TACOMA, Wash. -Gordon Beckham's clutch two-run home run during the bottom of the seventh powered the Tacoma Rainiers (42-39) to a 4-2 victory over the Reno Aces (37-44) Friday night in front of a sellout crowd at Cheney Stadium.Beckham (1x4, R, HR, 2 RBI), first baseman Daniel Vogelbach (2x4, R,
TACOMA, Wash. -Gordon Beckham's clutch two-run home run during the bottom of the seventh powered the Tacoma Rainiers (42-39) to a 4-2 victory over the Reno Aces (37-44) Friday night in front of a sellout crowd at Cheney Stadium.
Beckham (1x4, R, HR, 2 RBI), first baseman Daniel Vogelbach (2x4, R, HR, RBI) and catcher David Freitas (2x4, R) led the way for the Tacoma offense as the Rainiers improved to 35-11 when scoring four or more runs.
Tacoma starter Bryan Evans (1-0) tossed his first quality start of the season and earned his second victory in a row Friday night. Evans allowed just two runs across six innings and struck out six Aces hitters.
Designated hitter Kirk Nieuwenhuis knocked in his 24th RBI of the season during the bottom of the second by singling to center and scoring Freitas to make it 1-0 Rainiers.
Kristopher Negrón answered with a two-run homer to give the lead to Reno in the fifth but Vogelbach launched a solo shot - his 12th - to knot the score at 2-2 in the sixth.
Beckham's fifth home run of the season came during the bottom of the seventh and proved to be the difference as Tacoma snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory.
Right handers Mike Morin (1.1), Ryan Cook (1.0) and Tyler Higgins (0.2) combined to shut out the Aces across the final three innings of action Friday night.
The Rainiers and Aces return to action Saturday night at 5:05 p.m. Left-hander Ross Detwiler (2-1, 4.24) will get the start for Tacoma and right-hander Jake Buchanan (4-7, 5.38) will be on the hill for Reno.
All tickets, group outings, and suites packages for the 2018 season are available for purchase in person at the Cheney Stadium Box Office, online at TacomaRainiers.com, or over the phone at (253) 752-7707. The most up-to-date news and notes about the Rainiers throughout the season can be found by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand) or liking the team on Facebook.
