DES MOINES, Iowa – Mike Wilson and Brian Sweeney are back, and the Tacoma Rainiers are happy to have them.
Wilson, in his second game after missing six weeks with a strained groin, went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs batted in, helping Tacoma to a 7-2 win over the Iowa Cubs on Thursday.
Wilson’s two-run double in the third inning gave Tacoma a 4-0 lead, and his run-scoring double in the ninth provided an insurance run.
“It’s good to be back,” said Wilson, who spent nearly a month in extended spring training rehabilitating the injury. “Down in Arizona, it’s just getting your at-bats and getting your work in, but here it’s real baseball.”
Sweeney made the start for Tacoma, his first appearance since suffering a concussion on May 5 in Reno.
He threw six shutout innings, allowing just three singles. Sweeney did not issue a walk, and no Iowa baserunner advanced past first while he was on the mound.
“(Catcher Guillermo) Quiroz called a good game, and I was able to execute my pitches and keep my pitch count down,” Sweeney said. “I was happy to get through six.”
Sweeney (1-0) had early run support. Tacoma scored in the top of the first inning, when Carlos Peguero lined a solo home run to right field, his eighth of the season.
The Cubs will be happy to see Peguero leave town – he hit four home runs in the four-game series, while going 7-for-15.
Trayvon Robinson added a sacrifice fly in the second inning, and Wilson’s double in the third gave the Rainiers their early four-run edge.
Tacoma second baseman Luis Rodriguez doubled in the fourth inning, extending his hitting streak to 19 consecutive games. He added an RBI single in the sixth, putting Tacoma up 5-0.
The Rainiers (20-27) finished their Midwest trip through Omaha and Iowa with a 5-3 record.
SHORT HOPS
Sweeney was activated from the disabled list prior to the game. … The Rainiers placed catcher Brandon Bantz and outfielder Johan Limonta on the 7-day disabled list, and announced that catcher Ralph Henriquez will arrive from Double-A Jackson on Friday. … Limonta returned to Miami for his naturalization hearing, completing the U.S. citizenship process. … Tacoma (20-27) won three of the four games in the series in Iowa.
ON TAP
The Rainiers are home for Memorial Day weekend, hosting Tucson in a four-game series starting with a 7:05 p.m. game Friday. Tacoma starts Anthony Vasquez (5-2, 4.44) against Tucson’s Tom Layne (0-2, 4.50).
Mike Curto is the radio broadcaster for the Tacoma Rainiers.