RENO, Nev. – For the third time since July the Reno Aces and the Tacoma Rainiers, Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, are set to do battle, with this series representing the fourth and final set of meetings between these two teams.
All three of the Aces’ wins were decided by three runs or less, including two by two-run victories in games two and three. However, the Chihuahuas countered by winning each of the final three contests by three runs or more, which started with a pair of four-run victories in games four and five.
Though he had just eight at-bats, Adrian Del Castillo had four hits to lead the way for Reno in batting average with three of them going for extra-bases in addition to four RBI. Gavin Conticello also cleared the .400 mark by hitting .421 for the week, launching two of his eight hits for homers with a team-best six RBI.
This week will mark the fourth and final series between Reno and Tacoma, and thus far the Aces lead the season series by a 9-6 (.600) margin. In fact, the Rainiers are the only team that Reno has at least a .500 record or better with more than six games played.
After Tacoma got the better of the Aces in the season’s opening series 2-1, Reno has responded by winning four of six in each of their two July sets. This year has helped the Aces extend their lead in the all-time series to 169-141 (.545), and the 169 wins are still the most against any opponent in franchise history.
Reno’s 5.41 ERA against the Rainiers ranks fourth of all opponents played in 2026, but it is second of those with more than six games played. Tacoma is one of four opponents in which the Aces have 100 strikeouts against, and their strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.98 against the Rainiers ranks fourth.
Hitting has been middle of the road for Reno against Tacoma, as their .279 batting average ranks fifth of nine opponents. Even further, the Aces’ .811 OPS ranks fifth while their 17 home runs and 83 runs scored each rank fourth.
Since the Rainiers and Aces last did battle on July 26, Tacoma suffered a six-game sweep at the hands of Sacramento but has since rebounded by taking four of six last week against Las Vegas. In that time the Rainiers are batting just .277 which ranks sixth in the PCL, though it is well ahead of the .254 mark by the Aces. From the mound, Tacoma has 6.20 ERA in that time, a mark that also slots sixth in the league.
Over these past two weeks, Tacoma’s best individual batting average belongs to Michael Arroyo, though his .326 mark ranks just 24th in the PCL during that time. In addition to the average, he has scored 11 runs, added three doubles and homers each, and tallied 10 RBI. Not far behind him in 29th place is Lazaro Montes, who is hitting .319 with four homers and nine RBI.
Gabe Mosser appears among the top 10 ERAs in the PCL over this time, going 1-1 in his three starts with a 3.21 ERA which is seventh. Among relievers, Nick Garcia has worked five outings and allowed only two runs (one earned) in 6.2 innings for a 1.35 ERA, which ranks 11th in the PCL.
Tacoma has four of Seattle’s top-30 prospects, led by the duo of Montes and Arroyo who are No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Charlie Beilenson is the top pitching prospect checking in at No. 15, though he has not pitched since Aug. 9.
This six-game series gets underway from Cheney Stadium on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 12:05 p.m. PT.