Tacoma Drops Series Finale to Sugar Land in 8-3 Loss
April 27, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TACOMA, WA - The Tacoma Rainiers (11-16) dropped their series finale in an 8-3 loss to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (13-14) on Sunday afternoon, dropping four out of six games in the series.
Sugar Land opened the scoring in the first inning, as Shay Whitcomb hit a solo home run to right-center field with one out to give the Space Cowboys a 1-0 lead.
Austin Shenton responded for Tacoma in the bottom of the second with his third home run of the season, a towering shot to right field, which tied the game at 1-1.
Tacoma took the lead in the third inning. After Nick Dunn grounded out to catcher Collin Price, Colin Davis hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot to left field, giving Tacoma a 2-1 lead. The 433-foot homer is the longest by a Rainier at Cheney Stadium this season. Two batters later, Harry Ford hit his first Triple-A home run, a solo blast to right field, extending the Tacoma lead to 3-1.
The Tacoma advantage was cut in half in the fourth. Jesús Bastidas walked with one out, and he scored from first on a hit-and-run that came from a double off the bat of César Salazar. Tacoma starter William Fleming struck out Kenedy Corona before being replaced by Adonis Medina, who set down Tommy Sacco Jr. on strikes to end the inning with the score at 3-2.
Sugar Land re-took the lead in the fifth inning. Medina retired the first two batters before giving up a double to Shay Whitcomb, his fifth of the series. Brice Matthews then homered to right field to put the Space Cowboys in front 4-3.
Sugar Land added on in the sixth. Salazar led off the inning with a single, which Corona followed with a double. With two runners in scoring position, Sacco Jr. singled to score Salazar, making it 5-3. Sacco Jr. then stole second and Blake Hunt's attempt at catching him stealing went into center field, and Corona was able to score on the error, making it 6-3. Josh Fleming came on to pitch and set down Zach Short and Shay Whitcomb to end the inning.
Sugar Land got two more in the seventh. Matthews started the frame with a single, and he also stole second and third base. Price struck out in the meantime, with Bastidas walking after the punchout. With runners on the corners, Salazar poked an RBI single to center field, extending the Sugar Land lead to 7-3. A wild pitch allowed both Bastidas and Salazar to advance, and Hunt's attempt to catch Bastidas at third base was wide of the bag and rolled into left field, which allowed Bastidas to score, putting Sugar Land up 8-3. After Corona was retired, Will Klein came in to relieve Matt Brash and struck out Sacco Jr. to end the inning.
Brandon Walter earned the win for Sugar Land and held Tacoma scoreless through five scoreless innings, over which he only surrendered one hit. Adonis Medina took the loss for Tacoma after giving up three runs over 1.2 innings.
Postgame Notes:
Colin Davis's 433-foot home run was the longest home run at Cheney Stadium this season, and the longest homer since Jason Vosler's 444-foot blast versus Round Rock on September 19th of last season
This is the first time the Rainiers have hit two home runs in an inning this year, and their three home runs in the game tie a season-high
Cole Young hit his second triple of the season today, making him the first Tacoma player with multiple triples on the season while also being the only Rainier to hit a triple this year. He is now tied for second with 10 other players in the PCL with two triples
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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 27, 2025
- Tacoma Drops Series Finale to Sugar Land in 8-3 Loss - Tacoma Rainiers
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- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - vs. Sugar Land - Tacoma Rainiers
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