LAS VEGAS, NV (July 9, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (6-9/39-51) pounded out a season-high 18 runs, matching their season-high with 22 hits, as they rolled the Las Vegas Aviators (10-5/54-34) in an 18-4 victory on Thursday night at Las Vegas Ballpark. Ryan Bliss and Patrick Wisdom each tallied four-hit games. Wisdom reached base in all seven plate appearances, crushing two homers to take over the PCL lead. Michael Arroyo also clubbed his first Triple-A home run, going 3-for-6 with a pair of RBI, finishing a double short of the cycle. It’s the first time Tacoma has won back-to-back games in Las Vegas since April 16-17, 2024 and Tacoma’s largest win in Las Vegas since beating the Aviators 14-0 on April 16, 2024.
Tacoma got off to a hot start on Wednesday night, plating a run in the first inning. Ryan Bliss led off the game with a single, but was caught stealing. Michael Arroyo (1) slugged his first Triple-A home run to left field with two outs, a 388-foot shot that gave Tacoma a 1-0 lead.
The Rainiers kept it going in the second inning. Victor Labrada was hit by a pitch with one out, and Alejo Lopez reached on catcher’s interference that put two on. Bliss tallied his second hit in as many innings, driving a single into right field that bounced over the right fielder Jack Winkler, allowing two to score and give Tacoma a 3-0 lead.
Las Vegas scratched their first run across in the bottom of the second inning. The first three batters of the inning reached against Michael Plassmeyer as Tommy White walked, Brian Serven singled and Bryan Lavastida walked to load the bases. After Plassmeyer got the first out of the inning on a pop out, Chad Wallach dropped a single into center field to move everyone up 90 feet. White scored on the play to make it 3-1. Plassmeyer induced an inning-ending double play to escape the jam.
Arroyo reached again to lead off the third inning, as the throw from the shortstop Darell Heraiz pulled the first baseman off the bag. Patrick Wisdom walked to push Arroyo into scoring position. Lazaro Montes tallied his first Triple-A hit and RBI, lining a single to right field to get the run back and make it 4-1. Labrada reached base for the second time as he singled into left field to drive in Wisdom and pad the lead at 5-1.
The Rainiers broke the game wide open with three runs in the fourth inning. Bliss led off the inning with his third hit in as many at-bats, a single into left field. With one out, Arroyo lined a triple into the right field corner, bringing the lead to 6-1. Wisdom (21) followed with a two-run home run blasted to right-center field, vaulting the Rainiers in front 8-1. Montes and Connor Joe continued the inning with back-to-back doubles, but were stranded in scoring position.
Las Vegas got one run back in the bottom of the fourth inning. After White drew a leadoff walk, Serven doubled to drive him in, making it an 8-2 ballgame.
Ryan Bliss got the run back, and one extra, in the top of the fifth inning. After Alejo Lopez hit a leadoff single, Bliss (4) drilled a two-run home run to right field, pushing the advantage to 10-2.
Nick Garcia was the first man out of the bullpen for Tacoma, finishing off the fourth inning and putting up a zero in the fifth, allowing just one batter to reach over 1.2 innings of relief.
The Aviators got back on the board in the sixth inning. Three of the first four batters in the inning reached against Troy Taylor as Michael Stefanic was hit by a pitch, Tommy White walked, and after Serven struck out, Lavastida walked to load the bases. Buelvas cashed in with a line drive into left-center field to score a pair, making it 10-4. Domingo González was the next man up, getting Wallach to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Tacoma piled on four more runs in the seventh inning. Arroyo and Wisdom each drew one-out walks. With two outs, Connor Joe looped a two-run double down the right field line, followed by an RBI single from Labrada that plated Joe, putting Tacoma up 13-4. Alejo Lopez tacked on another as he lined an RBI single to right field to score Labrada and make it 14-4.
With two outs in the top of the eighth inning, Patrick Wisdom connected on his league-leading 22nd home run of the season, and his second of the night, to make it a 15-4 Rainiers lead.
In the top of the ninth inning, Las Vegas went to the second baseman Stefanic to finish the game on the mound, and the Rainiers made the most of it. After Lopez singled and Bliss was hit by a pitch, Brock Rodden (12) cranked a three-run home run to center field as Tacoma took an 18-4 lead.
Robinson Ortiz took care of the final three outs, retiring the side in order in the ninth inning to close out the win.
Tacoma will aim to make it three consecutive wins in Las Vegas when they take the field on Friday night, as Carson Fulmer is scheduled to make the start at 7:05 PM.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- INF Michael Arroyo went 3-for-6, with a triple, a home run and two RBI, a walk and four runs scored on Thursday, with his first Triple-A long ball coming in the first inning…Arroyo, 21, is the second Rainiers hitter to hit a home run before turning 22 this season, joining INF Colt Emerson (20 years old), who hit seven with Tacoma this year before his promotion to Seattle…the Rainiers are one of four Triple-A teams this season to have multiple players players hit home runs before turning 22…Arroyo is the youngest Triple-A player this season to record a triple and a home run in the same game…it’s the second time Arroyo has hit a triple and home run in the same game this season (also: June 25 vs. San Antonio).
- INF Ryan Bliss went 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored, tallying his first four-hit game of the season…Bliss is the first Rainiers hitter to tally four hits, including a home run, in a game this season and the first Rainiers leadoff man to do since Bliss accomplished the feat on August 1, 2024, against Salt Lake.
- INF Patrick Wisdom went 4-for-4 with a double, two home runs, three RBI, three walks and four runs scored on Thursday…Wisdom reached base in all seven plate appearances, the eighth Triple-A player since 2005 to reach base in all seven trips to the plate, and the second Rainiers hitter to accomplish the feat in that time, joining Abraham Almonte, who did so on May 29, 2013 (6-for-6, BB)…Wisdom hit his 21st and 22nd home runs of the season on Thursday, the most in the PCL…Wisdom is just the second Rainiers hitter to hit 22 home runs through the team’s first 90 games since 2005, trailing only the 23 hit by Jake Scheiner in 2023…Scheiner hit his 23 home runs in 307 at-bats, while Wisdom has done so in just 147…Wisdom leads the PCL with 13 hits in July, also pacing the league this month with eight extra-base hits and 27 total bases this month.
- RHP Domingo González threw 2.2 hitless innings of relief on Thursday, finishing the sixth inning and putting up zeros in the seventh and eighth innings…among Triple-A pitchers who have not allowed a home run yet this year, González’s 32.1 innings are the second-most, while his 25 appearances are tied for the third-most among Triple-A pitchers who have yet to allow a home run this season.
- The Rainiers totaled a season-high 18 runs on a season-high-tying 22 hits on Thursday night… it’s the fourth time since 2005 Tacoma has scored 18 runs at Las Vegas and the first time since September 18, 2022 (19R)…the 22 hits are the most for Tacoma in a game at Las Vegas since at least 2005, and the second time the Rainiers have tallied 22 hits in a game this season, matching the 22 hits on May 8, 2026 at El Paso (17-2 win).
- Tacoma’s defense turned four double plays in Thursday’s win, matching the season-high for the fifth time this season…Tacoma ranks seventh in Triple-A with 78 double plays turned this season, but lead all Triple-A clubs with five games turning four double plays…Buffalo is the next-closest team, doing it three times this year.