Rainiers Overcome Early Deficits to Take Series Opener 

TACOMA, WA (August 25, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (25-27/58-69) won the series opener 8-5 over the Salt Lake Bees (18-33/57-68) at Cheney Stadium Tuesday night. Nick Raposo and Stuart Fairchild both hit game-tying home runs in the contest and the pair combined to drive in six of the eight Tacoma runs. Connor Joe walked a season-high three times and the Rainiers relievers allowed only one hit through 5.0 combined innings of work and struck out eight batters.

Salt Lake struck first in the top of the second inning. Jeimer Candelario lined a leadoff single into left field and advanced to second when Sebastián Rivero grounded out. Then, Raudi Rodriguez ripped a single into left field, pushing Candelario up to third. The next batter, Bryce Teodosio, hit a double into the left-center field gap. Rodriguez stopped at third and Candelario trotted home to score, giving the Bees a 1-0 lead. Yolmer Sánchez drove a single into left field, plating Rodriguez and Teodosio to make it 3-0.

Tacoma immediately evened it up in the home half of the second. Connor Joe worked a walk to lead off the frame and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Stuart Fairchild struck out and Andy Ibáñez popped out, Miles Mastrobuoni walked on four pitches to put runners on first and second. Then, Nick Raposo (4) smoked a three-run blast into the left field bleachers, tying the game at three.

Salt Lake regained the lead in the third inning. With one out, Pablo Reyes dropped a single into shallow center field and the next batter, Candelario (13), hit a two-run home run over the left field wall to give Salt Lake a 5-3 lead.

The Rainiers tied it again in the bottom of the third inning. Joe worked a two-out walk to extend the frame and on the next pitch, Fairchild (5) tattooed a game-tying, two-run shot over the left field wall to knot the game at five.

Tacoma took its first lead of the game in the fifth inning. Joe worked his third walk of the contest with one down in the frame. Then, Fairchild ripped a double off the left-center field wall, scoring Joe from first to make it 6-5.

The Rainiers doubled their lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Michael Arroyo was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and moved up to second when Lazaro Montes walked. Then, Joe pounded a single through the left side of the infield, bringing home Arroyo and making it 7-5.

Tacoma added an insurance run in the home half of the eighth inning. With two outs, Nolan Jones lined a double into the left field corner and the next batter, Arroyo, hit a single into left. Jones sprinted home and extended the lead to three.

The Rainiers turned to Seth Shuman in the ninth inning to close out the game. He set the Bees down in order and struck out the last two batters to secure the 8-5 victory in the series opener and record his first save with Tacoma.

The Rainiers will attempt to make it five straight wins Wednesday night. RHP Gabe Mosser will toe the rubber for the Tacoma and Salt Lake will counter with RHP Caden Dana. First pitch is set for 7:05 PM.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• Tacoma pitchers combined to strike out 14 in the series and did not surrender one free pass…14 strikeouts is a season-high for the Rainiers staff in a game in which they did not issue a walk, becoming the fifth Triple-A team this season to strike out 14-or-more without walking a batter…the last time Tacoma accomplished the feat was on June 25, 2023, in El Paso.

• INF/OF Connor Joe walked a season-high three times Tuesday, extending his on-base streak to 22 games…it’s the first time Joe has walked three times in a game since July 14, 2022, with Colorado…he is now tied with Jhonny Pereda for the longest on-base streak by a Rainiers hitter this season…since the streak started on July 28, Joe has drawn 20 walks compared to only 12 strikeouts…his .474 OBP ranks fifth in the PCL and seventh in Triple-A during that span.

• RHP Nick Garcia tossed 2.0 hitless innings Tuesday night and struck out four of the six batters he faced, lowering his season ERA to 2.72…since June 25, Garcia has not allowed a run in 16 of his last 19 outings…in that span, his 36 strikeouts are the third-most among Triple-A pitchers and 1.75 ERA ranks seventh-best (min. 15 G).

• OF Stuart Fairchild drove in a season-high three runs in Tuesday’s contest, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, home run, three RBI, and a run scored…it’s the second time this season he’s recorded three RBI (also: July 7 with the ACL Mariners)...Fairchild also extended his hitting streak to eight games, his longest of the season…since the streak started on August 13, he is batting .444 (12x27) with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBI.

• C Nick Raposo hit a three-run home run to tie the game in the second inning Tuesday night, marking his 41st total RBI of the season (16 with Tacoma and 25 with Double-A Arkansas)...41 RBI marks a new career-high for Raposo, surpassing his 40 RBI in 2025 with Arkansas.

• RHP Cooper Criswell earned the victory in the second game of his Major League rehab assignment Tuesday…he spun a perfect fifth inning and struck out two of the three batters he faced.