MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Even though he’s from Georgia and lives in Virginia, Memphis feels like home for Rainiers starter Andrew Carraway.
Pitching somewhat close to his home bases, Carraway delivered seven strong innings and earned the win in Tacoma’s 4-2 victory over Memphis on Sunday evening. The win ended the Rainiers’ five-game losing streak.
Carraway was pitching with his mother, his fiancee, and her family in the stands.
“My mom drove almost seven hours,” said Carraway. “I’ve been on the West Coast for three months now, so anything in Tennessee seems extremely close on the relative scale.”
Carraway allowed four singles over seven innings. He walked one and struck out three, earning his first win since June 30.
Having experience with catcher Brandon Bantz helped Carraway on Sunday.
“Any time Bantz is back there, I trust him,” said Carraway. “We had probably thirty starts together last year in the Southern League. We went with a fastball-change-up mix.”
Tacoma took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Luis Rodriguez’s 12th home run of the season, but Memphis tied the score in the bottom of the inning when Steven Hill’s grounder deflected off Rainiers third baseman Alex Liddi’s glove for a two-out RBI single.
“The biggest thing in the game was Carraway,” said Tacoma manager Daren Brown. “He kept them off-balance, and wasn’t in a whole lot of trouble. Even the run he gave up was on a play Liddi makes a lot of the time.”
The Rainiers regained the lead in the third when Scott Savastano doubled and scored on Darren Ford’s single through a drawn-in infield.
Luis Jimenez connected for another tape-measure homer in the seventh inning. His drive to right field off Memphis starter Brandon Dickson sailed over a picnic area and landed in an alley separating AutoZone Park from a neighboring apartment complex.
Savastano drove in the final run with a triple in the ninth inning, finishing the game 2-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and making the most of a rare start.
“That’s what you hope for as a reserve player,” said Brown. “You stay ready for your opportunity, and you do something when you get the opportunity.”
SHORT HOPS
The victory was Tacoma’s first regular-season win at AutoZone Park since July 29, 2008. … Infielder Nick Franklin missed the first of two games to attend to a personal matter.
ON TAP
The Memphis series wraps up today with a 5:05 p.m. (PDT) game. Tacoma starts Hector Noesi (0-4, 7.24 ERA) against Memphis’ Trevor Rosenthal (0-0, 6.30).
Mike Curto is the radio broadcaster for the Rainiers.
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