May 28 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers at Sacramento River Cats (2024)

TACOMA RAINIERS (28-23) @ SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS (30-21)

Tuesday, May 28 - 6:45 PM - Sutter Health Park - Sacramento, CA

RHP Levi Stoudt (3-3, 6.15) vs. RHP Mason Black (2-1, 1.01)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Tacoma and Sacramento begin their six-game series with game one tonight, as right-handers Levi Stoudt and Mason Black face off. Stoudt is set to make his ninth start and 10th appearance of the season for Tacoma, entering play tonight with a 3-3 record and a 6.15 ERA. He is coming off an outing in which he allowed a career-high four home runs to Las Vegas on May 22. In his lone start against Sacramento this year back on May 1, Stoudt suffered the loss, allowing four earned runs on six hits and a season-high five walks, striking out two batters in 5.0 innings. On the other side, Black will make his seventh start of the year for the River Cats, looking to improve on his 2-1 record and 1.01 ERA. Black's last outing at Triple-A came against the Rainiers on May 1. He then got his contract selected on May 6, optioned by San Francisco on May 13, recalled on May 17 and optioned again on May 24. In the outing against Tacoma, the 24-year-old tossed four hitless innings, allowing three walks while striking out four.

LEADING THE WEST: The last time Tacoma and Sacramento started a series, back on April 30, they were tied for first place in the Pacific Coast League West division. The River Cats took four-of-six from the Rainiers and have held a lead in the division ever since. Tacoma has gotten within a game of Sacramento five times since then but have not been able to catch the River Cats. The two teams meet again tonight, nearly a month later, with the River Cats holding a two-game lead over the Rainiers. Both teams trail Sugar Land (33-18) in the overall PCL standings, Sacramento by three games and Tacoma by five.

TIME TO DEBUT: Tyler Locklear was promoted to Tacoma prior to this series against Sacramento, playing in 41 games this season for Double-A Arkansas. Over those 41 games, the former second-round selection of Seattle hit .291 (46-for-158) with 12 doubles and eight home runs, driving in 26 runs along the way. He took 23 walks compared to 49 strikeouts, raising his on-base percentage to .401. In three seasons at Virginia Commonwealth University, Locklear hit .361 (172-for-476) with 40 doubles and 37 home runs. He was selected by the Mariners in the second round of the 2022 draft and has played in 157 minor league games entering play tonight.

ROAD WOES: Tacoma enters play today with a road record of 10-14 this year, including 2-4 here at Sutter Health Park. The Rainiers have played much better at home, gong 18-9 at Cheney Stadium. They won the first road series of the year, taking four-of-six from Salt Lake back on April 2-7, but have since gone 0-3 in their series away from home, going 2-4 in each of the three series. The Rainiers will look to change the narrative of their season so far and right the ship on the road.

REVENGE TOUR: In the first meeting between Tacoma and Sacramento, the River Cats took four-of-six from the Rainiers. They did so in large part due to their pitching, as Sacramento gave Tacoma their only two shutouts of the year. Just two players on Tacoma's active roster hit over .200 against the River Cats in that series, with Samad Taylor hitting .286 and Cade Marlowe hitting .217. As a team, Tacoma hit .189 (36-for-190) with just 10 extra-base hits, striking out 75 times over the six-game series.

LOSING A LEADER: Infielder Ryan Bliss had his contract selected after Sunday's game and made his Major League debut last night with Seattle. The 24-year-old was a leader in many categories for not just Tacoma, but also the Pacific Coast League. Bliss led or was tied for the lead for the Rainiers in games played (50), runs (38), total bases (81), doubles (9), triples (3), home runs (7), RBI (35), walks (39) and stolen bases (28). He led the league in walks and stolen bases and was tied for seventh with three triples. Prior to making his MLB debut last night with the Mariners, Bliss had reached base in 13 of his last 15 games with Tacoma, dating back to May 9 against Reno. He recorded hits in 12 of those 13 games, including two or more hits in five of those contests.

AGAINST SACRAMENTO: Tonight marks the start of the second six-game series between Tacoma and Sacramento, both coming here at Sutter Health Park. In the first meeting between the two teams, the River Cats took four-of-six from Tacoma, outscoring the Rainiers by six runs, 24-18. The four wins improved Sacramento's record over Tacoma all-time to nine games over the .500 mark, at 252-243.

SHORT HOPS: Tonight's game is a pitching rematch from game two of the previous series against Sacramento; the first time Levi Stoudt and Mason Black faced off ended in a 6-3 victory for the River Cats...in six games against Tacoma last time the two teams met, Trenton Brooks hit .316 (6-for-19) with two doubles, a home run, two runs batted in and four walks compared to three strikeouts...Sacramento's pitching staff combined for a 2.83 ERA against Tacoma in their last six-game set, allowed 17 earned runs over 54.0 innings; they allowed 36 hits and 28 walks while striking out 75 batters in the series.

Pacific Coast League Stories from May 28, 2024

• May 28 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers at Sacramento River Cats - Tacoma Rainiers
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