TACOMA, WA (August 15, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (20-24/53-66) secured the series victory against the Reno Aces (21-23/53-66) with a 5-1 win on Saturday night, Tacoma’s eighth win in its last 10 games. Every Rainiers batter recorded a hit, as Miles Mastrobuoni tied his career-high with a pair of doubles in the contest and led the team with three hits. Ryan Bliss’ two-run single in the third inning got the Rainiers on the board and Connor Joe homered for the second straight game in the sixth inning. Peyton Alford tossed a perfect ninth inning of relief on his 29th birthday and struck out one to finish the victory.
Carson Fulmer was dominant to start the game. He did not allow a run over the first five innings of the game, stranding runners in scoring position in the first and third innings. He retired seven in a row from the last out of the third inning, followed by perfect fourth and fifth innings.
The Rainiers gave Fulmer run support in the bottom of the fifth inning. Spencer Packard slapped a leadoff single into left field and advanced to second two batters later, when Nick Raposo hit a towering single to left field. Then, the pair moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch and the next batter, Miles Mastrobuoni, reached on a throwing error to load the bases with one out. Ryan Bliss bounced a single into left field, bringing home Packard and Raposo to give the Rainiers a 2-0 lead. Michael Arroyo then lined a single into shallow center field, plating Mastrobuoni from second to make it 3-0 Tacoma.
Reno got in the scoring column in the top of the sixth inning. Demetrio Crisantes crushed a triple into the left-center field gap to lead off the frame, and LuJames Groover walked to put runners on the corners. After Jose Fernandez flied out to center field, Manuel Pena laced a single into right field, scoring Crisantes from third to get the Aces within two, 3-1.
The Rainiers immediately got the run back when Connor Joe (7) tattooed the first pitch of the home half of the sixth inning into the left field bleachers. His second home run in as many days made it 4-1. Tacoma was not done there, as two batters later, Victor Labrada laid down a bunt single and stole second base to get into scoring position. After Raposo was called out on strikes, Mastrobuoni dropped a double into left field, bringing home Labrada without a throw to extend the Rainiers lead to four.
Peyton Alford got the ball for the ninth inning and set the Aces down in order to lock down the 5-1 win. Tacoma will look to take their fourth win in-a-row Sunday afternoon. RHP Nolan Kingham will make his first start with the Rainiers, with first pitch set for 1:35 PM.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- INF/OF Connor Joe homered for the second straight game Saturday night, marking his sixth home run against the Aces this season…it’s Joe’s first time homering in consecutive games this season and the last time he did so was when he recorded a homer in three straight games from May 11-14, 2024, with Pittsburgh…six of Joe’s seven long balls this season have come against Reno, and are the most by an opposing player on the year, while his 15 RBI are the fourth-most.
- INF Miles Mastrobuoni tied his career-high with two doubles on Saturday, finishing 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored…it’s Mastrobuoni’s 20th career game with a pair of doubles and the second game this season (also: July 26 at Reno)...he also turned in his second three-hit performance on the year with the first coming on July 29 against Sacramento.
- LHP Peyton Alford tossed a perfect ninth inning in relief Saturday night on his 29th birthday…it’s Alford’s first career appearance on his birthday and he became the first Rainiers pitcher to pitch on their birthday this season…Alford is the first Tacoma reliever to toss a perfect inning on their birthday since RHP Troy Taylor struck out the side on September 9, 2025 in Salt Lake.
- RHP Carson Fulmer earned his fifth winning decision with 5.0 innings of one-run baseball on Saturday night…his streak of five wins without suffering a loss is tied for the second-longest in the PCL this season and the longest by a Rainiers starter since RHP Casey Lawrence worked a five-win streak from July 2-30, 2025…since July 1, Fulmer’s five victories are the most in the league, as are his 44.1 innings pitched.
- Every Tacoma batter recorded a hit in Saturday’s game, marking the sixth time the Rainiers have accomplished the feat this season…Tacoma has had 10 hitters record one hit in a game twice this year: June 9 against Albuquerque and May 8 in El Paso.