Chihuahuas blank Tacoma 5-0 as Renfroe homers
EL PASO, Texas – The El Paso Chihuahuas shut out the Tacoma Rainiers 5-0 Thursday, posting their first nine-inning shutout since May11, 2014. The Rainiers entered the day with a league-leading .314 team batting average.
Aaron Northcraft tossed four shutout innings in his first start of the season. Northcraft joined the rotation when Justin Hancock was placed on the disabled list. He was succeeded by relievers Daniel Moskos, Eric Yardley and Frank Garces, who all had scoreless outings also.
El Paso scored its first two runs during a five-hit, two-run third inning, with runs coming on RBI singles by Ryan Schimpf and Carlos Asuaje. Asuaje’s RBI double and Hunter Renfroe’s two-run home run in the fifth led to three more Chihuahuas’ runs.
Asuaje went 3-for-4 and was the second Chihuahuas’ infielder this homestand to fall a home run shy of a cycle. (Jemile Weeks was the other).
Gameday Box Score: http://www.milb.com/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2016_04_21_tacaaa_elpaaa_1&mode=gameday
Team Records: Tacoma (10-4), El Paso (4-9)
Next Game: Friday vs. Tacoma at Southwest University Park, 7:05 p.m. Tacoma RHP Donn Roach (1-0, 8.38) vs. El Paso RHP Greg Reynolds (0-1, 6.23). Game coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. on 600 ESPN El Paso and www.epchihuahuas.com.
