Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - at Las Vegas (G1 PCL Championship Series)
PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - at Las Vegas (G1 PCL Championship Series)

Published on September 23, 2025 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


TODAY'S GAME - 9/23 at Las Vegas (Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series)

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

PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma LHP Jhonathan Díaz (11-6, 4.15) vs. Las Vegas RHP Kade Morris (7-7, 5.22)

ROSTER MOVES: The Tacoma Rainiers, in conjunction with the Seattle Mariners, have made the following roster moves:

ADD LHP Peyton Alford (#22) - activated from the Development List

ADD RHP Dylan File (#32) - activated from the Development List

DEL RHP Hagen Danner - placed on the Temporary Inactive List

DEL LHP Nico Tellache - placed on the Development List

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

THE RAINIERS: Open the Pacific Coast Championship Series tonight in Las Vegas, playing their first playoff game since 2016...the Rainiers closed out the regular season with a 3-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Comets, picking up their 86th win of the season, securing the best record in the Pacific Coast League in 2025, and setting a new record for wins in the "Rainiers Era" (since 1995)...Michael Mariot threw 5.2 innings of one-run baseball in the finale, striking out five...the lone blemish against Mariot was a leadoff home run by Esteury Ruiz in the first inning...Tacoma tied the game in the bottom of the frame on a Colt Emerson sacrifice fly...Ben Williamson gave Tacoma the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly, followed by a wild pitch that scored Emerson to give the Rainiers a 3-1 lead...Joe Jacques, Austin Kitchen, Collin Snider and Tayler Saucedo kept the Comets off the board over the final 3.1 innings to help close out the 3-1 win.

DÍAZ BUMP DAY: Jhonathan Díaz will get the start in the opening game of the Pacific Coast League Championship series, coming off Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week honors...Díaz spun 7.0 shutout innings on Wednesday against Oklahoma City, striking out six without a walk...Díaz finished the regular season with a 4.15 ERA, the best in the PCL, becoming the first Rainier pitcher to win the league's ERA title since Jorge Campillo did so in 2007 with a 3.07 ERA...Díaz led all Triple-A pitchers with 12 quality starts this season, tied for the third-most among minor league arms and the most for a Rainier since Jordan Pries had 15 in 2014...the last Tacoma left-hander with 12 quality starts was Luke French, who had 12 in 2010...Díaz will make his fifth career playoff start tonight, having last pitched in the postseason in 2019 with the Salem Red Sox...in that start, Díaz threw 6.0 shutout innings, allowing just two hits while walking three and striking out eight...in his postseason career, Díaz is 1-1 with a 1.27 ERA (21.1 IP/3ER), walking six and striking out 26.

RAINIERS R IN THE PLAYOFFS: The Rainiers will take the field in a playoff game for the first time since 2016 tonight in Las Vegas, looking for their seventh league championship and first since winning the Triple-A West in 2021, which did not include any postseason games...the last time Tacoma played a playoff game was when they fell to El Paso in the Pacific Coast Conference Playoff in the 2016 season...the last time Tacoma won a championship that included postseason games was 2010, when they defeated Sacramento in the Pacific Coast Conference Playoff, then defeating Memphis in the Pacific Coast League Championship Series.

LOOKING FOR A LITTLE LUCK IN LAS VEGAS: In 12 games in Las Vegas this season, the Rainiers have gone 2-10 at Las Vegas Ballpark...Tacoma has a .276 batting average in Las Vegas this season, ranking fifth among the eight road venues they have played in this season...Tacoma's .797 OPS ranks sixth among their road venues this year...on the mound, Tacoma's 7.15 ERA is the second-highest on the road this season, trailing only the 9.12 ERA in Round Rock...the Rainiers have surrendered 22 home runs in Las Vegas this season, the third-most any Triple-A pitching staff has given up in a road venue this year.

PREPPED FOR THE POSTSEASON: Although Tacoma has not played in the postseason since 2016, there is plenty of playoff experience on the roster...all but two (Cade Marlowe and Spencer Packard)Tacoma hitters and all but two have played in the postseason and all but...Leody Taveras has the most playoff experience on the roster (19G), having helped the Texas Rangers to the 2023 World Series...Nick Anderson has the most playoff experience on the mound, pitching in 19 games, 14 of which were with Tampa Bay, as they won the American League in 2020...Josh Fleming was also on that 2020 Rays squad, giving Tacoma three players with World Series experience under their belt.

RAINIERS TEAM AWARD WINNERS: The Rainiers announced their team awards on Saturday...Jhonathan Díaz was named Tacoma's Starting Pitcher of the Year, leading the PCL with a 4.15 ERA, making a league-high 26 starts and recording 11 wins, the most for a Rainier left-hander since 2010...Austin Kitchen was named the Reliever of the Year, working a 3.38 ERA, the best among Rainiers with at least 25 appearances...Jack López was named Tacoma's Defensive Player of the Year, having played six different defensive positions, and showcasing one of the strongest arms in the PCL...Rhylan Thomas was named the Offensive Player of the Year, pacing the league with 178 hits, the fourth-most in a single season in franchise history...Samad Taylor, who broke Tacoma's career franchise stolen base record and set a new single-season runs record, was named the team MVP.

RAINIER RECORDS: With Tacoma's victory on Sunday, they won their 86th game of the season, the most in the "Rainiers Era"...the Rainiers, who changed from the Tacoma Tigers to the Rainiers and began their affiliation with the Seattle Mariners in 1995...the previous high in the "Rainiers Era" was 85 wins in 2001, when they were declared "Co-Champions" of the Pacific Coast League with New Orleans...Tacoma has reached 86 wins for the third time in franchise history (also: 1961 - franchise record 97, 1969 - 86).

COLT HAS BEEN COOKING: Colt Emerson has gotten off to a hot start in his time with Tacoma, going 8-for-22 (.364) start with two doubles, two home runs and nine RBI in his first six games...the last Rainier to appear in a game before turning 21 was Amador Arias, who played one game with Tacoma in 2021...Emerson is the fourth Rainier since 2005 to hit multiple home runs before turning 21, the last being Robert Perez Jr., who hit three in 2019...the others: Ketel Marte - 2, 2014, Asdrúbal Cabrera - 3, 2006 and Adam Jones - 14, 2006.

MARINERS UPDATE: The Seattle Mariners had Monday off as they inch closer to clinching a postseason spot...they open the final week of the regular season with three games against the Colorado Rockies, followed by three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers to close out the regular season.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from September 23, 2025


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