Results tagged ‘ Mike Morse ’
PLAYER NEWS: IF Mike Morse Reportedly Traded to Nats
Bill Ladson of MLB.com is reporting that the Mariners have traded Rainiers infielder Mike Morse to the Washington Nationals for outfielder Ryan Langerhans. Morse had been manning shortstop in the place of Chris Woodward, who was called up by Seattle on June 18.
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.
Paint the Park Purple Raises Approximately $2,800 for UW Tacoma Scholarships
Saturday’s Paint the Park Purple Night at Cheney Stadium proved a huge success, raising approximately $2,800 for University of Washington, Tacoma scholarships.
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.
PREVIEW: Series Finale vs. Beavers
The Tacoma Rainiers (34-31) will have their brooms handy tonight, coming into the third of 16 scheduled clashes with the regional rival Portland Beavers with a chance to sweep their first series of the season. And if the first two contests at PGE Park were any indication, the Beavers (32-34) had better bring their hard hats.
PREVIEW: Rainiers Continue Hot Hitting
Tonight, the Rainiers will contend with a Reno
starter–Cesar Valdez–who is looking to record his third straight win, and has
allowed just four earned runs in his last four starts combined (25.1 innings).
Valdez is also ranked as the seventh-best prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks
system by Baseball America, and for good reason.
Valdez’s last outing was a scintillating,
eight-inning, two-hit, one-walk, six-strikeout performance against PCL stalwart
Salt Lake, the second-highest scoring team in the league.
Yet another trend that Tacoma must
contend with is the Aces’ record in the second game of a series: Reno has taken
nine of 13 game two’s this season.
Though Rainiers designated hitter Jeff
Clement’s 20-game hitting streak came to an end last night, Tacoma enters the
second game of its series against Reno with plenty of other hot bats in the
lineup.
Ten Rainiers hitters come into tonight
hitting over .300, including third baseman Chris Shelton. With his 2-for-4
evening last night, Shelton has now hit in nine straight, and when left fielder
Michael Saunders rode home on Shelton’s eighth-inning grand slam, he stretched
his run-scoring streak to 23 games.
As a team, Tacoma is third in the league
in runs scored, having crossed the plate 302 times. The Rainiers are also
second in the PCL in team batting average, posting a .292 mark through 52
games.
Notes: Prentice Redman is sixth in the
PCL with 39 runs scored and is tied with Bryan LaHair for ninth in the league
with 10 home runs … Jeff Clement is tied third in the PCL with 17 doubles, with
Chris Shelton just behind him, tied for sixth with 16 … Shelton is fifth in the
league with 43 RBI, followed by Mike Morse, who sits in eighth with 41 … Tomorrow is Tasty Thursday at Cheney Stadium, where you can get great deals on hot dogs, soda, ice cream and coffee, as well as $2 Miller Lite and Miller Genuine Draft in the terrace level beer garden … Gates open at 5:30 p.m.
Heether Halts Streak at Four
It took the Nashville Sounds 25 innings,
but they finally managed to solve the rolling Rainiers. Well actually,
Nashville shortstop Adam Heether did most of the solving. The 6-foot-2,
190-pound infielder was a one-man wrecking crew today at Cheney Stadium,
hitting two home runs and driving in six en route to dealing Tacoma an 8-6
loss.
The Rainiers (25-21) got on top early
against Issaquah High grad Lindsay Gulin, touching him up for five runs on
seven hits in his five innings of work. For the second game in a row, Tacoma
put a three-spot on the board in the bottom of the first, thanks an two singles
by Brad Nelson and an RBI double by second baseman Mike Morse.
They put up another two in the bottom of
the fifth on an RBI single by third baseman Chris Shelton and a bases-loaded
walk to Morse.
But the usually reliable Tacoma bullpen
was unable to hold the lead for starter Gaby Hernandez, who gave up just two
runs in six innings of work, scattering seven hits.
