May 1 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers @ Sacramento River Cats

TACOMA RAINIERS (17-11) @ SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS (18-10)
Wednesday, May 1 • 12:05 PM • Sutter Health Park • Sacramento, CA
RHP Levi Stoudt (2-1, 4.43) vs. RHP Mason Black (2-1, 1.19)

TODAY’S GAME: After losing to a walk-off home run last night, Tacoma will try to bounce back with a victory this afternoon. The Rainiers will send righty Levi Stoudt to the mound, set to make his sixth start of the year. Through his first five outings, the 26-year-old is 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA, allowing 11 earned runs on 21 hits and 13 walks over 22.1 innings pitched. Over that span, he has struck out 19 batters, allowing opponents to hit .244 against him. On the other side, Mason Black will toe the rubber for the River Cats, also making his sixth start of the year. Black is 2-1 with a league-leading 1.19 ERA, allowing just three earned runs over his first 22.2 innings this year. The righty has surrendered 16 hits and five walks while striking out 25 batters through his first five starts of the year.

NOT THEMSELVES: Tacoma didn’t play last night’s game how they have typically played all season long, by getting on base and stealing bags. Until the ninth inning, they were limited to just two hits and two walks, not getting the opportunity to steal bases and create pressure. Last night’s game was the first game all season in which Tacoma did not have at least one stolen base, as the Rainiers stole two or more bases 16 times and at least one base in their other 11 games.

KEEP IT IN THE YARD: Tacoma allowed a season-high four home runs in last night’s two-run loss, as Sacramento scored five of their six runs via the long ball. The Rainiers had given up three home runs in a game to their opponent three times entering play last night, most recently on April 14 against Reno.

FIND A WAY: The strength of both Tacoma and Sacramento has been their pitching this year, as Sacramento is first in team ERA with a 3.92 and Tacoma is second in the PCL with a team ERA of 4.19. The next closest team is Salt Lake, with a team ERA of 4.57. The Rainiers saw one of the River Cats’ great pitchers last night, in Tommy Romero. The right-hander tossed five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out four. He lowered his ERA on the season to 2.20, good for second-best among all PCL pitchers. The only pitcher he is behind in that category is teammate Mason Black, who gets the starting nod today for Sacramento. Black is 2-1 with a 1.19 ERA through five starts, having allowed just three earned runs in 22.2 innings pitched. The Rainiers will have to battle tough pitching in order to come out with a win and even the series.

DOING HIS PART: Nick Solak hasn’t been an everyday player for Tacoma this year, playing in 15 of their 28 games so far. The Woodridge, IL, native has been ready for action whenever his name is called, shown again in last night’s game. Solak wasn’t even in the starting lineup last night until Brian Anderson was a late scratch. After being placed in the lineup last minute, the utility-man went 1-for-4 out of the nine-hole. He is now hitting .288 (15-for-52) this year, driving in 11 runs and taking eight walks compared to 11 strikeouts. His hit last night extended his hitting streak to five games, in which he is hitting .368 (7-for-19) with a double, two home runs and five runs batted in.

THAT’S MORE LIKE IT: Catcher Michael Papierski got on the board with two hits last night, going 2-for-4 with two runs batted in. He accounted for 40% (2-of-5) of Tacoma’s hits last night, and was the lone player to have a multi-hit or multi-RBI game for the Rainiers. It has been a struggle for Papierski recently, as the switch hitter was hitless in his last six games entering play last night. In the final three games of the Las Vegas series and the three games he played in their most recent series against El Paso, Papierski went 0-for-17 with three walks and five strikeouts. The catcher was a big part of Tacoma’s early success this season, hitting .303 over his first nine games. If he can get going again, it will add another big element to the Rainiers offense that is has been missing over the last couple of weeks.

AGAINST SACRAMENTO: The Rainiers and River Cats will play game two of their six-game series today, with Sacramento currently leading the series 1-0 after last night’s walk-off victory. Dating back to last season, Sacramento has now won two consecutive games over Tacoma. The River Cats also hold an eight-game lead over Tacoma in the all-time series, at 249-241.

SHORT HOPS: Three players accounted for eight of Sacramento’s 10 hits and drove in five of their six runs last night, as Brett Wisely, Trenton Brooks and Chase Pinder went 8-for-1 with four runs scored, a double, three home runs and five runs batted in…Casey Lawrence tossed his second quality start of the season last night and is still without a win on the year…Kirby Snead suffered his second loss of the season last night, having allowed two earned runs in each of his two losses; those two games are the only two games this season in which the southpaw has allowed the opponent to score... Tacoma is now 6-7 in road games and 3-3 in series openers this year.