Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - vs. Las Vegas
Published on April 28, 2026 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TODAY'S GAME - 4/28 vs. Las Vegas
FIRST PITCH - 6:05 PM at Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA
PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma RHP Randy Dobnak (2-1, 6.00) vs. Las Vegas RHP Kade Morris (1-1, 5.19)
BROADCAST - TV: Bally Sports Live App/MiLB.TV RADIO - KIXI 880
THE RAINIERS: Open up a six-game series against the Las Vegas Aviators today at Cheney Stadium, setting up a rematch of the 2025 Pacific Coast League Championship Series...the Rainiers are coming off a winning roadtrip, taking four of the six games in Oklahoma City, winning the series finale 8-6 in 10 innings, Tacoma's first extra-inning victory of the year...Tacoma trailed 4-3 after four innings, then 5-4 after five and 6-5 after seven innings...down by a run in the top of the ninth, Brennen Davis connected on a game-tying home run...Michael Rucker threw a scoreless ninth inning, sending the game to extras, where the Rainiers plated a pair in the top of the 10th inning...Rucker put up a zero in the bottom of the inning, sealing the 8-6 victory.
BRENNEN'S BOOMING: OF Brennen Davis hit his fourth home run of the season in the ninth inning on Sunday, which was also his third of the roadtrip...over his last nine games, Davis is hitting .378 (14x37) with four doubles, four home runs, nine RBI and five walks...Davis has homered in each of his last two games and has an extra-base hit in each of his last three, tied for the longest streak by a Rainiers hitter this season (also: Brian O'Keefe, April 22-active)...Davis leads all PCL hitters (min. 80 PA) with an average exit velocity of 93.3 miles per hour.
CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH: This week, the Rainiers square off against the Las Vegas Aviators in the first of four series between the two clubs, tied for the most against one opponent this season (also: Sacramento)...the Rainiers went 4-14 against the Aviators in the 2025 regular season and went 0-2 against Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League Championship Series...two current Rainiers suited up with the 2025 Aviators: INF Alejo Lopez and C Jhonny Pereda, while a pair of 2025 Rainiers are currently with Las Vegas: RHP Nick Anderson and OF Cade Marlowe.
RUSSELL MATCHES RED: Sunday's victory in Oklahoma City was the 259th of John Russell's tenure as Rainiers manager (since 2023), tying Red Davis, who managed the Tacoma Giants in the franchise's first three seasons, from 1960-62, for the sixth-most by a Tacoma manager in franchise history...Russell, who has led the Rainiers to 80-win seasons in each of the last two years, is the first Tacoma skipper to lead the club to consecutive 80-win campaigns since Davis led the Tacoma Giants to at least 80 wins in each of his three seasons with Tacoma, including a franchise-record 97 wins in 1961...next up on the list is Whitey Lockman, who won 269 games as the manager of the Tacoma Cubs from 1967-70.
COLT'S STREAK CONTINUES: With his first-inning double on Sunday, INF Colt Emerson extended his on-base streak to 14 games, the best for a Rainiers hitter this season...over that 14-game stretch (since April 7), Emerson has drawn 11 walks, compared to 13 strikeouts...Emerson has collected an extra-base hit in five of his last seven games and has scored a run in five of his last six games.
THE PEREDA PARTY DOESN'T STOP: C Jhonny Pereda recorded a pair of hits on Saturday night, his ninth multi-hit game of the season, the most by a Triple-A catcher...Pereda's 2-for-3 game on Saturday extended his hitting streak to five games and was his fourth multi-hit effort in his last five games...over his five-game streak, Pereda is hitting .524 (11x21) with a home run, three RBI and three walks...Pereda's 23 hits on the season are the third-most among Triple-A catchers...among Triple-A catchers with at least 70 plate appearances, Pereda's .909 OPS is the second-best.
RUCKER ROLLING: RHP Michael Rucker threw 2.0 scoreless innings on Sunday, his ninth consecutive shutout appearance, the longest streak in the PCL this season...over his last nine outings (10.0 IP), Rucker has allowed four hits, four walks and nine strikeouts...he has not allowed a hit in five of his last six appearances, allowing just four baserunners in that span...among Triple-A pitchers with at least 10 appearances this season, Rucker's four hits allowed are tied four the second-fewest.
BULLPEN BRINGING IT: Tacoma's bullpen allowed two runs over 6.0 innings of relief on Sunday, lowering the group's ERA to 2.35, the best in the minor leagues...Tacoma's bullpen has not allowed an earned run in 11 of the 27 games this season, and have allowed more than two earned runs just twice, most recently on April 3...it's the best start (by ERA) for a Rainiers bullpen through 27 games since the 2016 Rainiers bullpen had a 1.78 ERA and the third-best start for a PCL bullpen since 2005...the two home runs allowed by Tacoma's bullpen are also tied for the fewest in the minor leagues.
SIMPSON'S SHUTOUT STRETCH: LHP Josh Simpson logged a scoreless appearance on Thursday, his eighth in a row, tied for the longest streak in the PCL this season...in that time, Simpson has allowed two hits and four walks while striking out 11...Simpson also has not allowed a hit in his last six appearances, the third-longest streak in the league this year...Simpson has allowed the fewest hits (3) among left-handed relievers in the PCL this season.
BRIAN'S BACK: After being activated off the Development List on April 14, C Brian O'Keefe has hit the ground running, collecting hits in each of his first seven games...O'Keefe has tallied five extra-base hits and five RBI in seven games since being activated...O'Keefe's seven-game hitting streak is Tacoma's second-longest of the season...since the start of the 2022 season, O'Keefe is tied for the lead among Triple-A catchers with 42 home runs (in games while playing catcher) with Sam Huff, René Pinto and Carlos Peréz.
FEEL SO CLOSE TO YOU RIGHT NOW: Through 27 games of the 2026 season, the Rainiers have played plenty of close games, with 20 of the 27 games being decided by two-or-fewer runs (the most in the league), 12 of which have been one-run games...the Rainiers have gone 11-9 in games decided by two-or-fewer runs and 5-7 in one-run games...eight of Tacoma's last nine games have been decided by two-or-fewer runs.
MARINERS UPDATE: The Mariners fell 11-4 on Monday in the series opener at Minnesota...Cal Raleigh drove in two of Seattle's four runs with a two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning...Randy Arozarena tallied a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored...Alex Hoppe made his Major League debut in the seventh inning, allowing three runs over 1.2 innings.
Pacific Coast League Stories from April 28, 2026
- Pair of Homers in First Help Comets Cruise past Round Rock - Oklahoma City Comets
- Express Fall to Comets on Tuesday Night, 7-3 - Round Rock Express
- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - vs. Las Vegas - Tacoma Rainiers
- Tenth-Inning Surge Lifts Space Cowboys Past Aces in Series Opener - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Aces Fall in Extras to Open Series with Sugar Land - Reno Aces
- OKC Comets Game Notes - April 28, 2026 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Visit Sugar Land and Space Cowboys Announce Youth Soccer Clinic Ahead of FIFA World Cup 26 - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Salt Lake Bees vs Sacramento River Cats Series Preview - Salt Lake Bees
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
