June 21 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers vs. Las Vegas Aviators (2024)

TACOMA RAINIERS (41-31) vs. LAS VEGAS AVIATORS (36-36)
Friday, June 21 • 7:05 PM • Cheney Stadium • Tacoma, WA
LHP Dallas Keuchel (6-4, 4.15) vs. LHP Brady Basso (2-1, 7.59)

TONIGHT’S GAME: Tacoma and Las Vegas will play game four of their six-game series tonight, with the Rainiers leading the series after back-to-back wins. Dallas Keuchel will take the ball for Tacoma, set to make his 13th start of the year. The southpaw is 6-4 with a 4.15 ERA over those starts, allowing 30 earned runs on 59 hits and 21 walks, striking out 42 over 65.0 innings pitched. Tonight will be his third start of the year against Las Vegas, going 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA through the first two. Opposite Keuchel will be fellow lefty Brady Basso, ready to make his sixth start of the season with the Aviators. Basso most recently pitched out of relief for Oakland in game one of a doubleheader back on Sunday, allowing two earned runs on three hits while striking out two over 2.0 innings. In five starts with Las Vegas, Basso is 2-1 with a 7.59 ERA, allowing 18 earned runs on 25 hits and 10 walks while striking out 22 over 21.1 innings. He earned a win in his lone start against Tacoma back on May 23, allowing just three earned runs on three hits and four walks while striking out five over 5.0 innings.

10 GAMES OVER: After back-to-back victories, the Rainiers are 10 games over the .500 mark, holding a record of 41-31 entering play tonight. It is the most games over even they have been all year, as they reached nine games above .500 three times prior to their win last night. The biggest margin Tacoma had last year was 11 games over .500, at 71-60 on Sept. 2. The most they went over .500 in the first half last year was five games, at 13-8 on April 25.

OUT IN FRONT: Over their last 12 games, since June 7, Tacoma has been scoring early and often against their opponents. They have scored first in 11 of those 12 games played, scoring in the first inning in eight of the 12. Over that 12-game stretch, Tacoma is 9-3, moving to 32-12 when scoring first this year. They entered play on June 7 with 27 runs scored in the first inning on the season and after four more last night, now have 43 runs scored in the first, giving them 16 runs in the first inning over their last 12 contests.

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: Tacoma has hit a hot stretch recently, going 7-3 in their last 10 games. They have won each of their last two series, taking four-of-six from Reno and five-of-six from Round Rock. Their hot stretch has put them at a season-best 10 games over .500 on the year, at 41-31. Unfortunately for the Rainiers, they were eliminated from playoff contention for the first half of the season earlier this week, as Sacramento (42-30) is one game above them in the Pacific Coast League West Division and Sugar Land, the first half champions, are 47-25. Tacoma will look to continue their winning ways into the second half that starts next week and get into the playoffs by winning the second half.

GOT THE WIN: Michael Mariot earned his second consecutive victory last night, tossing five innings of two-run ball. The right-hander allowed just one earned run on five hits including one home run, while walking one and striking out four. He has now allowed just one earned run over his last 10.1 innings dating back to June 13, giving up six hits and one walk while striking out nine over that span. It marked his first time winning back-to-back games all season, moving to 4-3 with a 5.62 ERA in his 13 games with the Rainiers this year.

AGAINST LAS VEGAS: The Rainiers and Aviators will play game four of their six-game series tonight, with Tacoma leading the series 2-1 after back-to-back wins. The two wins not only put them ahead in their current series, but the season series between the two teams as well, at 8-7 through their 15 games this year. Tacoma also leads the all-time series against Las Vegas by six games, at 311-305.

SHORT HOPS: Jake Slaughter went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a run batted in last night, marking his ninth multi-hit game since joining the Rainiers; he is tied for the team-lead now with four three-hit games…Kirby Snead pitched in his first game with Tacoma since May 5 against Sacramento, throwing a scoreless inning while striking out one; the southpaw made 11 relief appearances with Seattle between his two stints with the Rainiers.