Rainiers rally falls short, Reno racks second win

Tacoma, WA (5/11/22) – The Tacoma Rainiers (9-23) dropped game two of the series on Wednesday, 7-6 to the Reno Aces (16-16). Tacoma fell behind early and couldn’t complete the comeback, falling to 3-11 at Cheney Stadium this season.

The Rainiers wasted little time getting on the board. In the bottom of the first, Erick Mejia drove in Sam Haggerty (double), to stake Tacoma to an early 1-0 advantage.

The lead didn’t last long, though, as the Aces put up a crooked number in the second. Reno got on the board with a wild pitch to score Braden Bishop (single) and pull even. Later that inning, Jake McCarthy, Drew Ellis and Stone Garrett added four runs on back-to-back-to-back run-scoring singles, giving Reno a 5-1 lead.

The Rainiers took a run back in the third, as Mejia scored Haggerty again (single) to shrink the lead to three. Reno scratched across a run on a Yonny Hernandez triple in the fifth, bringing the score to 6-2. The Aces tallied another run in the top of the seventh, only for Steven Souza, Jr. to launch a three-run homer in the bottom of the frame, reducing the deficit to two. In the eighth, Marcus Wilson scored on a wild pitch, making it 7-6.

With a single and a double, Mason McCoy extended his hit streak to nine and his on-base streak to 15, both team highs for the Rainiers this season.

Reno starter Ryne Nelson delivered a solid outing, throwing five innings of two-run ball, surrendering six hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts. Aces’ closer Miguel Aguilar shut the door in the ninth to record his third save of the season.

The Tacoma bullpen of Ian McKinney, Matt Brash, Fernando Abad, Riley O’Brien, Patrick Weigel and Matt Koch combined for 7.2 innings, giving up two runs, four hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch, striking out 10 along the way.

The Rainiers resume action Thursday with game three of this series set for 7:05 PT at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma will send LHP Tommy Milone to the hill, while Reno will counter with LHP Tommy Henry.

Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto will have full coverage on TacomaRainiers.com. All 2022 Rainiers games, home and away, can also be heard for free on the MiLB First Pitch app. HD video broadcasts of every home game can be viewed with a MiLB.TV subscription.

About the Tacoma Rainiers

The Tacoma Rainiers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The Rainiers are a member of the Pacific Coast League and have been a Mariners affiliate since establishing the Rainiers moniker in 1995.

The most up-to-date news and notes about the Tacoma Rainiers and Cheney Stadium can be found at WeRTacoma.com, or by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand), Instagram (@tacomarainiers) and liking the team on Facebook.