TACOMA, WA (July 17, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (8-11/41-53) took the opening game of the series against the Oklahoma City Comets (10-8/51-41) by a score of 5-4 Friday night. Patrick Wisdom left the yard with his league leading 25th home run of the season and Lazaro Montes homered in his Cheney Stadium debut, crushing a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Robinson Ortiz recorded his first save of the season tossing a scoreless ninth inning to finish the win.
Oklahoma City jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning. Alek Thomas grounded a leadoff double down the first base line and, one batter later, Ryan Ward hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Thomas, giving the Comets a 1-0 lead.
The Comets tacked on another run in the top of the second inning. Hyeseong Kim dropped a leadoff single into left field and Ryan Fitzgerald followed with a line drive single to right field. Chuckie Robinson tallied Oklahoma City’s second run of the game with a line drive single to right field that scored Kim and put Oklahoma City up 2-0. Carson Fulmer escaped the jam with an inning-ending double play.
Patrick Wisdom (25) cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the second inning courtesy of a solo home run, making it a 2-1 game.
Tacoma took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. After Wisdom beat out an infield single with one out, Lazaro Montes (2) crushed a 431-foot blast to right center field, putting Tacoma on top, 3-2.
Oklahoma City regained the lead in the top of the seventh inning, courtesy of back-to-back home runs. Kim (1) led off the inning with a solo home run to right-center field. One pitch later, Fitzgerald (8) followed with another home run to right-center field, putting the Comets back in front, 5-4.
Tacoma quickly responded in the bottom of the seventh inning. Stuart Fairchild grounded a leadoff single to center field. One batter later, Leo Rivas reached first base on a bunt single. Ryan Bliss vaulted Tacoma in front with a single to center field that scored Fairchild and allowed Rivas to score on a fielding error by the center fielder Thomas, allowing Tacoma to take a 5-4 lead.
The Comets threatened in the bottom of the ninth inning, loading the bases with one out. Robinson Ortiz ended the rally as he induced a game-ending double play, securing the 5-4 victory and his first save of the season.
Tacoma will look to secure a series victory on Saturday night, with RHP Casey Lawrence slated to make his 20th start of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- INF Patrick Wisdom launched his league-leading 25th home run Friday night, finishing 2-for-4 with a home run, RBI and run scored…Wisdom’s 25 home runs are the most for a Rainiers hitter through 94 games since 2005, surpassing the 24 hit by Jake Scheiner through the first 94 games of the 2023 campaign…Wisdom’s home runs are, on average, hit 106.4 mph, the second-hardest average exit velocity on home runs in the PCL (min. 10 HR).
- OF Lazaro Montes smoked his second home run of the season for Tacoma on Friday night, going 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored…the home run was his 27th of the season, including his time with Double-A Arkansas, the fourth-most in the minor leagues…Montes’ home run traveled 431 feet, the fifth-longest home run by a Rainiers batter at Cheney Stadium this season.
- INF Ryan Bliss notched his team-leading 23rd multi-hit game of the season on Friday, going 2-for-4 with a double and RBI… since he was optioned back from Seattle on June 16, Bliss leads the PCL in: batting average (.420), hits (42), doubles (13) and runs (28)...Bliss also stole his 18th base of the season in the seventh inning and the 90th of his Rainiers career, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to hit 90 stolen bases with Tacoma… his fifth consecutive multi-hit game is the longest multi-hit streak in the PCL, the longest since Rhylan Thomas did so in five straight games from September 12-18, 2025.
- RHP Robinson Ortiz tallied his first save of the season on Friday night…it was Ortiz’s first career Triple-A save, and his first save since August 10 with Double-A Tulsa… Friday marked his ninth straight outing without allowing an earned run, the fifth largest no run streak in the PCL.