Eighth-Inning Rally Lifts Rainiers Over Storm Chasers, 5-3

TACOMA, Wash. - The Tacoma Rainiers (33-33) used an eighth-inning rally to defeat the Omaha Storm Chasers (29-35) by a final score of 5-3 Wednesday night at Cheney Stadium.
Left fielder Ian Miller (2x4, BB), catcher Mike Marjama (2x4, R, RBI) and center fielder Andrew Aplin (2x3, R, RBI, BB) led the way for the Tacoma on offense as the Rainiers improved to 30-0 when leading after eight innings.

Rainiers starter Ross Detwiler allowed two earned runs across six innings while striking out two Omaha hitters.
Omaha got on the board first during the top half of the fourth when Frank Schwindel lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Adalberto Mondesi. Cam Gallagher then lined an RBI single to center to score Jorge Bonifacio and extend the Storm Chasers' lead to 2-0.
The Rainiers answered with a three-run bottom of the sixth to take a 3-2 lead. Catcher Mike Marjama lined an RBI-single to center to score designated hitter Chris Herrmann. Center fielder Andrew Aplin then smacked an RBI-double to right field to score right fielder John Andreoli and knot the game at 2-2. Second baseman Danny Muno capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to score Marjama and give Tacoma a 3-2 advantage.
Omaha evened the score at 3-3 in the top half of the eighth when Jack Lopez homered to left center field.
Tacoma reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the eighth when a single from third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean got past Bonifacio in right field and allowed Aplin to score from first and make it 4-3 Tacoma. Muno then doubled down the left field line to score Mejias-Brean and extend the Rainiers' lead to 5-3.
Right hander Ryan Garton (S, 2) tossed a scoreless ninth inning and captured his second save of the season.
The Rainiers and Storm Chasers return to action Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. for game two of the current three-game series. Righty Rob Whalen (7-3, 4.50) will take the mound for Tacoma and right hander Heath Fillmyer (3-5, 5.87) will get the start for Omaha.
All tickets, group outings, and suites packages for the 2018 season are available for purchase in person at the Cheney Stadium Box Office, online at TacomaRainiers.com, or over the phone at (253) 752-7707. The most up-to-date news and notes about the Rainiers throughout the season can be found by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand) or liking the team on Facebook.