TACOMA, WA (August 16, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (21-24/54-66) took down the Reno Aces (21-24/53-67) in the series finale, thanks to a two-run, walk-off home run from Stuart Fairchild. Willie MacIver’s two-out double in the second inning brought in the first two Tacoma runs and up until the ninth inning, was the only Rainiers hit. Sunday’s victory also secured the season series victory over Reno for Tacoma.
Reno struck first in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, A.J. Vukovich and Danny Serretti hit back-to-back singles. Gavin Conticello loaded the bases when he walked after challenging the 3-2 pitch and overturning it from a strike to a ball. After Christian Cerda struck out, Kristian Robinson worked a walk, forcing Vukovich home from second and giving the Aces an early 1-0 lead.
Tacoma responded with a pair of runs in the home half of the second. Lazaro Montes was hit by a pitch to leadoff the frame and two batters later, Stuart Fairchild was also plunked, putting runners on first and second. After Victor Labrada struck out, Willie MacIver ripped a double into the right-center field gap. Montes and Fairchild scored without a throw to make it 2-1 as Tacoma took its first lead of the game.
Nolan Kingham was relieved after 5.0 innings of one-run ball. He cruised after the lone run allowed in the second inning and set down 10 straight batters from the last out of the second inning followed by perfect third, fourth, and fifth frames. The second inning was the only time he allowed a baserunner through his five innings of work.
Reno retook the lead in the top of the eighth inning. With one out, Robinson (12) pulled a solo shot over the left field wall, tying the game at two apiece. Then, Anderdson Rojas singled on a ground ball that ricochetted off of Troy Taylor and stole second two batters later to get into scoring position with two down. Demetrio Crisantes hit a double down the left field line, plating Rojas to give the Aces a 3-2 lead.
The Rainiers entered the bottom of the ninth inning needing one run to force extras. Tacoma got the tying run on base when Connor Joe hit a leadoff single into shallow right-center field. Then, Fairchild (4) walked it off, crushing a two-run homer over the left-center field wall to give Tacoma the 4-3 victory in the series finale.
The Rainiers look to continue their winning ways as they travel to West Sacramento to take on the River Cats at Sutter Health Park in a six-game set. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 6:45 PM.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- OF Stuart Fairchild walked it off with a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday afternoon, marking Tacoma’s first walk off home run of the season and first since Blake Hunt hit a walk-off home run on September 5, 2025, against Reno…it was the first walk-off home run of Fairchild’s career.
- Tacoma pitchers held Reno to three runs Sunday, their fourth straight game allowing three or fewer runs…it’s the longest streak of the season by the Rainiers and tied for the fifth-longest in the PCL…the last time the Rainiers held opponents to three runs or less in four consecutive outings came on June 13-17, 2025.
- C Willie MacIver went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI off of Aces’ starter LHP Yu-Min Lin Sunday afternoon, improving his batting against lefties to .381 (41x63)...MacIver leads all Triple-A backstops with a .381/.506/.651 slashline, a 1.157 OPS (min. 50 PA) and 24 hits off of southpaws this season…MacIver’s .381 average is the best single-season average by a Triple-A backstop off of left-handers in the last five seasons.
- RHP Nolan Kingham tossed 5.0 strong innings of one-run ball Sunday, allowing only two hits and two walks while striking out six…the only baserunners he surrendered came in the second inning and he set down the 10 batters he faced…it’s the second time Kingham has allowed one run across 5.0 IP this season, with the first coming on July 28 with Round Rock also against Reno.
- The Rainiers were held to three hits in Sunday’s win, the fewest hits in a game won by Tacoma this season…it’s the Rainiers first time winning a game with three-or-fewer hits since September 21, 2025, against Oklahoma City and the 14th time in the past 10 seasons…four runs are tied for the second-most in a game Tacoma has won with three-or-less hits in that span.