Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - 7/8 at Las Vegas
PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - 7/8 at Las Vegas

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


TODAY'S GAME - 7/8 at Las Vegas

FIRST PITCH - 7:05 PM at Las Vegas Ballpark - Las Vegas, NV

PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma LHP Jhonathan Díaz (6-6, 5.74) vs. Las Vegas RHP Braden Nett (1-0, 8.68)

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

THE RAINIERS: Fell 9-5 to Las Vegas in the series opener on Tuesday night...Tacoma got the scoring started early as Patrick Wisdom connected on a three-run home run in the top of the first inning...the Aviators scored six unanswered runs to take a 6-3 after the fourth inning...the Rainiers got a pair back in the top of the sixth inning to make it a one-run game at 6-5 as Jhonny Pereda and Ryan Bliss each drove in runs, but Las Vegas tacked on three more runs to win 9-5...Bliss finished the game 3-for-5 with a triple, while Pereda went 2-for-4 with a double in the loss.

PROSPECT POWER-UP: The Mariners promoted OF Lazaro Montes (MLB.com No. 3) and INF Michael Arroyo (MLB.com No. 4) to Tacoma on Tuesday...Montes, 21, has hit .234 with 11 doubles, one triple and 25 home runs with Double-A Arkansas this season, driving in 66...his 25 home runs this year are the fourth-most in the minor leagues, while ranking second in the Texas League in RBI (66) and third in SLG (.550) and OPS (.919)...Montes was also named the 2025 Ken Griffey Jr. Mariners Minor League Hitter of the Year and Northwest League MVP with Everett...Arroyo, 21, hit .287 with 12 doubles, one triple and 10 home runs, driving in 40 in 65 games with the Travelers...Arroyo's 75 hits and .287 batting average with Arkansas both rank seventh in the Texas League.

PEARLS OF WISDOM: INF Patrick Wisdom recorded his 20th home run of the season on Tuesday night, tied for the second-most in the PCL...Wisdom is the 19th PCL hitter since 2005 to record three 20-homer seasons (also: 2017, 2019)...Wisdom's .124 HR/PA is the best in the minor leagues (min. 100 PA), averaging a home run every 8.1 plate appearances...Wisdom's .124 HR/PA currently ranks as the best among all minor league hitters in a single season since 2005 (min. 100 PA), with the next-closest being 2011 Eliezer Alfonzo with Colorado Springs, who averaged .119 HR/PA...the next-closest Rainiers hitter is Jabari Blash, who averaged .096 HR/PA with Tacoma in 2015 (22HR/228PA).

SEVERAL SACRIFICES: The Rainiers gave up four of their nine runs allowed on Tuesday via sacrifice fly... the four sacrifice flies allowed are tied for the most in a Triple-A game this season (also: Jacksonville, June 24 vs. Memphis)...it's just the second time since 2005 that Tacoma has allowed four sacrifice flies in a game (also: May 5, 2023, at Salt Lake)...the Rainiers have allowed 36 sacrifice flies on the season, tied for the third-most in Triple-A...Tacoma's offense has hit 34 sacrifice flies this season, tied for the fifth-most in Triple-A.

DÍAZ DIGGING DEEP: LHP Jhonathan Díaz will make his 18th start of the season tonight, which will tie RHP Casey Lawrence for the most in the PCL this season...Díaz has thrown 80.0 innings this season, the fourth-most in the PCL and the second-most among left-handers...tonight's start will be Díaz's first since starting Game 1 of the 2025 Pacific Coast League Championship Series on September 23, 2025...the lefty has pitched well in Las Vegas in his career, going 2-1 with a 3.03 ERA (11ER/32.2IP), the fourth-best ERA by any pitcher with at least five starts at Las Vegas Ballpark since it opened in 2019...the two home runs Díaz has allowed at Las Vegas Ballpark are tied for the fewest by any pitcher with at least five starts there, joined by former Aviators pitcher Mason Miller.

ADD ALEJO TO THE MIX: INF Alejo Lopez was activated from the 7-Day Injured List on Tuesday......over his last 25 games, he hit .345 (30x87) with nine doubles and two home runs, driving in 11...in that time (since May 10), Lopez has walked seven times to seven strikeouts, tied for the fewest strikeouts among Triple-A hitters with at least 70 plate appearances in that span, sporting a .406 on-base percentage, a .517 slugging percentage and a .923 OPS...on the season, Lopez has taken 12 walks to 10 strikeouts, tied for eighth among Triple-A hitters (min. 100 PA) with a 1.2 BB/K ratio.

COLIN CRUSHING: Since hitting his first home run of the season on May 14, OF Colin Davis has connected on 11 long balls, tying his career-high (also: 11 in 2023 with Modesto/Everett)...Davis' 11 home runs since May 14 are the third-most in the PCL, trailing only Albuquerque's Charlie Condon (16)and Zac Veen (12) in that time...since May 14, Davis is hitting .270 with five doubles, one triple, 11 home runs and 27 RBI, sporting a .347 OBP, .541 SLG and a .888 OPS.

PEREDA PARTY: C Jhonny Pereda extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a single in the ninth inning on Sunday, the longest on-base streak by a Rainiers hitter this season...Pereda's 19-game streak is the longest streak by a Rainiers hitter since OF Rhylan Thomas reached in 23 consecutive contests from August 12-September 6, 2025...Pereda has been one of the best hitting catchers in Triple-A this season, batting .309, good for fourth among Triple-A backstops (min. 100 PA).

OTHER PITCHING POINTS: Tacoma's pitching staff is having one of its better seasons in recent memory, issuing the fewest walks in Triple-A this season at 320, while ranking fourth in the circuit with a 4.38 ERA, which is also the best in the PCL...Tacoma's 4.38 ERA is the club's lowest through 88 games since the 2016 Rainiers sat at 3.94 after 88 games...the Rainiers' 706 strikeouts are the club's most through 88 games since the 2022 team punched out 754 in that span...Tacoma's bullpen ERA of 3.69 is the team's best after 88 games since the 2016 team had a 3.18 ERA, and the second-best in the last 21 years...Tacoma's bullpen has allowed 28 home runs this year, the fewest this far into the season since the 2018 bullpen allowed 28.

BLISSFUL BASEBALL: INF Ryan Bliss recorded his fifth three-hit game of the season on Tuesday, going 3-for-5 with his third triple of the season...since May 1, Bliss has tallied 20 extra-base hits (15 2B, 2 3B, 3HR), the second-most on the team, trailing the 21 extra-base hits by Patrick Wisdom...since he was optioned back to Tacoma on June 16, Bliss has hit .352 (25x71), the fifth-best average in the league in that span, while ranking second with 18 runs and tied for third with 25 hits and seven doubles...Bliss has reached base in 16 of his 18 games since being optioned to Tacoma.

MARINERS UPDATE: The Mariners fell 6-5 in 10 innings to Miami on Tuesday...Seattle erased a 4-0 deficit by plating two runs in the fifth and three in the eighth inning to take a 5-4 lead...the Marlins tied the game with a run in the bottom of the eighth, ultimately forcing extras...the Mariners were kept off the board in the top of the 10th as the Marlins walked it off in the bottom of the inning to win...Cole Young went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, while Cal Raleigh went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles in the loss.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 8, 2026


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