Wasted opportunities sink Tacoma in second straight loss

The summer campers came out in force at Cheney Stadium on Wednesday, but the Tacoma Rainiers couldn’t make it happen for the kids as a long slog of a game ended with a whimper and a 5-2 Las Vegas victory.

The Rainiers (41-38) tied their season high with 11 walks and scattered seven hits but grounded into two early double plays and went 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Tacoma left 14 runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the seventh and eighth innings.

“We had a lot of traffic on the bases and just couldn’t get them in,” manager Pat Listach said. “Eleven walks and only two runs scored, that’s not a good combination.”

Pitcher Ariel Miranda, activated from the disabled list earlier in the morning, made his first appearance on the mound in 18 days and struggled early, loading the bases on a single and a pair of walks. He nearly pitched out of it unscathed, but a two-out walk forced in a run to give Las Vegas a 1-0 lead.

“He hasn’t pitched in a long time,” Listach said. “I actually think he pitched better than the numbers show and the number of pitches show.”

Ashton Goudeau came in to pitch the second inning — his first time this season pitching on back-to-back days — ending Miranda’s outing after 39 pitches. Goudeau allowed a single but induced a double play to end the inning.

Tacoma tied the game in the bottom of the second on a Seth Mejias-Brean RBI single, but Vegas scored off Casey Lawrence in the top of the third to make it 2-1.

Lawrence, originally scheduled to be the starter, took the loss. He pitched 5 2/3 innings and giving up four runs on eight hits and a walk.

Tyler Higgins relieved Lawrence and finished the eighth inning, but not before allowing an RBI double. Darin Gillies pitched a perfect top of the ninth, the only clean frame for Tacoma all game.

The Rainiers will attempt to even the series at 7:05 p.m. Thursday at Cheney Stadium. Christian Bergman is slated to pitch for Tacoma.