TACOMA, WA (August 13, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (18-24/51-66) beat the Reno Aces (21-21/53-64) by a score of 6-3 Thursday night at Cheney Stadium. Ryan Bliss broke Tacoma’s career franchise stolen base record in the first inning with his 95th career steal with the Rainiers. Patrick Wisdom hit his 32nd home run of the season, setting a new career-high and Lazaro Montes went deep for the second straight game, bringing his home run tally on the season to 34 (9 with Tacoma and 25 with Double-A Arkansas). Troy Taylor recorded the final four outs of the ballgame to record his fifth save of the season.
Ryan Bliss entered Thursday’s game tied for the most career steals in franchise history. He led off the first inning with a walk and attempted to steal second base but the pitch was fouled off. Two batters later, Bliss advanced to second when Patrick Wisdom lined a single into left field. Then, Bliss swiped third base to break the franchise record with his 95th steal in a Rainiers uniform, surpassing the previous mark of 94, set last season by Samad Taylor.
Tacoma opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Nick Raposo (3) smacked a solo home run over the left field wall to give the Rainiers a 1-0 lead. After Victor Labrada grounded out, Bliss hit a single through the right side of the infield and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Michael Arroyo worked a four-pitch walk to put runners on first and second. Then, Patrick Wisdom (32) destroyed a three-run homer 445 feet over the left-center field wall to make it 4-0.
Reno got on the board in the top of the fourth inning. With two outs, LuJames Groover beat out an infield single for the Aces’ first hit of the contest and then, Jose Fernandez deposited a two-run homer over the left field wall, making it 4-2.
Tacoma got a run back in the home half of the fourth. With one out, Lazaro Montes (9) tattooed a solo blast over the right-center field wall, extending the lead to 5-2.
The Aces immediately got back within two when Gavin Conticello (6) lined a two-out, solo homer over the right field wall, getting the Aces within 5-3.
The Rainiers added on in the seventh inning. Connor Joe drew a leadoff walk and the next batter, Stuart Fairchild, ripped a double into the left field corner, scoring Joe from first to make it 6-3.
Reno entered the top of the ninth inning needing three runs to extend the game. The Aces were set down in order on 11 pitches as Tacoma secured the 6-3 victory in game three of the six-game set.
The Rainiers will attempt to take a 3-1 series lead Friday. RHP Gabe Mosser will get the ball for Tacoma and first pitch is set for 7:05 PM.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- INF Ryan Bliss stole his 95th career base with Tacoma in the first inning Thursday, setting a new franchise record…he passed Samad Taylor’s previous record of 94 that was set last season…Bliss now has 23 steals on the season, tied for the sixth-most in the PCL…the record-setting steal was also Bliss’ 100th career Triple-A steal, the fifth-most in the circuit since his debut on July 14, 2023 with Reno.
- INF Patrick Wisdom crushed his career-high 32nd home run of the season Thursday night, passing his previous career-high of 31 long balls…Wisdom is hitting a home run every 7.47 AB (32 HR/239 AB) this season, the best AB/HR rate by a minor league hitter since at least 2005 (min. 100 AB)…he is the first Rainiers hitter to hit 32 home runs in a single season since Greg Halman hit 33 in 2010…Wisdom finished with three hits on the night, his fifth three-hit game of the season, boosting his average to .305…no player in franchise history has hit at least 32 home runs while batting at least .300 in a single season.
- OF Lazaro Montes hit his 34th total home run of the season Thursday, the most by a Mariners’ minor leaguer in a single season since 2005…he finished 2-for-5 with a double, home run, RBI, and run scored…Montes has homered in six of his last nine games dating back to August 4…in that span, his six home runs lead the PCL and rank second in Triple-A…Montes also leads the league with 36 TB and his nine extra-base hits are tied for the most.
- C Nick Raposo hit a solo home run off Reno starter LHP Kohl Drake in the second inning, his fifth home run off of left-handers this season (two with Tacoma and three with Double-A Arkansas)...he finished 1-for-4 with a home run, RBI, and run scored…it’s the most home runs off of left-handed pitching for Raposo in a single season.