Montes Sets Career-High with 33rd Home Run in 6-1 Loss

TACOMA, WA (August 12, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (17-24/50-66) fell to the Reno Aces (21-20/53-63) 6-1 Wednesday night. Lazao Montes’ inside-the-park home run in the ninth inning marked Tacoma’s lone run. Montes also led the team in hits, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, home run, RBI and a run scored. Nick Hull recorded his first quality start of the season, tossing a season-high 6.0 innings of two-run ball on six hits and one walk while striking out a season-high seven batters.

Reno got on the board first in the top of the third inning. Kristian Robinson led off the frame with a bunt single and two batters later, stole second to get into scoring position. After LuJames Groover grounded out, Pavin Smith (3) hit a towering two-run home run that bounced off the top of the left-center field wall to give the Aces a 2-0 lead.

Reno doubled their lead in the seventh inning. Christian Cerda pounded a single into center field to leadoff the frame. Then, Anderdson Rojas laid down a bunt single and both Cerda and Rojas advanced 90 feet on a throwing error. Robinson walked to load the bases and Adrian Del Castillo dropped a single into shallow center field, plating Cerda to make it 3-0. The next batter, Groover, grounded into a double play that scored Rojas, making it 4-0.

The Aces continued to pull away in the eighth inning. With one out, Gavin Conticello ripped a double down the left field line and then, A.J. Vukovich (9) smacked a two-run shut over the left-center field wall, giving Reno a 6-0 lead.

Tacoma avoided the shutout in the ninth inning when Lazaro Montes (8) crushed a leadoff inside-the-park home run off the wall in right-center field. That was all the Rainiers mustered as they fell 6-1 in the second game of the series.

Tacoma looks to get back to winning ways Thursday night. LHP Jhonathan Díaz will make his 23rd start of the season as first pitch is set for 7:05 PM.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• OF Lazaro Montes hit an inside-the-park home run in the ninth inning Wednesday night, marking his career-high 33rd home run of the season (8 with Tacoma and 25 with Double-A Arkansas)…he finished 3-for-4 with a double, home run, an RBI, and a run scored…since the All-Star break, Montes’ nine doubles are tied for the most in the PCL, 16 extra-base hits are the second-most, ranks third with a .685 SLG and a 1.1.07 OPS and his 31 hits and seven home runs are tied for the third-most.

• OF Victor Labrada went 2-for-3 out of the ninth spot in the order Wednesday night, improving Tacoma’s batting average out of the nine-hole to .290…the Rainiers lead all Triple-A teams in average out of the ninth spot this season and rank second-best among all full-season minor league teams.

• RHP Nick Hull tossed a season-high 6.0 innings Wednesday and tied his season-high with seven strikeouts, to earn his first quality start of the season…it’s Hull’s first quality start since spinning 6.0 shutout innings on July 1, 2023, with Single-A Myrtle Beach…it marked Tacoma’s 31st quality start of the season, the most in the minor leagues…Hull became the seventh different Tacoma starter to record a quality start this year, the most Rainiers starters to record at least one quality start in a season since nine different pitchers did in 2023.