Altuve singles, but Evans shines as Rainiers take the finale against Fresno
The Rainiers played host to their second all-time great second basemen in as many weeks Sunday afternoon, welcoming reigning AL MVP José Altuve to Cheney Stadium.
“This guy is just amazing the way he goes about his business,” Rainiers manager Pat Listach said before the game. “He’s the ultimate professional. He may be the shortest guy on the field, but he’s the biggest guy in the clubhouse and on the field — for both teams, most of the time.”
Altuve went 1-for-3 on the day, striking out in the top of the third and singling in the sixth. His day ended prematurely in the eighth, though, as Mike Morin hit him in the upper arm, and he was pulled for a pinch runner.
On the field, though, the story for Tacoma quickly became Bryan Evans, who got Altuve to ground out to lead off the game before settling in for a dominant outing in a 6-4 Rainiers win to split the four-game series with division-leading Fresno.
“That’s a pretty good team over there, so we’re happy with a split,” Listach said after the game.
Evans turned in his best start in a Tacoma jersey this season, throwing six shutout frames and striking out eight on a season-high 110 pitches.
“I felt good,” Evans said after the game. “I didn’t even realize that I was at 110. But I felt good, and we’ll keep going from here.”
Tacoma broke into the scoring column in the bottom of the second inning with a two-out rally, plating one run on a Fresno throwing error and two more on a Cameron Perkins bloop single.
The Rainiers kept up the success at the plate in the third, with Andrew Aplin singling home one run, Seth Mejias-Brean beating out a throw at the plate for a second, and Adam Law bringing a third in on a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0.
Mike Morin replaced Evans in the top of the seventh and had an outing to forget, allowing four straight hits, hitting Altuve, and leaving before retiring an out.
Nick Rumbelow saw Tacoma through the seventh, but ran into his own jam in the eighth, walking a run in to make it 6-4, before Shawn Armstrong came in and slammed the door with a four-out save.
David Freitas went 3-for-4, extending his current hitting streak to eight games and capping off a series in which he went 8-for-12.
“He had a great series,” Listach said. “He wore them out.”
Andrew Aplin added three hits of his own, though he got tagged out on the bases twice — trying to stretch a single into a double in the fifth, and going for a triple in the seventh.
Up next
Tacoma has the day off Monday, and will open up a three-game set with Reno at Cheney Stadium on Tuesday. Ross Detwiler will get the start, with Christian Bergman and David Rollins scheduled to follow him Wednesday and Thursday.
More immediately, though, Seattle’s rough series against Los Angeles could very well lead to multiple roster moves as the Mariners look to bolster their bullpen. Nick Rumbelow and Ryan Cook are the two fully healthy Tacoma relievers on the 40-man roster; Cook threw 20 pitches Saturday night, and Rumbelow threw 28 Sunday.