Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - vs. Sacramento
Published on April 17, 2026 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TODAY'S GAME - 4/17 vs. Sacramento
FIRST PITCH - 7:05 PM at Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA
PITCHING MATCHUP - Tacoma RHP Randy Dobnak (0-1, 6.43) vs. Sacramento LHP Seth Lonsway (0-0, 2.57)
BROADCAST - TV: Bally Sports Live App/MiLB.TV RADIO - KJR 950
THE RAINIERS: Swept Thursday's doubleheader, winning game one 3-1 and game two 8-1 as Dane Dunning and Casey Lawrence combined for 11.0 innings of two-run baseball...Jhonny Pereda gave Tacoma a 1-0 lead in game one with an RBI single...after Sacramento tied the game in the third inning, Brock Rodden put the Rainiers back on top with his first Triple-A home run, making in 2-1...Colt Emerson tacked on one more with an RBI double in the fifth inning...game two was tied at one after three innings, but the Rainiers broke the deadlock with a five-run fourth inning, capped off by a two-run single from Rodden...Tacoma plated two more in the sixth inning to finish the 8-1 victory.
TWIN BILL TAKEAWAYS: The Rainiers swept the doubleheader on Thursday, the first time they've swept a doubleheader since April 7, 2023, against Reno, winning 7-4 and 5-2...it's the first time Tacoma pitchers have allowed two-or-fewer runs in a doubleheader since May 30, 2019, when they shut out El Paso in both games of a twin bill...the Rainiers did not allow a home run in the doubleheader, the first time since April 7, 2024, five doubleheaders ago.
TAKING A WALK, OR 10: The Rainiers drew a season-high 10 walks in game two of Thursday's doubleheader in an 8-1 victory over Sacramento, while striking out just seven times, the second time they've walked more than they struck out...the last time Tacoma drew 10 walks was September 14, 2025 at Salt Lake...since 2021, the Rainiers are 25-9 when drawing at least 10 walks...the Rainiers drew as many or more walks than strikeouts in 41 games in 2025, going 31-10 in those games...the Rainiers have drawn 69 walks in 2026, the second-fewest in the PCL.
LIGHTNING ROD(DEN): INF Brock Rodden tallied three hits and three RBI in game two on Thursday, matching season-highs for the second time this week...in his last nine games, Rodden is hitting .483 (14x29) with five doubles and nine RBI...Rodden leads the minor leagues with nine doubles this season, as well as tied for seventh Triple-A with 10 extra-base hits...Rodden also ranks second in the PCL in BABIP (batting average on balls in play) at .467 (per FanGraphs).
BULLPEN BRINGING IT: Tacoma's bullpen threw 3.0 scoreless innings on Thursday, lowering the unit's ERA to 2.66, the lowest in Triple-A and the fourth-lowest in the minor leagues...Rainiers relievers have allowed just one home run this season, the fewest in the circuit and one of six minor league bullpens to allow one-or-fewer home runs...the one home run allowed by Tacoma relievers is tied for the fewest by a PCL bullpen through 18 games in the last 21 years, most recently accomplished by the 2018 Omaha Storm Chasers.
ROTH'S ROCKING: RHP Houston Roth has been locked in to start the season, throwing 7.1 innings of hitless baseball, the second-most in the minor leagues without allowing a hit (trails: Jacksonville's Zach Brzykcy)...Roth has done it in bulk relief, with each of his three outings lasting at least 2.0 innings, throwing 2.2 innings in each of his last two appearances...Roth's 11 strikeouts are the most in the minor leagues among pitchers who have yet to give up a hit this season.
FEEL SO CLOSE TO YOU RIGHT NOW: Through 18 games of the 2026 season, the Rainiers have played plenty of close games, with 12 of the 18 games being decided by two-or-fewer runs (the most in the league), eight of which have been one-run games...the Rainiers have gone 6-6 in games decided by two-or-fewer runs and 3-5 in one-run games.
WE ALL MAKE SACRIFICES: OF Brennen Davis drove in one of Tacoma's eight runs in game two on Thursday with a sacrifice fly, the 12th sacrifice fly by the Rainiers this season, the most in Triple-A...INF Brock Rodden is tied for the Triple-A lead with three sacrifice flies this season...the Rainiers ranked third in Triple-A in 2025 with 58 sacrifice flies, two off the circuit lead of 60, held by Las Vegas.
CHALLENGERS: Tacoma hitters have challenged 22 pitches this year, tied for the ninth-most in Triple-A, winning 13 (59% success rate, the fourth-best in Triple-A)...Brock Rodden is the only PCL hitter (and one of four in Triple-A to have a 100% success rate in challenges (min. 4 challenges)...the Rainiers have challenged 27 pitches as the fielding team this year, tied for the third-most in Triple-A, winning 11 of them (41% success rate).
MARINERS UPDATE: The Mariners lost 5-2 in San Diego on Thursday night...Brendan Donovan and Cal Raleigh each tallied multi-hit games, accounting for four of Seattle's seven hits...the Padres took a 4-0 after two innings, Seattle scored two in the sixth inning on RBI singles from Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, but the Padres got one back in the seventh inning to win 5-2.
Pacific Coast League Stories from April 17, 2026
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