July 13 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers @ Albuquerque Isotopes

TACOMA RAINIERS (50-41) @ ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (35-56)
Saturday, July 13 • 5:35 PM PT • Isotopes Park • Albuquerque, NM
RHP Emerson Hancock (2-1, 1.64) vs. RHP Karl Kauffman (5-7, 7.30)

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Rainiers and Isotopes will play the fifth game of their six-game series tonight, with Albuquerque leading the series three games to one. Tacoma will send Emerson Hancock to the mound, set to make his eighth start for the Rainiers and 17th of the season between Seattle and Tacoma. Through his first seven starts with Tacoma, Hancock is 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA, allowing seven earned runs on 27 hits and 15 walks. He has struck out 31 batters over his 38.1 innings pitched, limiting opponents to just a .193 batting average against him. Opposite Hancock will be Karl Kaufmann taking the ball for the Isotopes, making his 19th start of the year tonight. Kauffman is 5-7 with a 7.30 ERA through his first 18 starts with Albuquerque, allowing 70 earned runs on 106 hits and 50 walks through 86.1 innings, striking out 51 batters over that span. The right-hander is coming off a loss in which he allowed six earned runs on eight hits and three walks over 4.1 innings on July 7 to El Paso.

HISTORY IN SIGHT: With three more stolen bases last night, Cade Marlowe now has 43 on the season, leading all Triple-A plyers by at least 12. Marlowe’s teammate, Samad Taylor is second among Triple-A base runners with 31 on the year. Marlowe’s 43 stolen bases this season put him in rare company for Tacoma Rainiers single-season history, as he is now tied for third with Rusty McNealy (1983) and Del Alston (1979) for the most stolen bases in a single season. Leading the way is Jimmy Sexton (1981) with 56 followed by Forrest Wall (2022) with 52. Not only is Marlowe climbing single-season records for the Rainiers, but he is also now second in Tacoma’s all-time career stolen base leaders. In parts of four seasons with the Rainiers, Marlowe now has 79 stolen bases, getting caught stealing just 10 times over that span. His three swiped bags broke his tie at 76 with Mike Davis and put him 13 behind Tacoma’s all-time career stolen base leader, Del Alston, with 92.

NEED A GOOD ONE: Tacoma will rely on Emerson Hancock to get them a good start against Albuquerque tonight, in danger of losing the series. Hancock has allowed two earned runs or less in six of his seven starts for the Rainiers, holding his opponent off the board in four of the seven. He enters play tonight with a 1.64 ERA through seven starts, going 2-1 and delivering four quality starts with the Rainiers. Hancock is making his first start with Tacoma since being named the Pacific Coast League June Pitcher of the Month, going 1-0 with a 0.84 ERA in four starts in the month. He allowed just two earned runs all month, coming in the very first inning of the month on a two-run home run against Sacramento on June 1. Since then, he has tossed 20.2 consecutive scoreless innings entering play tonight.

STACKING THEM UP: Seby Zavala went 3-for-4 with a run scored, two doubles and three runs batted in last night, marking his first multi-hit and multi-RBI game of the season with Tacoma. Zavala improved his batting average to .353 (6-for-17) through seven games with the Rainiers with his three-hit night. The catcher has been Seattle’s backup catcher for most of the season, but with more consistent playing time with Tacoma is looking to get into a groove. In 18 games with the Mariners this season, Zavala hit just .154 (6-for-39) with two doubles, a home run and two runs batted in.

ANOTHER ONE: Tacoma got walked off for the second consecutive night last night, allowing a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to lose by a final score of 7-6. It was looking good for Tacoma, holding a two-run lead entering the ninth with Cody Bolton on the mound, who had not allowed a single earned run all season for Tacoma. With runners on the corners and one out, Drew Romo connected with his 12th home run of the year to sink Tacoma for the second straight ninth inning walk-off. Late leads have not been easy for the Rainiers to hold onto, as they have now lost five games out of their last 14 when leading after seven innings. They are now 41-6 when leading after seven frames this season and dropped to 43-5 when leading after eight. Four of Tacoma’s nine losses in the second half have come with the Rainiers holding a lead into the ninth inning, as multiple relievers have blown save opportunities lately. As a team, Tacoma is now just 14-for-35 in save opportunities.

AGAINST ALBUQUERQUE: Tacoma and Albuquerque will play game five of their six-game series tonight, as the Rainiers now trail the series three games to one after back-to-back walk-off losses. The Rainiers won the opener on Tuesday but have since lost three in a row to the Isotopes, dropping to a season series record of 1-3 and an all-time series record of 169-186-1.

SHORT HOPS: In his first game on Major League rehab, Gabe Speier allowed two hits and a walk but got out of the inning without allowing a run, throwing seven of his 14 pitches for strikes…all nine starters for the Rainiers struck out at least once last night, as the team struck out 11 times compared to just three walks…Cody Bolton allowed his first three runs of the season with his blown save in the ninth inning last night, as he entered last night’s game having tossed 11.2 scoreless innings over 12 games...all 11 relievers on Tacoma’s roster that have had a save opportunity this season now have at least one blown save after last night’s game.