Rainiers Erase Another Ninth Inning Deficit, Win 9-8 in 10 Innings

ALBUQUERQUE, NM (September 3, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (32-28/65-70) extended their winning streak to seven games, rallying in the ninth inning to beat the Albuquerque Isotopes (26-34/65-70) by a score of 9-8 in 10 innings Thursday afternoon. For the second straight game, Tacoma scored three runs in extra innings to extend their winning streak after trailing heading into the ninth. With one out in the top of the ninth, Nick Raposo crushed a game-tying two-run shot and Andy Ibáñez capped off the scoring in the 10th with a two-out RBI double. He and Michael Arroyo both turned in three-hit performances while Ryan Bliss, Leo Rivas, and Miles Mastrobuoni all had multi-hit games.

Tacoma jumped out to an early lead in the first inning with three straight, two-out hits. Arroyo smacked a single into right field to get the offense started and moved up to third when Nolan Jones pounded a single through the middle of the infield. The next batter, Andy Ibáñez, lined a single into shallow right field, scoring Arroyo to make it 1-0.

Albuquerque immediately responded in the home half of the first frame when Drew Avans (2) crushed a leadoff home run over the right field wall, tying the game at one. Then, Tyler Freeman and Sterlin Thompson ripped back-to-back doubles that scored Freeman to give the Isotopes a 2-1 lead. Charlie Condon was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs. After Vimael Machín popped out and Nic Kent struck out, Roc Riggio pulled a single through the right side of the infield, bringing home Thompson to extend Albuquerque's lead to two.

The Rainiers retook the lead in the top of the third. Ryan Bliss drove a single into right field to lead off the frame. Two batters later, Bliss advanced to second on a balk and on the next pitch, Arroyo hit a single into right field, plating Bliss and making it 3-2. The next batter, Jones, laced a single into right-center field and Arroyo hustled to third. Then, Jones moved up to second and Arroyo came home to score on a wild pitch, evening the score at three. Ibáñez walked and Victor Labrada was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. On a 1-2 pitch, Jones scored on a balk to give Tacoma a 4-3 lead.

The offenses went quiet after the third inning as Carson Fulmer and Jarrod Cande traded scoreless frames. After allowing three runs in the first frame, Fulmer settled in and kept the Isotopes off the board through the next four, allowing only three hits and striking out six. Cande came on to get the last out of the fourth inning and kept the Rainiers scoreless through the fifth and sixth, while navigating around a pair of baserunners in each frame.

The Isotopes tied it up in the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out, Condon worked a walk and advanced to second when Machín hit a single into center field. Then, Kent smacked a single into left field that scored Condon without a throw, evening the score at four.

Albuquerque regained the lead in the home half of the eighth inning. Conner Capel laced a leadoff single into center field and moved up to second on an errant pickoff attempt. After Cordova lined out and Avans flied out, Freeman was hit by a pitch and the next batter, Thompson, smoked a double down the left field line. Capel and Freeman came home to score, giving the Isotopes a 6-4 lead.

For the second straight game, the Rainiers trailed heading into the top of the ninth inning. Ibáñez led off the frame with a single into left field and two batters later, Nick Raposo (5) demolished a two-run blast off the scoreboard in left-center field, tying the game at six.

Just like Wednesday’s contest, Tacoma struck for three runs in the top of the tenth inning. With Axel Sanchez placed at second to start the frame, Bliss lined a leadoff single into the left-center field gap, plating Sanchez and giving the Rainiers a 7-6 lead. Leo Rivas ripped a single into left field to put runners on first and second. Then, Arroyo reached on fielder’s choice when Riggio stepped on third to get the first out of the inning. Rivas advanced to third when Riggio’s throw to second sailed into right field and Arroyo stole second with Jones at the plate. Jones pushed Arroyo up to third and brought Rivas home to score with a sacrifice fly to center field, making it 8-6. Ibáñez added onto the lead by smoking a two-out double into the left-center field gap. Arroyo jogged home from third and extended Tacoma’s lead to three.

Albuquerque fought back in the home half of the tenth inning. Kent started the frame at second and Riggio (4) crushed a leadoff home run over the right-center field wall to make it a 9-8 game. Then, Capel lined a single into left field to get the tying run on-base for the Isotopes. With two outs and representing the winning run, Freeman walked, getting the tying-run in scoring position. The Rainiers turned to Peyton Alford to get the final out. The southpaw got Thompson to ground out to end the game, securing the 9-8 victory for Tacoma in 10 innings Thursday afternoon.

The Rainiers look to win their eighth straight and take the series victory Friday night, withfirst pitch scheduled for 5:35 PM (PST).

POSTGAME NOTES:

• The Rainiers are winners of seven straight games after Thursday’s victory, their longest streak of the season and longest since winning seven consecutive contests from May 25-June 1, 2025…it’s the second time this season Tacoma has taken the first three games of series with the other also coming against the Isotopes from June 9-11 at Cheney Stadium…it’s the first time Tacoma has taken the first three games of a road series since taking the first four from July 29-August 1, 2025 at Sugar Land.

• Tacoma erased a ninth-inning deficit for the second consecutive game on Thursday, thanks to a two-run home run from Nick Raposo…it’s the first time Tacoma has erased a ninth-inning deficit and won in back-to-back games since June 29-30, 2022, against Salt Lake.

• C Nick Raposo crushed a game-tying home run in the ninth inning Thursday, finishing 1-for-5 with a home run, RBI, walk and run scored…it’s his first career game-tying homer in the ninth inning-or-later and he becomes the third Rainiers hitter to accomplish the feat this season (also: Brennen Davis on April 25 at Oklahoma City and Nolan Jones on August 30 against Salt Lake).

• INF/OF Michael Arroyo turned in his fifth three-hit game with the Rainiers Thursday, finishing 3-for-5 with a triple, RBI, walk and three runs scored…since his promotion to Triple-A on July 7, Arroyo’s 54 hits and 39 RBI are the third-most in the PCL, his three triples are tied for the third-most while his 22 extra-base hits, 37 runs scored, and 95 total bases all rank fifth.

• RHP Carson Fulmer recorded his third quality start of the season Thursday afternoon, allowing three runs on nine hits and no walks with eight strikeouts across 6.0 innings…it marked Tacoma’s 34th quality start as a staff, the most in the minor leagues this season…6.0 IP without a walk is Fulmer’s longest outing without surrendering a free pass since he spun 6.0 scoreless frames on April 23, 2016, with Double-A Birmingham.

• OF Victor Labrada was hit by a pitch for the 16th time this season, the most on the team…getting hit by a pitch 16 times in a single-season ties him with Doug Jennings (1989) and Brian Raabe (1997) for the second-most in franchise history.