Perez leaves early with injury, Grizzlies beat Rainiers

Tacoma’s five-game winning streak came to an end Saturday, as the Rainiers fell ___ against the Fresno Grizzlies for their first loss since the All-Star break.

The Grizzlies got to Tacoma starter Williams Perez early, plating two on AJ Reed’s 20th home run of the season.

Perez settled down for the next three innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth, and had to leave after being hit in his right knee by a bullet off the bat of Antonio Nunez.

“We’ll reassess him tonight and tomorrow, and see if he’s able to make his next start,” manager Pat Listach said after the game.

Tucker Healy replaced him, coming into a bases-loaded situation with no outs and the top of the Fresno lineup due up. Healy didn’t allow a hit in the frame, but a walk, a sacrifice fly, and an error on a pickoff attempt stretched the Grizzlies’ lead to 5-1.

Kent native Taylor Jones made it 6-1 in the top of the sixth with a solo home run, and later in the inning, Federal Way’s Nick Tanielu doubled in another run.

Adam Law provided all of Tacoma’s scoring in the bottom of the second with his second home run of the year.

Trent Thornton earned the win, scattering four hits across six innings and striking out six Rainiers. Buddy Boshers pitched three no-hit innings for the save.

“We ran into a pitcher today,” Listach said. “Then our starter got knocked out of the game, and the game got out of hand a little bit.”

Tacoma and Fresno will wrap up their four-game series tomorrow at 1:35. The Rainiers will bring Darren McCaughan up from Single-A Modesto for his second spot start of the year.

Fresno homecomings

In his first professional homecoming since getting drafted, Taylor Jones had so many possible friends and family to invite that he didn’t know how to get tickets for them all. So he kept it simple, only reserving seats for his immediate family and letting everyone else get their own. It made for some surprises.

“There were some people I didn’t even know were coming that I just saw right before the game or after the game,” Jones said at Cheney Stadium before Saturday night’s game between Tacoma and Fresno.

Nick Tanielu, the Grizzlies’ other Washington native making his first professional appearance in the area, went the other direction, bargaining for 50 tickets per game. Only a few could be seated. The others had to settle for standing-room-only.

“My family’s cool with it,” Tanielu said. “As long as they’re in the game, they’re okay.”

For both Washington natives, the series in Tacoma lined up perfectly with the All-Star break, with both being able to get an extra three days at home before the second half started to see friends and family, before playing in front of them for the first time since college.

“For my grandma, this is the first time she’s seen me play as a professional, so that’s been cool,” Jones said.

Tanielu, who moved from Alabama to Federal Way for high school, and Jones, from Kent, saw their series lined up perfectly for another stop in two careers that have tagged along with one another for nearly a decade.

Tanielu was born in Birmingham, but moved with his family to the area to take care of his grandmother. A four-year starter at Federal Way High School, Tanielu hit .548 as a junior and .488 as a senior. He committed to continue his career at Washington State, moving easy to Pullman just as Jones began making a name for himself at nearby Kentridge High School.

Then when he graduated, Jones followed Tanielu east, going to Gonzaga.

“I don’t really remember playing him, but the year after I left, I remember hearing his name, and then when he went to Gonzaga I remember hearing about him there,” Tanielu said.

Now, both are back for their first games at Cheney Stadium. Tanielu, drafted by the Houston Astros in the 14th round of the 2014 draft, was called up to Fresno on May 17. Jones, drafted in the 19th round of the 2016 draft, joined the Grizzlies for the first time June 28.

In the Fresno clubhouse, it’s less about a team having a Coug and a Zag, and more about having two athletes from the same area playing together.

“Gonzaga always made it a big deal when we played against WSU, but we really haven’t joked about playing each other at all,” Jones said.

“It’s more nice that we have something to relate about.”

This story was originally published July 14, 2018 at 8:25 PM.