Logan Allen Shrinks ERA in Tacoma as El Paso Wins 1-0
Tacoma, Washington
The Tacoma Rainiers hosted the El Paso Chihuahuas in what was their final home game of the 2018 season on Monday night.
There was a hint of fall in the air as sweatshirts and windbreakers were seen throughout the ballpark.
This was the first time El Paso played a game without their star second baseman, Padres number four prospect Luis Urias was promoted to the Padres before Monday’s game. Dusty Coleman played second base for the 15th time as his replacement.
Logan Allen was making his fourth start since being promoted to Triple-A, coming in with just two earned runs in 17 innings.
The left-hander got off to a bumpy start with a 33-pitch first inning, which included some very borderline calls, leading to two walks and a single.
With the bases loaded, he did get a ground ball to end the inning with the scoreless tie still intact.
Logan Allen showing his true mettle. Getting squeezed, 2 walks, crowd barking at him. 33 pitches. Induces an inning-ending groundball to get out of it unscathed. His plus-changeup is on display early. ? #EVT pic.twitter.com/35wf0qdcCT
— Nick Lee (@NickLee51) August 28, 2018
Allen would settle down to toss five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits, walking two, and striking out three. He had Rainiers hitters off-balance all night with his changeup. His changeup is rated by MLB Pipeline as 60, which is above average.
The Chihuahuas got on the board in the second inning thanks to a double by Ty France, who scored on Shane Peterson‘s single up the middle. France has been impressive since being called up from Double-A, as he entered tonight’s game with a .281 average, four homers, and a 134 wRC+ in 17 games in El Paso.
France collected three hits in a night where offense was a scarcity.
Kazuhisa Makita relieved Allen and hurled two scoreless frames of his own, striking out one and inducing a double play. He got “ooh”s and “ahh”s from the crowd with his funky delivery.
Speaking of funky deliveries, Carter Capps tossed a perfect eight inning.
Rowan Wick made quick work of the Rainiers in the ninth inning, earning the save as the Chihuahuas not only won the game 1-0, but set a new club record with their 79th victory.
The Chihuahuas are now division champs for the third season in a row, along with setting the club record for wins. This is a sample of what is on the horizon for the Padres.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.
