Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - vs. Round Rock
PCL Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - vs. Round Rock

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


TODAY'S GAME - 7/26 vs. Round Rock

FIRST PITCH - 6:05 PM (PT) at Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA

PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma RHP Sauryn Lao (0-4, 3.60) vs. Round Rock LHP Kohl Drake (1-1, 5.11)

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

THE RAINIERS: Secured a series victory with an 8-6 win over Round Rock on Friday night...Blas Castaño threw 5.0 innings of one-run baseball as the Rainiers scored early and often in the win...the Express scored in the first inning for the third consecutive game, taking a 1-0 lead, but Tacoma plated three in the bottom of the inning with a three-run home run from Leody Taveras to take a 3-1 lead...the Rainiers plated two more in the second inning as Victor Labrada doubled home a run and Samad Taylor drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, giving Tacoma a 5-1 lead...both teams were kept off the board until the bottom of the fifth inning when Tacoma scored two...Harry Ford brought in the first on a bloop single to right field and Taveras brought in the second on a fielder's choice to lead 7-1...Round Rock chipped away with two runs in the sixth, two more in the seventh and one in the eighth, getting within 8-6...Troy Taylor took over in the ninth, picking up his fourth save of the season to finish off the win.

TAVERAS DRIVES THEM IN: OF Leody Taveras drove in four runs in Friday night's victory, bringing his July RBI total to 21, the highest for a single month in his career, surpassing the 17 he drove in during July of 2021...the 21 RBI are tied for the fifth-most by a Rainier in a single month this season...his .493 slugging percentage this month is the eight-best for a month in his career...in his last eight games, Taveras has hit .414 (12x29) with two doubles, one triple and three home runs, driving in 15 while drawing five walks to just one strikeout.

JULY JOLT: The Rainiers are having a dominant month of July, going 16-3, winning 84.2% of their games, their best winning percentage for a single month (min. seven games) since 2005...the Rainiers are hitting .319 as a team, their best average for a single month in that last 20 years (min. seven games played)...their previous high was the .317 average in June of 2011...the team's .421 on-base percentage and .924 OPS are both their best for a single month since 2005 (min. seven games) and their .503 slugging percentage is the third-best...on the mound, Tacoma's 2.51 BB/9 is their sixth-best for a single month (min. seven games) since 2005 and their .308 walks/strikeout is the fourth-best since 2005.

STARTING WITH A BANG: The first two Rainiers to step to the plate on Thursday night hit home runs, as UTL Samad Taylor and OF Rhylan Thomas went back-to-back...it's the fifth time this year in Triple-A that a team's first two batters of the game have hit home runs and the second time in the PCL (Reno, April 15 against Round Rock)...it's the first time the Rainiers have accomplished the feat since May 22, 2021, also against Round Rock...it's the third time since 2005 Tacoma has led off the game with back-to-back home runs (the other: September 1, 2013 against Sacramento)...it marks the second time this season the Rainiers have hit back-to-back home runs (also: Austin Shenton/Dominic Canzone, April 29 at Las Vegas).

TALK ABOUT TYLER: INF Tyler Locklear reached base in 11 consecutive plate appearances from June 22-24, going 9-for-9 in that time with a double and three home runs before snapping the streak by grounding into a double play in the second inning of Thursday's game...it continues a hot streak for Locklear dating back to June 1, where he leads all minor leaguers with 54 RBI, ranking second with 15 home runs (hitting 15 of his 18 on the year since June 1), he also ranks second among all minor leaguers with a .711 slugging percentage and 118 total bases in that time and tied for the second-most hits with 59...Locklear's .457 batting average and 1.383 OPS in July are the best for any Triple-A player in a month this season (min. 70 AB in the month) and his 32 July RBI are the third-most for a Triple-A player in a month this season.

CHENEY HOME COOKING: OF Rhylan Thomas and INF Tyler Locklear are putting up two of the best seasons for a Rainier at Cheney Stadium in the last 20 years......Thomas is hitting .355 (71x200) in 51 home games this season, the third-best home batting average of any PCL hitter...Locklear is hitting .351 (68x194) at home this season, the sixth-best home batting average in the PCL this season...Thomas' .355 and Locklear's .351 average are the third and fourth-best, respectively, for any Rainier in a single season at Cheney Stadium since 2005 (minimum 150 at-bats)...they trail the .355 (76x214) that Matt Mangini hit in 2010 and the .392 (65x166) that Shin-Soo Choo hit in 2006...Thomas' 71 hits at Cheney Stadium are tied for the fifth-most by a Rainier since 2005, eight shy of the 79 hits Bryan LaHair recorded in 2007...Locklear's 68 knocks are the 10th-most.

ON THE HUNT FOR WALKS: C Blake Hunt has drawn a walk in each of his last six games, the fourth Rainier to draw a walk in six consecutive games this season...Hunt has been on a hot stretch since the start of June, hitting .323 (21x65) in his last 19 games with two doubles, one triple and two home runs, drawing 18 walks to 16 strikeouts...Hunt logged his third three-hit game of the season (and second against Round Rock) on Thursday night...in July, Hunt has drawn 10 walks and struck out just three times, the best ratio (3.333) by a Triple-A hitter in July and the fourth-best in a single month this season (min. 30 plate appearances).

SHENTON STAYS HOT: INF Austin Shenton tied his career-high with three walks on Tuesday afternoon, doing so for the eighth time in his career and the second time this season (also: June 27)...it's the second time this season that a Rainier has drawn three walks out of the ninth spot in the order (also: Blake Hunt, April 25 vs SUG)...Shenton's double on Friday extended his on-base streak to 22 games, the second-longest by a Rainier this year...over his streak, he's hit .315 (23x73) with six doubles and four home runs, driving in 16 runs...he's drawn 21 walks to 20 strikeouts in that span, sporting a .468 on-base percentage, a .562 slugging percentage and a 1.030 OPS in that time.

MARINERS UPDATE: The Mariners suffered a 3-2 walk-off loss in 10 innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night...Julio Rodriguez drove in both Seattle runs on a pair of solo homers, his 16th and 17th of the season...Bryan Woo threw 6.0+ innings of two-run baseball, striking out six in the no-decision.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 26, 2025


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