Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - at Las Vegas (G2 PCL Championship Series)
PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - at Las Vegas (G2 PCL Championship Series)

Published on September 24, 2025 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release


TODAY'S GAME - 9/24 at Las Vegas (Game 2 of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series, LV leads 1-0)

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

PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma RHP Blas Castaño (8-6, 5.19) vs. Las Vegas RHP Aaron Brooks (3-6, 5.78)

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

Today's game notes and starting lineups are attached.

THE RAINIERS: Dropped the opening game of the Pacific Coast League Championship series, falling 7-1 to Las Vegas...Tacoma needs a win tonight to keep their season alive and force Game 3...both sides were kept off the board for the first four innings, as Jhonathan Díaz allowed just two baserunners in that time, while the Rainiers got three men aboard across the first four frames...the Aviators scored the first runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as Ryan Lasko hit a two-out, two-run home run to put Las Vegas up 2-0 after five innings...Tacoma got a solo home run from Samad Taylor in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit in half...Las Vegas pulled away with three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to take a 7-1 advantage, collecting five hits over the last two innings to secure the win.

BLAS IS IN SESSION: RHP Blas Castaño will make his fourth career appearance in the playoffs tonight in Las Vegas, having pitched in the postseason with the 2021 Tampa Tarpons and with the 2023 Arkansas Travelers...in three career postseason games, Castaño has gone 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA (13.0 IP/8ER), walking four and striking out 10...Castaño finished the 2025 regular season leading the PCL in batting average against at .263, the first Rainier to lead the league since Darren McCaughan did in 2022 at .238...Castaño also ranked among league leaders this season in: ERA (2nd - 5.19), WHIP (2nd - 1.39), win percentage (2nd - .571), starts (T3rd - 24), IP (4th - 126.2) and strikeouts (10th - 97)...Castaño has started three games at Las Vegas Ballpark this season, more than any other road venue this season, going 0-1 with a 4.80 ERA (15.0 IP/8ER), walking seven with 12 strikeouts.

REBOUNDING ON THE ROAD: Tacoma will look to stave off elimination tonight in Las Vegas, doing so with the bats...in the regular season, Tacoma hit .299 in games following a loss on the road, the second-best average in Triple-A (trailing OKC's .301)...the Rainiers also ranked second in on-base percentage in games following a road loss at .377 (trails OKC's .380), while ranking third with an .841 OPS and fourth with a .464 slugging percentage...among qualified PCL hitters, Samad Taylor (2nd - .328 AVG) and Rhylan Thomas (5th - .313 AVG) have been among the league's best hitters on the road this season.

LOOKING FOR A LITTLE LUCK IN LAS VEGAS: In 13 combined games (regular season and playoffs) in Las Vegas this season, the Rainiers have gone 2-11 at Las Vegas Ballpark...in the regular season, Tacoma had a .276 batting average in Las Vegas, ranking fifth among the eight road venues they have played in this season...Tacoma's .797 OPS ranked sixth among their road venues this year...on the mound, Tacoma's 7.15 ERA was the second-highest on the road this season, trailing only the 9.12 ERA in Round Rock...the Rainiers surrendered 22 home runs in Las Vegas in the regular 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...following Tuesday's game all but two Rainiers have postseason experience (Michael Fulmer and Cade Marlowe)...Leody Taveras has the most playoff experience on the roster (20G), having helped the Texas Rangers to the 2023 World Series...Nick Anderson has the most playoff experience on the mound, pitching in 20 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).

MARINERS UPDATE: The Seattle Mariners clinched a playoff spot last night at T-Mobile Park, coming from behind to beat Colorado 4-3...trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Josh Naylor delivered the big hit for Seattle, hitting a three-run double to put the Marines on top 4-3...Andres Muñoz locked down the ninth with his 38th save of the season to secure the win...Seattle's magic number to clinch the AL West is now one, meaning a Seattle win or a Houston loss on Wednesday can clinch their first division title since 2001.

Check out the Tacoma Rainiers Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from September 24, 2025


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