Tacoma concludes 73-47 regular season with 8-4 loss at El Paso

El Paso, TX (9/21/21) – The Triple-A West Champion Tacoma Rainiers (73-47) ended the 2021 regular season 26 games over .500, with an 8-4 loss to the El Paso Chihuahuas (46-74) on Tuesday at Southwest University Park. The 10-game Triple-A “Final Stretch” will begin on Thursday at Round Rock, a five-game series. The Rainiers will finish their season with five games at home against Salt Lake, September 29 through October 3.

The Rainiers manufactured the first run of the game in the visiting third inning, with an Eric Filia one-out double, which moved to third base on a Donovan Walton single. Kevin Padlo drove in the run with a sac fly.

El Paso surged ahead in the home half of the third though, pounding four doubles in the half-inning to score three times. It was 4-1 Chihuahuas when former Rainier Patrick Kivlehan drove in a run with a groundout in the fourth, and 5-1 on a Brian O’Grady RBI groundout an inning later.

Gosuke Gatoh (4-for-4) took the first pitch of the bottom of the sixth inning out to left-center, his eighth homer of the season, making the score 6-1.

On a MLB rehab assignment, RHP Andres Munoz pitched a perfect top of the first with a strikeout, before ceding to fellow right-hander Tyler Herb, recently promoted from Double-A Arkansas to make his Tacoma debut. Herb lasted from the second inning through the sixth while throwing 72 pitches (5.0 IP, 0 BB, 2 K).

Chihuahuas southpaw Daniel Camarena worked five innings and allowed only two hits. The run against him was earned (1 BB, 3 K).

Luis Liberato lifted a sac fly with the bases loaded in the eighth for the second Rainiers run of the night. When Jose Marmolejos drew a two-out walk to re-load the bases, Sam Travis poked a two-run double down the right field line to score a pair, trimming the El Paso lead to 6-4 with a three-run frame. Four Tacoma batters walked prior to the Travis double.

El Paso put the game away for good in the home eighth however, tallying the evening’s final runs with a Matt Batten RBI single and a Kivlehan sac fly.

After an off day Wednesday, Tacoma will start RHP Robert Dugger on Thursday at Round Rock, a 5:05 PT first pitch as the 11-game trip through Texas continues.

Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto will have full coverage on TacomaRainiers.com. All 2021 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 an MiLB.TV subscription. (Use code: RAINIERS to save $10 on an annual subscription.

About the Tacoma Rainiers

The Tacoma Rainiers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The Rainiers are a member of Triple-A West. Tacoma has been a Mariners affiliate since establishing the Rainiers moniker in 1995.

Single-game tickets for all remaining 2021 Rainiers home games are now available. Questions regarding season tickets can be directed to [email protected].

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.