Baby Cakes claim rain-shortened win over Rainiers

METAIRIE – The New Orleans Baby Cakes rode a five-run outburst in the third inning to a 5-3, rain-shortened win over the Tacoma Rainiers on Saturday night.

After each team stranded a pair of baserunners in the second inning, the Baby Cakes erupted in the third by sending eight batters to the plate and hitting for the cycle in the inning.

Peter Mooney sparked the rally with a leadoff double, and scored on a one-out single by Isan Diaz. One batter later, Rafael Ortega tripled past a diving Kirk Nieuwenhuis in right field, his seventh three-bagger of the year, fourth-most in the Pacific Coast League.

Ortega scored when Isaac Galloway followed with a double, and Cristhian Adames capped the frame with a two-run homer to right, his fifth of the season.

Zac Gallen continued his strong pitching since the All-Star break, easing through five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts before tiring in the sixth. Gallen issued a pair of walks and hit a batter to load the bases with two outs, but Odrisamer Despaigne came on to retire Cameron Rupp on a ground out to escape the jam.

Gallen (7-5) won for the third time in as many starts since the break, and has allowed just one run in 17 2/3 innings in that span.

The Rainiers broke through against Despaigne in the seventh on a two-out, two-run double by Gordan Beckham, and John Andreoli added an RBI single as rain began to fall. Andreoli was thrown out attempting to steal second base, and the game went into a delay before being called after a 1 hour, 20 minute wait.

Darin Gillies (1-1) allowed all five runs in the third and was saddled with the loss, the 10th in the last 11 games for Tacoma.

The teams continue the four-game set on Sunday at 1 p.m.