win.
Tacoma will then embark on an eight-game, nine-day road trip
to Round Rock and Albuquerque before coming home for an eight-game homestand against the Iowa Cubs and Omaha Royals, which will
include our traditional Friday Night Fireworks on August 14 and 21, Pink in the
Park on August 16 and Tasty Thursday on August 20.
PREVIEW: Morrow Returns to Cheney Hill
Righty Brandon Morrow will make his
first start at Cheney Stadium since August 31, 2008, and he will be facing some
familiar faces at the plate.
Morrow’s first
minor league start of 2009 came against these same Las Vegas 51s, who roughed
him up for four first-inning runs before the 6-foot-3, 195-pounder regained his
composure to throw 3.2 scoreless innings.
His opponent,
David Purcey, has faced the Rainiers three times. Remarkably, he’s been able to
post a 2-0 record despite a 7.98 ERA against the Tacoma Nine.
Tonight, enjoy our traditional Friday
Night Fireworks, brought to you by Charles River Clinical.
Remember to get your tickets for
tomorrow’s Little Caesars Family Meal Deal game. The Family Meal Deal includes
four Rainiers tickets, four limited edition Rainiers baseball caps, four slices
of pizza at Cheney Stadium, two youth passes to Point Defiance Zoo or Northwest
Trek Wildlife Park, two large Hot-N-Ready
pizzas and two orders of Crazy Bread, all for just $44.
PREVIEW: Rowland-Smith Drives for Five
Tacoma Rainiers starter Ryan
Rowland-Smith has gone 4-0 in his past four starts, posting a remarkable 1.69
ERA over that span, and will go for his fifth straight win as the Rainiers look
to stop a four-game skid.
In his past 26.2 innings of work,
Rowland-Smith has fanned 23 hitters and walked just two and appears to be in
top form coming into tonight’s game.
His opponent, Jerome Williams, has been
less than stellar in his past three starts, giving up 13 earned runs in 17
innings of work.
Don’t forget to
get your tickets now at advanced ticket sales for a jam-packed home stand
featuring Tasty Thursday, Friday Night Fireworks and and the Little Caesars
Family Meal Deal on July 25.
The Family Meal
Deal includes four Rainiers tickets, four limited edition Rainiers baseball
caps, four slices of pizza at Cheney Stadium, two youth passes to Point
Defiance Zoo or Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, two large Hot-n-Ready pizzas and
two orders of Crazy Bread all for just $44.
PREVIEW: Rainiers Face Tough Customer
Though Portland lefty Wade LeBlanc has
yet to face Tacoma this season, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound former Alabama hurler
has turned in two straight spectacular starts against first-place Colorado
Springs in his last two outings.
In 12 innings
against the Sky Sox, LeBlanc has fanned 11, allowing just two earned runs and
six hits for a nifty 1.50 ERA when facing the PCL North’s top club.
Baserunners will be hard to come by, as
he has walked just four hitters in his last three starts.
Tonight following the game, the Tacoma
Rainiers will light up the sky with our traditional Friday Night Fireworks,
brought to you by Smart Talent.
The post-game pyrotechnics will be our
last show of the first half of the Pacific Coast League season, which concludes
with the series finale against the Beavers on Sunday.
Be sure not to
miss any of our second-half shows by purchasing your tickets to future Friday
night games at advanced ticket sales.
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.
PREVIEW: Gaby Looks to Make His Own Luck
Gaby Hernandez hasn’t registered a win since he ran off three in a row from May 6 through May 16, and has lost three of his last five outings, but it has not been for lack of strong performances on the part of the Miami native.
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