Nashville (26-21) began to creep back
with a run in the top of the sixth with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Heether,
who, as it turned out, was just getting started.
Already sitting pretty with three RBI on
the game, Heether keyed a three-run Nashville eighth with a one-out two-run
home run to chase Tacoma reliever Jared Wells, tying the game at 6-6 heading
into the final frame.
Alcides Escobar–who committed his ninth
error of the season and third of the series–led off the inning with a ground
ball single to left, and took third on a sacrifice bunt by Hernan Iribarren. A
walk to first baseman Joe Koshansky spelled the end for Rainiers reliever
Justin Thomas, putting Tacoma wins leader Eric Hull on the hill.
Hull got the dangerous Brendan Katin to
fly out harmlessly to right field, bringing Heether to the plate.
With the count 1-1, Heether pounced on
Hull’s hanging curve, sending it high into left field. Tacoma’s Jerry Owens
retreated to the wall and seemed to have a bead on the high drive, but it
carried just enough to scrape the back of the wall for a three-run home run,
spelling the end of the Rainiers four-game winning streak.
Tomorrow, Ryan Rowland-Smith will make
his second rehab start for the Rainiers, as they try to finish off the
homestand with a win.
The last time Rowland-Smith took the
hill, he allowed just two hits and one run over four innings in a 10-6 Tacoma
win over the Memphis Redbirds on May 23.
Notes: After registering 11 hits in today’s contest, the Rainiers have now reached double digits in four of their
past five games … Jeff Clement’s one-out double in the
first extended his hitting streak to 15 games … Brad Nelson’s two-run single
extended Michael Saunders’ run-scoring streak to 17 games … By holding Prentice Redman 0-for-4 with
one run scored, the Sounds snapped the Tacoma right fielder’s 23-game home
hitting streak.
Rainiers Hitters Rock Memphis
Even without socking a home run, the
Tacoma Rainiers ripped the Memphis Redbirds for 19 hits last night in a
resounding 10-6 win.
The Rainiers (22-20) came out with guns
blazing in the bottom of the first. With one out, left fielder Michael Saunders
singled on a soft fly ball to center. Next up was designated hitter Jeff
Clement, who wasted no time extending his season-high hitting streak to 11
straight games with a ground ball single to right (pictured at right).
A two-out walk to first baseman Mike Carp
loaded the bases for second baseman Mike Morse, who came through with a clutch
two-run single to center to get Tacoma on the board. Right fielder Bryan LaHair
then rapped an RBI single of his own to give starter Ryan Rowland-Smith a
three-run cushion heading into the second frame.
Rowland-Smith (pictured at left) was solid in his short
rehab start, allowing just two hits and one run–a home run to Memphis first
baseman Allen Craig in the fourth–in his four innings of work.
Meanwhile, at the dish, the Rainiers kept
right on pummeling Redbirds pitching. Tacoma posted two more runs in the third,
and then another pair in the fourth to jump out to a 7-1 lead over Memphis
(22-18).
Even after the Redbirds tallied three
runs in the top of the fifth, Tacoma responded with three of its own in the
bottom of the sixth. The Rainiers led off the inning with four straight hits–singles
from center fielder Jerry Owens, Saunders and Clement, followed by a two-run
double from Carp, his team-leading 13th two-bagger of the season.
In all, seven Tacoma batters registered
multi-hit nights en route to matching their season-high hit total and dealing
Memphis its worst loss of the season. The Redbirds gave up season-highs in both
hits and runs as they fell one half game back of Nashville for first place in
the PCL American North.
The most notable stat of the night for
the Rainiers–who are third in the PCL with 150 extra-base hits–is that out of
their 19 hits, only two were for extra bases. But they got hits when it
counted, going 7-for-17 (.412) with runners in scoring position.
Clement’s 2-for-5 night pushed his average up to .295, and
Saunders 4-for-5 evening upped his average to a team-leading .370.
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