April 30 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers at Sacramento River Cats

April 30, 2024 – Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release

TACOMA RAINIERS (17-10) @ SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS (17-10)

Tuesday, April 30 – 6:45 PM – Sutter Health Park – Sacramento, CA

RHP Casey Lawrence (0-3, 8.06) vs. RHP Tommy Romero (2-0, 2.66)

TONIGHT’S GAME: Tacoma and Sacramento are set for game one of their six-game series, with Casey Lawrence taking the ball for the Rainiers. Lawrence is still in search of his first win of the season, entering play tonight with an 0-3 record and an 8.06 ERA. The right-hander has allowed 20 earned runs on 34 hits and six walks over his 22.1 innings this season, striking out eight batters along the way. Opponents are hitting .354 against him in his four starts this year. Opposite of Lawrence will be righty Tommy Romero getting the nod for the River Cats. Romero is 2-0 with a 2.66 ERA in six games for Sacramento this year, set to make his second start of the season. Through six games, the 26-year-old has allowed seven earned runs on 21 hits and 14 walks, striking out 19 batters in 23.2 innings.

EARLY AND OFTEN: Tacoma’s offense has been on fire in each of their last two games, scoring nine runs on 10 hits in Saturday’s win and 12 runs on 16 hits in Sunday’s rain-shortened victory. The Rainiers have jumped on their opponents early in the game, scoring in each of the first three innings on Saturday and in all six innings played on Sunday. In Saturday’s victory, Tacoma scored eight runs over the first three frames, getting two in the first, one in the second and five in the third. In their most recent game on Sunday, they scored three runs in the second, third and sixth innings while putting one on the board in the first, fourth and fifth.

GOING DEEP: Blake Hunt hit his first two home runs of the season on Sunday, going yard in both the second and third innings. The two deep flies were his first two home runs since June 28 of last season, a game in which he also hit two home runs, as a member of the Durham Bulls against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. With the two home runs, Hunt also drove in five runs, both of which were season highs. The catcher is now hitting .357 (15-for-42) on the season with two doubles, a triple and two home runs. He has driven in eight runs and taken three walks compared to just six strikeouts in his 13 games played. His two-home run game was the second consecutive game a Rainiers player hit two home runs in a single game, as Nick Solak did so in Saturday’s contest. It was the third time…