Offense explodes as Rainiers salvage win against Dodgers

After the past couple of weeks, Rainiers manager Pat Listach had a feeling his team was due.

“We’ve been struggling for a little over two weeks offensively,” Listach said after the game. “It was time for them to break out.”

Well, the dam burst Friday night. Every Tacoma batter found his way into the hit column — all but one had multi-hit games — and the Rainiers hit four home runs for the second time this season in a 13-1 rout of Oklahoma City.

Tacoma’s 13 runs were its most since June 22. The Rainiers combined for seven extra-base hits and put up four crooked numbers, including a five-run eighth inning to put the game well out of reach.

Tacoma gots its offense rolling early, with singles by Ben Gamel and Gordon Beckham setting the table for David Freitas, who brought both home with an 2-RBI single to start the party.

The Rainiers made it 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning on a John Andreoli RBI-blooper, and the next inning, Daniel Vogelbach plated two more with his 17th home run of the season.

In the bottom of the fifth, Andrew Aplin smashed a ball that dropped deep in the right field corner. Oklahoma City right fielder Henry Ramos slid but missed, and went crashing through a gate behind the visitors’ bullpen. But though Ramos ended up out of play, the ball stayed on the field, and Aplin rounded all the way home for Tacoma’s first inside-the-park home run since May of 2017.

“That’s my first inside-the-parker since little league,” Aplin said. “That was pretty fun.”

Tacoma added five more in the bottom of the seventh, including a pair two-run home runs — David Freitas’ first of the year and Seth Mejias-Brean’s seventh.

Bryan Evans was lights-out for Tacoma, throwing six shutout innings before finally allowing a run in the top of the seventh, but his night ended prematurely after he took a line drive off of his right foot. He ended with five strikeouts and six hits allowed in 6 ⅔ innings of work.

Ryan Garton finished off the seventh and saw the game through the eighth and ninth to put the Rainiers back in the win column.

Tacoma opens the second series of the homestand tomorrow, as Colorado Springs comes to town. Casey Lawrence is scheduled to start for the Rainiers.

“(This game) gives us a little bit of an edge for the next coming games,” Zach Vincej said. “When you’re not getting those hits and you’re not coming up clutch, sometimes you grip that bat a little tighter. I think tonight took that away.”

Gamel comes back

Back in Tacoma, Ben Gamel isn’t exactly that new a face in the Rainiers clubhouse. After being optioned from Seattle on Wednesday for his third stint in Tacoma, Gamel didn’t have many introductions to make.

“It’s good to see some familiar faces, come out here and try to win some ball games,” Gamel said before the game Friday night at Cheney Stadium.

Even so, Gamel made a good first impression in his first start for the Rainiers Thursday, launching a homer onto Tightwad Hill behind the right field fence, 379 feet long.

Friday, he was back in the starting lineup, leading off again — this time as the designated hitter. Gamel started 11 games for the Mariners in July, entered midway through six more, and started consecutive games just four times. It should be a different story in Tacoma.

“I don’t anticipate him getting too many days off,” Rainiers manager Pat Listach. “He’s here to play. If I can give him a day off, it will probably be against a tough lefty, and the next five days are all righties. So he’ll be playing every day.”

In 72 games, Gamel has had his best year in the big leagues, batting .290 with a .360 on-base percentage and 12 RBIs. Before last night, he had appeared in five games with Tacoma, logging five hits in 18 at-bats.

“I’m willing to do whatever the organization needs me to do,” Gamel said.

The Rainiers will hope that Gamel’s bat can provide a consistent spark to an offense that has desperately needed one; Tacoma has scored more than three runs just twice in its past 11 games.

“I’m excited to be playing every day, and do whatever I can to help the team win,” Gamel said.

Sudden movement

Reliever Chasen Bradford was optioned to Tacoma on Wednesday with Gamel, and reported to Cheney Stadium on Friday.

His stay would end up being measured in hours, not days, as news of Juan Nicasio’s injury and subsequent placement on the disabled list reopened a spot in the Seattle bullpen for Bradford. Because he was replacing an injured player, he didn’t need to spend the otherwise necessary 10 days before come back up.

Bradford’s move left a spot open in Tacoma, almost certainly for Tyler Higgins, who was sent down to Arkansas despite having a sub-1.75 ERA.

The Rainiers also released Dario Alvarez on Friday, after pitching 27 ⅓ innings and amassing a 1.98 ERA.

This story was originally published August 3, 2018 at 6:49 PM.