Darren McCaughan becomes Rainiers all-time strikeout leader

McCaughan: Most strikeouts (404) in “Rainiers” history (since 1995), now third in franchise history (since 1960)

September 9, 2023

Salt Lake City, UT (9/8/23) – The Tacoma Rainiers (72-64, 35-26) have dropped four of five overall and three of the first four on this 12-game road trip, after losing 6-2 to the Salt Lake Bees (62-73, 25-36) on Friday night. Despite the struggles, the Rainiers remain just one game

Salt Lake City, UT (9/8/23) – The Tacoma Rainiers (72-64, 35-26) have dropped four of five overall and three of the first four on this 12-game road trip, after losing 6-2 to the Salt Lake Bees (62-73, 25-36) on Friday night. Despite the struggles, the Rainiers remain just one game out of the Pacific Coast League’s lone second half playoff spot, with a 4-3 Round Rock (36-25) loss at El Paso.

TACOMA MULTI-HIT: Zach DeLoach (3-for-4, double, run, BB), Cooper Hummel (2-for-4, run, BB), Taylor Trammell (2-for-5), Adam Engel (2-for-3, double)
TACOMA HOME RUNS: None
TACOMA STARTING PITCHER: RHP Darren McCaughan (7.0 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)

SALT LAKE MULTI-HIT: Michael Stefanic (2-for-4), Jared Walsh (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI), Jack Lopez (2-for-4, triple, RBI, run)
SALT LAKE HOME RUNS: Jared Walsh (8, 5^th inning/3-run with 2 out)
SALT LAKE STARTING PITCHER: LHP Jake Kalish (5.0 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)

But wait, there’s more:

Darren McCaughan’s five strikeouts give him 404 with Tacoma, over 82 starts with the franchise. McCaughan is now the “Rainiers” all-time strikeout leader (during Seattle affiliation, since 1995), and has accumulated the third-most strikeouts in franchise history. Ron Herbel (443 K) and Steve Luebber (431 K) from the 1960s and 70s remain the only hurlers who’ve fanned more batters than McCaughan during Tacoma’s Triple-A history (since 1960). 19 of McCaughan’s 82 Triple-A starts have come against the Salt Lake Bees. He was Seattle’s 12^th round draft selection in 2017 out of Long Beach State University.
Ryan Bliss extended his hitting streak to eight games (since August 31), and is batting .519 (14-for-27) during the streak (3 HR, 2 2B, 3B, 9 BB, 6/7 SB); Bliss has an OPS of 1.622 his last eight games (.622/1.000).
After his season-best 10-game hitting streak was snapped on Wednesday, Cooper Hummel has now hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games.
Zach DeLoach’s game-high three hits (double) puts him at 134 base hits this season, a number which leads the Rainiers and is second-most in the Pacific Coast League. DeLoach’s 227 total bases and 29 doubles each rank top-five in the PCL.
Centerfielder Adam Engel was ejected by home plate umpire Matt Winter (sixth inning) in a strike zone dispute; Tacoma manager John Russell was tossed shortly thereafter. It was only the second ejection this season for Russell, and both of his ousters have come at Salt Lake- he was also thrown out in the sixth on May 7, arguing against a balk call.

The penultimate game of this weeklong series will be on Saturday, a 5:35 PT/6:35 MT first pitch at Smith’s Ballpark. LHP Kyle Hart will start for Tacoma, opposite RHP Robinson Pina for Salt Lake.

Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto will have full coverage on TacomaRainiers.com. All 2023 Rainiers games, home and away, can also be heard for free on the MiLB First Pitch app. HD video broadcasts of every home game can be viewed with a MiLB.TV subscription.

About the Tacoma Rainiers

The Tacoma Rainiers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The Rainiers are a member of the Pacific Coast League and have been a Mariners affiliate since establishing the Rainiers moniker in 1995.

The most up-to-date news and notes about the Tacoma Rainiers and Cheney Stadium can be found by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand), Instagram (@tacomarainiers) and liking the team on Facebook.