Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - at El Paso
PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - at El Paso

Published on August 26, 2025 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


TODAY'S GAME - 8/26 at El Paso

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

PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma LHP Jhonathan Díaz (8-6, 4.17) vs. El Paso LHP Michael Cienfuegos (1-2, 4.95)

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

THE RAINIERS: Open up a pivotal series in El Paso tonight, as the top two teams in the Second Half standings go head-to-head...the Rainiers currently have a 0.5 game lead on the Chihuahuas...Tacoma fell 6-3 in the series finale to Oklahoma City on Sunday, splitting the six-game series...the Comets pounded out 16 hits on Sunday, the third time Tacoma allowed at least 15 hits in the series...the Comets plated a run in the first inning on a sacrifice fly, but Tacoma evened the score in the bottom of the inning as Samad Taylor stole home on a double-steal with Rhylan Thomas...Blake Hunt doubled home a run in the bottom of the second inning and Victor Labrada drove in a run on a groundout to give Tacoma a 3-1 lead...Oklahoma City scored five unanswered runs with three in the third, one in the seventh and one in the ninth to beat Tacoma 6-3 and split the series.

BIG SERIES THIS WEEK: The Rainiers and Chihuahuas will meet for the third time this season with a six-game series at Southwest University Park in El Paso...the Rainiers currently have a 0.5 game lead on El Paso in the Second Half standings, with Round Rock and Sacramento each 2.0 games back...the Rainiers (+70) and Chihuahuas (+64) have the two-best run differentials in the league in the Second Half...having taken two out of three meetings against El Paso out of the All-Star Break, a series split this week will assure Tacoma the head-to-head tiebreaker over El Paso...in their only other trip to El Paso this year (May 20-25, in the First Half), the Rainiers managed a split.

SAMAD SWIPES HOME, AGAIN: In the first inning on Sunday, Samad Taylor stole home for the second time in as many games, executing a double-steal with Rhylan Thomas...it's the third time this year that Taylor has stolen home, the most of any Triple-A player this season...it's also the fifth time that Taylor has stolen home in his Triple-A career, the most of any Triple-A player since 2005...it's just the second time since 2005 that a PCL player has stolen home three times in a single season, joining Ben Copeland, who stole home three times for the 2010 Fresno Grizzlies...Taylor is the first Rainier since 2005 to swipe home multiple times in a season, and his four steals of home are the most for a Rainier in their career since 2005...Taylor is the first PCL player since at least 2005 to steal home in consecutive games.

TAYLOR ON TRACK FOR THE RECORD: Entering tonight's game in El Paso, Samad Taylor has 90 career steals with Tacoma, the second-most in franchise history...he trails only the 92 stolen bases by Dell Alston, who played for Tacoma from 1978-80...since making his Triple-A debut in 2022, his 156 steals are the most in Triple-A, six ahead of Forrest Wall's 150...since his professional debut in 2016, Taylor's 269 career steals are the second-most in the minor leagues, trailing only the 306 by Esteury Ruiz...Cade Marlowe is also in the hunt for the record, as he has 86 career steals with Tacoma, six shy of the record.

BEN'S BASHING IN AUGUST: Since he was optioned to Tacoma on July 31, INF Ben Williamson has been on a tear, hitting .327 (20x53) with one double, one triple, four home runs, 15 RBI and 10 walks to eight strikeouts...his OPS in August is 1.137, the highest of any month in his career...his .477 on-base percentage and .660 slugging percentage in August are both the best of any month in his career...Williamson's six steals this month are also the most in a month in his career...his 15 RBI in August are two short of the most in a month in his career, trailing the 17 he drove in during April 2024...Williamson has recorded a hit 11 of his 14 games this month, with six multi-hit efforts.

LEO IS LOCKED IN: INF Leo Rivas has been amongst the league's best at getting on base...since June 1, he leads the PCL with a .467 on-base percentage, drawing a league-best 51 walks, stealing 21 bases in that time, the fourth-most in the league...he also sports a .945 OPS since June 1, the ninth-best in the league...among PCL hitters with at least 250 plate appearances this year, Rivas leads the league with a 20.5% walk rate (per FanGraphs), over two points higher than the next-closest (OKC's Austin Gauthier - 18.4%)...also among PCL hitters with 250 plate appearances, Rivas is tied for the lead with a with a 150 wRC+ (per FanGraphs) with El Paso's Luis Campusano.

TAVERAS TAKING OFF: OF Leody Taveras stole two more bases on Friday night, following his career-high three stolen bases on Thursday night, his second game with three steals this season (also: July 31 at Sugar Land)...Taveras is the second Rainier (Leo Rivas - July 30-31) and the fourth different player in the PCL this season to steal multiple bases in consecutive games this season...Taveras is 20-for-21 in stolen base attempts with Tacoma this year and has been successful in each of his last 19...the last time he was caught stealing came June 20 against Albuquerque...since June 21, Taveras' 19 steals are the most in the minor leagues without getting caught.

AND THE RAINIERS KEEP RUNNING, RUNNING: The Rainiers stole two more bases on Sunday, their sixth consecutive game with multiple steals...it's Tacoma's second multi-stolen base streak of six games this season, no other PCL team has done it more than once...the Rainiers are one of two PCL teams to have a six-game streak with multiple steals, doing so in six-straight games from July 29-August 3...the Salt Lake Bees (six games, July 26-August 1) are the only other PCL team with a streak longer than five games... dating back to July 29, the Rainiers have stolen 76 bases in 84 attempts, the most steals in the minor leagues in that time...the next-closest Triple-A team in that time is Las Vegas, who have stolen 52 bases in 56 attempts.

FORD FINDS A WAY: With his third-inning walk on Saturday night, Harry Ford extended his on-base streak to 24 games, tied for the longest streak by a Rainier this season (Tyler Locklear, 24G, June 27-active)...over his 24-game streak, Ford is hitting .275 (25x91) with four doubles and seven home runs, driving in 23 with a .966 OPS...Ford is one of two players in the PCL this season (EL Paso's Yonathan Perlaza) to record multiple 20-game on-base streaks...since July 23, Ford's seven home runs are tied for the fifth-most in the league, his 23 RBI are the sixth-most in the PCL and ranks fourth with a 1.022 OPS...in August, eight of his 13 hits have gone for extra bases (three doubles and five home runs).

MARINERS UPDATE: The Seattle Mariners took the first game of the series against the San Diego Padres, winning 9-6...Cal Raliegh launched his 50th home run of the year, the first catcher to ever hit that mark in a single season...Jorge Polanco also went 3-for-4 with four RBI in the victory.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 26, 2025


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