Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - 5/8 at El Paso
PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - 5/8 at El Paso

Published on May 8, 2026 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


TODAY'S GAME - 5/8 at El Paso

FIRST PITCH - 5:35 PM (PT) at Southwest University Park - El Paso, TX

PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma RHP Casey Lawrence (1-3, 5.21) vs. El Paso RHP Sean Boyle (2-3, 8.10)

BROADCAST - TV: Bally Sports Live App/MiLB.TV RADIO - KIXI 880

THE RAINIERS: Dropped their fourth straight game, as they were held to two hits in a 4-1 loss to El Paso on Thursday night...the Chihuahuas led 3-0 after two innings, but Tacoma got a run back in the fourth as Brennen Davis scored on an error...El Paso tacked on one more run in the seventh inning...Cole Wilcox made his Rainiers debut, tossing a scoreless eighth inning in the loss.

LAWRENCE LEADS: RHP Casey Lawrence will make his eighth start of the season tonight in El Paso and the 78th of his Rainiers career, the sixth-most in franchise history...Lawrence has accumulated the fourth-most innings pitched (38.0) in the PCL this season...since his professional debut in 2010, no minor league pitcher has recorded more wins (115), innings pitched (1,748.1), complete games (13) and strikeouts (1,229)...Lawrence has limited the free passes so far this season, ranking second among qualified PCL pitchers with a 4.9% walk rate (per FanGraphs).

BLISS SWIPING BAGS: INF Ryan Bliss stole his fourth base of the season on Thursday night, the 76th of his Rainiers career...his 76 steals tie him with Mike Davis (1981-82) for the fourth-most in franchise history...next up on the list is Cade Marlowe, who stole 91 bases with Tacoma from 2021-25...since his Triple-A debut on July 14, 2023, Bliss' 81 total steals (76 with Tacoma, five with Reno), are tied for the second-most in the PCL, trailing only the 99 by Samad Taylor in that time.

BACKSTOP BOMBS: C Brian O'Keefe led off the fifth inning with a solo home run on Wednesday, his first home run of the season...since the 2022 season, O'Keefe has hit 43 home runs while playing catcher, tied for the most in Triple-A in that time (also: Carlos Pérez)... O'Keefe's .327 average ranks fifth among Triple-A catchers with at least 50 plate appearances this season, also ranking fifth with his seven doubles...O'Keefe has crushed left-handed pitching this season, going 5-for-11 with three doubles against southpaws...he has also drawn a walk in each of his last three games, tied for the second-longest streak by a Rainiers hitter this season.

BRENNEN'S BOOMING: OF Brennen Davis connected on his seventh home run of the season on Wednesday, the second in as many days...since hitting his first home run of the season on April 17, his seven home runs are the most in the Pacific Coast League and the second-most in Triple-A (trails: Spencer Jones - 8)...in that time, Davis also ranks second in the league with 13 extra-base hits and 49 total bases, ranking fourth with a .710 slugging percentage and seventh with a 1.110 OPS...Davis also ranks fifth among PCL hitters (min. 100 PA) with a 50.7% hard hit rate.

WORDS OF WISDOM: INF Patrick Wisdom was sent to Tacoma on a Major League rehab assignment on Tuesday...in his two games with the Rainiers, he's gone 0-for-3 with a pair of walks...Wisdom was placed on Seattle's 10-Day Injured List on April 17 (retro April 15) with a left oblique strain...Wisdom played 15 games with Tacoma before the Mariners selected his contract on April 14, hitting .264 with nine home runs and 17 RBI...despite not playing a game with the Rainiers for 23 days, he still ranks second in the PCL with nine home runs...Wisdom made one pinch-hit appearance for Seattle, going 0-for-1on April 14 at San Diego.

ROBLES REHABS WITH RAINIERS: OF Victor Robles was sent to Tacoma on a Major League rehab assignment on Sunday...in his three games with Tacoma, he's gone 0-for-6 with an RBI, a walk and run scored...Robles, 28, was placed on Seattle's 10-Day Injured List on April 8 (retro April 7) with a right pectoral strain...in five games with the Mariners this season, Robles hit .231 (3x13) with a double, RBI and a stolen base...Robles appeared in 32 games with the Mariners in 2025, hitting .245 with four doubles, one triple, one home run and nine RBI, working around a left shoulder dislocation...he also played in eight games with Tacoma on a Major League rehab assignment in 2025, hitting .310 (9x29) with three doubles and a home run, driving in nine.

LABRADA LOCKED IN: OF Victor Labrada has reached base in 13 of his last 16 games, with hits in 12 of them...over his last 16 games (since April 19), Labrada is hitting .350 (20x57) with three doubles, one home run, six RBI, nine walks and three stolen bases...in that time Labrada ranks 10th in the league in on-base percentage (.456).

FEEL SO CLOSE TO YOU RIGHT NOW: Through 36 games of the 2026 season, the Rainiers have played plenty of close games, with 25 of the 36 games being decided by two-or-fewer runs (the most in the league), 17 of which have been one-run games...the Rainiers have gone 12-13 in games decided by two-or-fewer runs and 6-11 in one-run games...three of Tacoma's last five games have been one-run contests.

MARINERS UPDATE: The Mariners had Thursday off as they traveled to Chicago to open a seven-game roadtrip...the Mariners will play three games at Chicago (AL) before heading down to Houston for four games with the Astros.

Check out the Tacoma Rainiers Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 8, 2026


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