Rainiers Swept by Aviators, Fall 5-3 in Series Finale
Published on May 31, 2026 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TACOMA, WA - The Tacoma Rainiers (23-34) fell to the Las Vegas Aviators (32-23) by a score of 5-3 on Sunday, their tenth straight loss. Carson Taylor picked up his second home run of the season and Casey Lawrence logged his seventh quality start, tossing 6.0 of two-run baseball, allowing four hits, while notching four strikeouts in the defeat.
Tacoma opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. Victor Labrada drew a one-out walk, then advanced to second base on a groundout from Jakson Reetz. With one on and two out, Carson Taylor (2) hooked a two-run home run that knocked off the right field foul pole, giving Tacoma a 2-0 lead.
Casey Lawrence cruised through the first five frames without allowing a hit. The lone baserunner allowed was a leadoff walk in the third inning, but Lawrence worked around it with a pair of fielder's choices and a strikeout.
Las Vegas got on the board in the top of the sixth inning. Chad Wallach tallied the first hit of the game for the Aviators with a single to center field. Colby Halter followed with a single to right field which advanced Wallach to third. Halter then stole a bag which put runners on second and third base. Max Muncy posted the first run of the ballgame for Las Vegas, hitting a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Wallach and advanced Halter to third base. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer evened the score after a groundball single to right field, driving in Halter, tying the game at two.
Tacoma quickly responded in the bottom of the sixth inning. Labrada and Reetz notched back-to-back singles putting runners on first and second base. Colin Davis lined a single to left field, Labrada was thrown out at home while Reetz advanced to third. Soon after, Axel Sanchez reached first on a throwing error, which scored Reetz, and gave Tacoma a 3-2 lead.
The Aviators evened the score in the top of the eighth inning. Drew Swift worked a leadoff walk, then advanced to third on an errant pickoff attempt. Shortly after, Kuroda-Grauer blooped a single into center field that scored Swift. Cade Marlowe followed with a single to center field that advanced Kuroda-Grauer to third. Joey Meneses gave the Aviators their first lead, with a double down the left field line, which scored Kuroda-Grauer and Marlowe, putting Las Vegas in front 5-3.
The Rainiers went down in order in the ninth inning, falling 5-3. The Rainiers will begin a road series in Sacramento on Tuesday as they attempt to get back in the win column. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES:
RHP Casey Lawrence recorded his seventh quality start Sunday by tossing 6.0 innings of two-run ball, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out four...seven quality starts are the most by any minor league pitcher this season and marked Tacoma's 15th quality start as a staff, also the most by any minor league team...Lawrence's fourth strikeout marked his 334th in his Rainiers career, passing Eddie Bane for the eighth-most in franchise history...in May, he leads all minor league pitchers with 36.0 IP and his 2.75 ERA ranks second in the PCL.
INF Carson Taylor crushed his second home run of the season Sunday afternoon, finishing 1-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and a run scored...since May 1, Taylor ranks eighth in the PCL with an .436 OBP.
INF Leo Rivas extended his walk streak to seven games Sunday, finishing 1-for-4 with a walk and stolen base...seven straight games with a walk is the longest by a Rainiers hitter this season and the longest since Rivas walked in seven consecutive contests from August 12-26, 2025...since joining the Rainiers on May 21, Rivas holds a .436 OBP, walking 11 times with only seven strikeouts.
RHP Nick Davila turned in his second scoreless appearance with Tacoma Sunday afternoon, tossing 1.0 inning while allowing one hit and striking out one...it's his 12th consecutive scoreless appearance across three different levels since April 23, three of them coming with Double-A Arkansas and seven of them with Seattle.
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