While the Mariners struggle to push across a run, their AAA Tacoma affiliate offered up an avalanche of offense Wednesday night in Colorado Springs, CO., crushing the Sky Sox 25-6 with 30 hits. 2B Dustin Ackley, sent down earlier this week, was 5-for-6 with a home run, four runs and three RBIs. CF Abraham Almonte went 6-for-6 and was one of three to score four runs.
The Rainiers scored multiple runs in each of the first six innings, each of their starters had at least two hits, and four had four. Brad Miller and Eric Thames became the first teammates to drive in six runs apiece in a game against the Sky Sox since Corey Hart and Prince Fielder did it for Nashville in 2005.
The stadium is at 6,500 feet and a steady wind blew to the outfield fences. The game took four hours and required Sky Sox reserve catcher Dallas Tarleton to pitch the ninth.
8 Comments
Nice to see Ackley have a solid game though obviously there’s a big difference between AAA and MLB pitching. Hopefully he can get back on track and rejoin the M’s.
How many times have Mariners fans hoped, and how many times have they been rewarded?
No kidding. I’m blaming the SI article on the M’s that was saying to watch out for the M’s, they have young hitting! Either SI jinxed the club or those players read it too and got just a big over confident.
Hopefully Ackley can regain confidence in Tacoma and perform for the M’s.
A month or so of success may be able to help turn him around – let’s hope.
Baseball is littered with stories of late bloomers. But Ackley was an early bloomer who is fading under Mariners tutelage.
You could say Brandon Morrow was the same. Or Jeff Clement.
Maybe they should swap out the whole teams, what’s to lose?
One player at a time, and they’ll get there.