LAS VEGAS, NV (August 8, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (15-23/48-65) took down the Las Vegas Aviators (20-18/64-47) 4-2 at Las Vegas Ballpark Saturday night. Michael Arroyo crushed his fifth home run with Tacoma in the fifth inning while driving in two of the team’s four runs. Ryan Bliss hit a pair of doubles and reached safely in four of his five plate appearances. Nick Garcia tossed a perfect ninth inning to earn his first save of the season.
Tacoma opened the scoring in their first trip to the plate in the first inning. Ryan Bliss was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and then stole second base before Nolan Jones worked a walk. The pair pulled off a double steal to get two runners in scoring position and a sacrifice fly from Michael Arroyo brought Bliss home to score and give the Rainiers an early 1-0 lead.
Tacoma added on to their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Lazaro Montes lined a leadoff single off the leaping Zack Gelof’s glove and moved up to second on a wild pitch. Then, Connor Joe smoked a single into center field to put runners on the corners. The next batter, Stuart Fairchild, reached on a fielder’s choice that pushed Joe up to second while Montes scored to make it 2-0 Rainiers. Miles Mastrobuoni then reached on a fielder’s choice. After Nick Raposo lined out, Bliss smacked a double into the right field corner for his second double of the night. Mastrobuoni stopped at third as Fairchild came around to score, extending Tacoma’s lead to three.
Las Vegas got on the board in the home half of the fourth. Darrell Hernaiz doubled to left to lead off the inning and then, Michael Stefanic (5) hit a two-run shot over the right-center field wall to get the Aviators within one, 3-2.
The Rainiers immediately got a run back in the fifth inning as Arroyo (5) drove the first pitch of the frame into the Tacoma bullpen for a home run, making it 4-2.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Tacoma called upon Nick Garcia to close out Saturday’s contest. The right-hander set down Las Vegas in order, securing the Rainiers’ 4-2 win in game five of the series
Tacoma looks to head back to Cheney Stadium with a series victory in the finale Sunday night. RHP Carson Fulmer gets the nod for the second time this week. First pitch is set for 6:05 PM.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- INF Ryan Bliss stole three bases Saturday, tying his career-high…it’s Bliss’ fourth career game with three stolen bases and first since September 1, 2023 against Sugar Land…he now has 93 stolen bases in his career with Tacoma, the second-most in franchise history and is only one away from tying Samad Taylor (94) for the most.
- INF Ryan Bliss also recorded two doubles in the contest, finishing 2-for-3 with two doubles, an RBI, walk, and run scored…he now has 33 hits against Las Vegas, the most by an opposing player in a season since 2005…Bliss improved his batting average on the year at Las Vegas Ballpark to .511 (24x47) the third-best batting average in a year by a visiting player in Las Vegas since 2005 (min. 30 PA).
- RHP Gabe Mosser tossed 6.0 innings of two-run ball Saturday night, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out one in his longest start since June 14 against Albuquerque…he recorded his seventh quality start of the season, tied with former Rainiers pitcher Randy Dobnak for the fifth-most in Triple-A this season…it marked Tacoma’s 30th quality start this season, the most in the minor leagues…it’s the most quality starts by a Rainiers staff through the team’s first 113 games since the 2024 group had 33.
- RHP Nick Garcia recorded his first save of the season Saturday, tossing a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout to end the game…it’s his first save since May 10, 2025 with Double-A Richmond…since July 1, Garcia’s 2.20 ERA (4 ER/16.1 IP) is the fifth-best among all PCL pitchers (min. 10 G) and his 4.20 K/BB ratio (21K/5BB) ranks seventh…his 21 strikeouts are the most among PCL relievers in that span.