TACOMA, WA (July 18, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (9-11/41-53) scored a series victory over the Oklahoma City Comets (10-9/51-42) with a 9-5 victory on Saturday night. Tacoma did all of its scoring in two innings, plating three runs in the fourth inning and six runs in the seventh inning in the victory. Jhonny Pereda went 2-for-3 with four RBI and two walks, while Michael Arroyo and Brock Rodden each drove in a pair in the victory. The Rainiers set a new season-high with 12 walks drawn, five of which came around to score in the win.
Oklahoma City capitalized on a Rainiers error to plate a run in the opening frame. After Casey Lawrence recorded the first out of the game, Zach Ehrhard reached on a ground ball to third base that Patrick Wisdom did not field cleanly, allowing Ehrhard to beat the throw. After Ehrhard stole second base and with two outs, James Tibbs III poked an RBI single to right field and put the Comets on the board, 1-0. Hyeseong Kim kept the inning going as he lined a single into right field that was bobbled by Montes, putting two in scoring position, but Lawrence was able to strand the runners and limit the damage.
The Comets doubled their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Kim led off the frame with a double off the left field wall and advanced to third base on a groundout to the pitcher. Ryan Fitzgerald drove in Oklahoma City’s second run with a sacrifice fly to right field, putting the Comets up 2-0.
Tacoma rallied to take its first lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The first two batters reached as Wisdom walked and Montes ripped a double to right field, putting two in scoring position. Connor Joe drove in Tacoma’s first run with a sacrifice fly to right field. With two outs, Brock Rodden tied the game with an RBI single back up the middle and Jhonny Pereda gave Tacoma the lead with an RBI double to right-center field, driving in Rodden to put the Rainiers in front, 3-2.
Oklahoma City tied the game in the top of the sixth inning with two-out damage. Lawrence retired the first two batters of the inning before Jack Suwinski hit a triple that bounced off the left-center field wall. Fitzgerald tied the game as he lined a single into right field. Fitzgerald was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double, but Suwinski scored before the out, knotting the game at three.
The Rainiers took advantage of five walks in the seventh inning to break the game open. After Paul Gervase retired the leadoff man, the next six batters reached as Montes doubled, followed by walks to Connor Joe and Stuart Fairchild to load the bases. Rodden broke the tie with another walk, forcing in Montes to put Tacoma up 4-3. Pereda came through with the big hit, a bases-clearing double to the right field corner, to give the Rainiers a 7-3 lead. Ryan Bliss kept the momentum going with another walk. Spencer Packard, batting for Refsnyder, drew another walk to load the bases again. Michael Arroyo drove in two more runs with a line drive to right field, putting Tacoma on top, 9-3.
Ryan Ward got two runs back for Oklahoma City in the top of the eighth inning. After Ehrhard reached on a leadoff single, Ward (10) clubbed a two-run homer to right field to make it 9-5. Peyton Alford relieved Domingo González and retired three of the next four batters to keep Tacoma in front.
Nick Garcia came on for the ninth inning, his first time pitching in the ninth inning this season. The right-hander worked around a leadoff walk to finish off the 9-5 victory.
The Rainiers look to sweep the three-game series with a win on Sunday afternoon. Nick Hull is slated to make his fourth start of the season, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:35 PM.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- C Jhonny Pereda drove in a season-high four RBI on Saturday night, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, 4 RBI, two walks and a run…it’s the first time Pereda has recorded four RBI since August 23, 2025, with Triple-A St. Paul...Pereda is the first Rainiers hitter to record multiple extra-base hits and four RBI out of the ninth spot in the order in a game this season and just the sixth PCL hitter to do this season…Pereda’s two-hit game improved Tacoma’s nine-spot batting average to .278, the second-best in Triple-A, as well as Tacoma’s OBP out of the nine-spot to .367, the best in the PCL and third-best in Triple-A.
- Tacoma drew a season-high 12 walks on Saturday night, the first time drawing 12 walks since August 2, 2025 against Sugar Land…five of Tacoma’s 12 walks came in the seventh inning, the first time Tacoma has drawn five walks in an inning since June 20, 2025, against Albuquerque, aiding Tacoma’s six-run outburst in the seventh inning, tied for the most runs scored in an inning this season (4x, last: June 17 at Salt Lake)…since the 2023 season, the Rainiers are 20-9 in games they draw at least 10 walks.
- OF Lazaro Montes tied his with two doubles on Saturday, going 2-for-5 with two doubles, and two runs… Montes also recorded two outfield assists, the first time in his career recording multiple outfield assists in a game…the last Rainiers outfielder to record multiple assists in a game was Victor Labrada, who recorded two on September 9, 2025 at Salt Lake.
- INF Ryan Bliss drew three walks on Saturday night, his first time doing so since August 20, 2025, against Sacramento… he improved his on-base streak to 12 games, his second longest streak of the season (13G, April 25-May 14)...since his streak started July 1, he ranks second in the PCL with a .525 OBP.