Mastrobuoni’s Three Hits, Four RBI Not Enough in 5-4 Loss
TACOMA, WA (July 29, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (12-17/45-59) were defeated by the Sacramento River Cats (15-14/57-44) 5-4 on Wednesday night at Cheney Stadium. Miles Mastrobuoni drove in all four of Tacoma’s runs, finishing a home run shy of the cycle. Nick Garcia struck out all four batters he faced in 1.1 innings of work, but Tacoma left ten runners on base in the loss.
Sacramento broke the scoreless deadlock in the top of the fourth inning. Scott Bandura bunted a leadoff single down the third base line and advanced to second base as Parks Harber lined a single through the middle infield. Will Brennan traded places with Harber after he grounded into a fielder's choice that advanced Bandura to third base. With two outs, Turner Hill drove in the first run of the contest as he grounded a single to right field that scored Bandura, giving the River Cats a 1-0 lead.
Tacoma responded in the bottom of the fifth inning. Connor Joe started the frame with an infield single that deflected off the glove of pitcher Blade Tidwell. Joe stole second base, then was brought home to score when Miles Mastrobuoni roped a triple to the right field corner that evened the score at one.
Sacramento regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning. Harber lined a one-out single to left field, then advanced to third base after Brennan matched with a single of his own that fell into left field. One batter later, Hill put Sacramento back in front with a single to center field that scored Harber, while Hill advanced to second base on the relay to third base. Nate Furman tacked on two more runs as he beat out an infield single that scored Brennan, and Hill scored as Carson Fulmer went down on the play, extending the River Cats lead to 4-1.
Tacoma evened the score in the bottom of the sixth inning. With two outs, Lazaro Montes started the rally with a line drive single to center field. Tacoma loaded the bases after Joe drew a walk and Stuart Fairchild was hit by a pitch. Mastrobuoni came through again with a bases-clearing double that scored Montes, Joe, and Fairchild, evening the score at four.
The River Cats took the lead in the top of the eighth inning. Brennan started the two-out rally with a line drive single to right field. After Hill drew a walk, Furman regained the lead for Sacramento as he looped a single to left field that scored Brennan, putting The River Cats in front, 5-4.
Tacoma got the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, but ultimately fell to the River Cats, 5-4. The Rainiers look to regain the series lead Thursday night as Casey Lawrence will take the hill for his league-leading 22nd start of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- C Jhonny Pereda went 2-for-4 Wednesday night, his 17th multi-hit performance, the most among PCL catchers (in games playing catcher)…Pereda’s .326 (57x175) average leads all Triple-A catchers (min. 150 PA) this season and is the highest mark by a Tacoma catcher since Austin Nola hit .327 (64x196) in 2019.
- INF/OF Miles Mastrobuoni drove in a season-high four runs Wednesday, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, triple, and four…it’s his first three-hit game of the season, as well as his first multi-RBI game of the season…it’s his first game with four RBI since May 2, 2024, with Iowa…Wednesday marked Mastrobuoni’s second straight game with multiple extra-base hits, making him the sixth Rainiers hitter to accomplish the feat this season…it was also Mastrobuoni’s third consecutive multi-hit game, the first time he’s had a three-game, multi-hit streak since June 13-16, 2024 with Triple-A Iowa, when he did so in four straight games.
- OF Lazaro Montes went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and a run…it’s the first time Montes has recorded a multi-hit game with a stolen base since June 13, 2026, with Double-A Arkansas…has recorded multiple hits in five of his last 10 games and is batting .341 (14x41) with seven doubles, one home run, and four RBI over that span.
- RHP Nick Garcia struck out all four batters he faced Wednesday night, making him the fourth Triple-A pitcher this season to face four-or-more batters in an outing and strikeout out all of them…his last outing with at least four strikeouts came on April 10, 2024, with Double-A Richmond where he struck out five.