There were potential distractions during the day, but the Tacoma Rainiers put those aside Thursday night and powered to a 7-3 win over the Tucson Padres at Cheney Stadium.
The Rainiers played with 22 men on their roster after losing four players in moves by parent Seattle earlier in the day. Pitchers Cesar Jimenez and Shawn Kelley and catcher Chris Gimenez (rehab) joined the Mariners, while infielder Matt Tuiasosopo was released.
“Every day in Triple-A has a chance to be a distracting day,” manager Daren Brown said. “But … it’s still about the guys who are here. Go about your business. Go out and you’ve got a chance to show somebody what you can do tonight. The guys did that. And it’s not an easy day on this side of the desk, I can tell you that.”
Amid the subtractions, outfielder Carlos Peguero (calf) was added from the disabled list and contributed a two-run homer in the eighth inning that determined the final score.
“Him getting hurt just before we played a big series in Reno, I think that hurt,” Brown said. “It happens. It’s just the way it is here. But he is a threat in the lineup. He can do what he did tonight, and he can do that at any time. It’s good to have him back in the lineup.”
The game matched a pair of pitchers who began with a combined ERA of 12.87 – Tucson’s Jon Leicester (6.52) and Tacoma’s Luke French (6.35). And early on they pitched like they might exceed that total. French gave up a three-run home run to Bobby Kielty in the first inning, and Tacoma answered with a pair of runs in the second and another pair in the third – the latter coming on a two-run blast by Greg Halman.
“Halman kind of did some things tonight that he’s capable of doing,” Brown said. “He can beat you with power, he can beat you with speed. We saw the other night – he threw a guy out at third. He can do it defensively. That’s the kind of player he is, and he showed a couple of more tools tonight.”
However, both starters settled down after the early eruptions, with the Rainiers clinging to a 4-3 lead until they broke it open in the eighth.
French got his ninth win. Scott Patterson got his eighth save.
“I thought Frenchy did a nice job, especially after giving up a three-run homer in the first on a pitch he left up in the zone, and buckled down from there to get us through seven innings with the lead,” Brown said. “The final score of the game is probably not an indication of how the game was most of the night – a one-run ball game. … I thought we played well defensively, pitched well after the first inning, and got some big hits.”
ON TAP
The Rainiers (69-71) open their final series of the season at 7:05 tonight against the Fresno Grizzlies. Probable starting pitchers are right-hander Daryl Maday (0-2, 7.07 ERA) for Fresno and left-hander Chris Seddon (9-6, 6.22) for Tacoma.
Tickets remained available Thursday, but a sellout is expected.
Don Ruiz, 253-597-8808 don.ruiz@thenewstribune.com
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