Tacoma’s Bullpen Shuts Down Sacramento in 3-1 Victory

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (August 23, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (24-27/57-69) secured a series split with the Sacramento River Cats (29-22/71-52) after a 3-1 win Sunday afternoon. Tacoma’s pitchers held Sacramento to one run on three hits and four walks while striking out six. Houston Roth tossed another 3.0 scoreless innings in his second start of the series and Troy Watson recorded his second save of the week after working a perfect ninth inning on seven pitches.

Tacoma opened the scoring in the top of the third inning. Willie MacIver ripped a ground-rule double into the left field corner to lead off the frame. After Ryan Bliss lined out and J.P. Crawford struck out, Michael Arroyo pounded a single through the right side of the infield, plating MacIver to give the Rainiers a 1-0 lead.

Houston Roth was relieved after tossing 3.0 scoreless frames in the start. The right-hander navigated around a pair of baserunners including a ground-rule double to leadoff the game. Roth did not allow a free pass and struck out three of the 11 batters he faced.

Tacoma doubled their lead in the fourth inning. Connor Joe worked a leadoff walk and came around to score when the next batter, Stuart Fairchild, smoked a double down the left field line, 2-0.

Sacramento got on the board in the home half of the fourth inning. Bo Davidson walked to lead off the frame and stole second on the first pitch of the next at-bat. After Parks Harber grounded out, Grant McCray drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Then, Shay Whitcomb drove a single into center field, scoring Davidson to make it 2-1.

The Rainiers got the run right back in the top of the fifth inning when Bliss (7) hit the first pitch he saw over the left field wall for a leadoff home run, 3-1.

Scott Effross and Robinson Ortiz combined to hold the River Cats scoreless across the fifth and sixth innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one. Domingo González tossed a perfect seventh frame and got the first out of the eighth before turning the ball over to Reid VanScoter. After walking Davidson, VanScoter got Harber to ground into an inning-ending double play, making it four straight scoreless frames for the Rainiers relievers.

Tacoma called upon Troy Watson for the ninth inning. He set Sacramento down in order on seven pitches to close out the 3-1 victory for Tacoma and record his second straight save.

After winning the final three games at Sutter Health Park, the Rainiers will head back to Cheney Stadium to take on the Salt Lake Bees in a six-game set. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 7:05 PM.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• Tacoma pitchers held the River Cats to three hits in Sunday’s contest and only faced 34 total batters…it’s the eighth time this season the Rainiers have held an opponent to three-or-fewer hits in a game this season and 34 batters faced is tied for the sixth-fewest faced.

• RHP Houston Roth spun his second straight outing of 3.0 scoreless innings Sunday afternoon, allowing only one hit while striking out three…it’s his first time without allowing an earned run in consecutive starts since April 7-May 4, 2022 with High-A Aberdeen…the last time Roth recorded 3.0 IP in consecutive outings was from August 15-20, 2023, with Double-A Chesapeake.

• INF/OF Michael Arroyo went 2-for-3 with an RBI against Sacramento’s starter LHP Seth Lonsway Sunday, improving his average against southpaws with Tacoma to .367 (22x60)...since Arroyo’s promotion to Triple-A on July 7, his 22 hits and 38 total bases against lefties are the most among all minor leaguers while his 14 RBI are the fourth-most.

• OF Stuart Fairchild extended his hitting streak to seven games with a multi-hit performance Sunday afternoon, finishing 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI…it tied his longest streak of the season, tying his streak of seven straight contests with a hit to open the season from March 27-April 4 with Triple-A Columbus…Fairchild has recorded a hit in 10 of his 11 games in August…since returning to the Rainiers on August 8th, his .368 batting average is the seventh-best in the PCL and his .455 OBP is tied for the ninth-best.

• RHP Troy Watson set down the River Cats in order on seven pitches in the ninth inning Sunday to earn his second straight save…it’s his first time recording saves in consecutive outings since May 14-17, 2023, with Double-A New Hampshire.