TACOMA, WA (August 30, 2026) — For the second straight Sunday at Cheney Stadium, the Tacoma Rainiers (29-28/62-70) were victorious in walk-off fashion, defeating the Salt Lake Bees (19-37/58-72) 7-6 in the 10th inning of the series final. Leo Rivas played the role of the hero in the bottom of the 10th, smoking a one-out single to walk it off, his third hit of the game. In the top of the tenth, Stuart Fairchild gunned down the leading run at home to keep the game tied while trailing by two in the bottom of the ninth, Nolan Jones crushed a game-tying, two-run homer that pushed the game to extra innings.
Tacoma struck first when with one out in the third inning, Willie MacIver (2) pulled a 1-0 pitch 398 feet over the left field wall for a solo home run. His first home run with Tacoma gave the Rainiers an early 1-0 lead.
Salt Lake responded immediately in the top of the fourth inning. After Jeimer Candelario grounded out to lead off the frame, Sebastián Rivero walked and advanced to third when Cade Marlowe roped a double off the right field wall. Then, Bryce Teodosio dunked a single into shallow left-center field, scoring Rivero and Marlowe to take a 2-1 lead.
The Bees added a pair in the fifth inning. With one out, Kyren Paris lined a single into center field. The next batter, Raudi Rodriguez, tripled on a ground ball that rolled into the left field corner, plating Paris to make it 3-1. Then, Rodriguez scored on a balk and extended Salt Lake’s lead to three.
The Rainiers cut the deficit down to two in the bottom of the sixth inning. Lazaro Montes smoked a leadoff single at 110.1 mph through the right side of the infield and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Then, Montes tagged up and hustled to on a Stuart Fairchild flyout and scored when Victor Labrada laced a single into left field, making it 4-2.
With the Bees threatening to extend the lead with one out and runners on second and third in the seventh inning, Tacoma turned to Robinson Ortiz to keep them off the board. The southpaw escaped out of the jam by striking out Candelario for the second out and got Rivero to flyout to end the frame.
The Rainiers continued to chip away in the home half of the seventh inning. Miles Mastrobuoni walked to lead off the frame and moved up to second when MacIver pounded a single into right field. The pair advanced 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt by Leo Rivas and the next batter, Nolan Jones, scored Mastrobuoni with a groundout to bring Tacoma within one.
Salt Lake got the run back in the top of the eighth inning. With one out, Teodosio hit a single to left field and stole second base to get into scoring position. After Logan Porter struck out, Yolmer Sánchez walked and the next batter, Paris, lined a single into right-center field, bringing home Teodosio to make it 5-3.
The Rainiers got back within one in the bottom of the eighth. Montes walked to lead off the inning. Two batters later, Labrada laid down a perfect bunt single to get two runners on-base. After Andy Ibáñez struck out, Mastrobuoni smoked a single into right field, plating Montes and making it 5-4.
The Bees added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning. Rodriguez and Pablo Reyes led off the frame with back-to-back singles and the pair advanced to second and third on a throwing error. Then, Candelario grounded out and Rivero grounded into a fielder’s choice as Rodriguez was cut down trying to score. With two outs, Marlowe laced a single into center field, scoring Reyes to increase Salt Lake’s lead to two.
Tacoma entered the bottom of the ninth needing two runs to stay alive. Leo Rivas crushed a leadoff, ground-rule double off the right field foul pole. Then, Nolan Jones (3), representing the tying run, crushed a towering two-run blast over the right field wall, tying it at six and sending the game to extras.
In the top of the 10th inning, the Bees had runners on first and second with one out after Porter reached on a fielder’s choice and Sánchez walked. The next batter, Paris, hit a single into center field, but Fairchild threw a dart to the plate to cut down Porter trying to score, keeping the game knotted at 6-6.
The Rainiers completed the comeback and walked it off in the 10th inning. Ibáñez was placed at second to start the frame and Mastrobuoni led off with a bunt single, pushing Ibáñez up to third. Then, MacIver reached on a fielder’s choice when Ibáñez was caught in a rundown. Mastrobuoni and MacIver advanced to second and third before Ibáñez was tagged out. The next batter, Rivas, ripped a walk-off single into center field, winning the game for Tacoma in extra innings at Cheney Stadium Sunday.
The Rainiers look to keep up their winning ways as they travel to Albuquerque to start a six-game series with the Isotopes. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 5:35 PM (PT).
POSTGAME NOTES:
- INF Leo Rivas hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning to complete the Rainiers’ comeback Sunday afternoon…he finished 3-for-5 with a double, RBI, and run scored…Sunday marked the sixth walk-off hit of his career, and second this season (also: August 21 vs. Chicago - NL)...his six career walk-off hits are the most on Tacoma’s roster.
- C Willie MacIver crushed his first home run with Tacoma Sunday, finishing 3-for-5 with a home run, RBI, and run scored…it’s also his first three-hit game as a Rainiers hitter and sixth total of the season with his last coming on August 8 with Triple-A Buffalo.
- INF Miles Mastrobuoni turned in his fourth three-hit performance of the season and scored the winning run Sunday afternoon…he finished 3-for-4 with an RBI, walk and two runs scored…in August, Mastrobuoni batted .283 (17x60) marking his best average in a month (min. 15 G) since he hit .306 in June, 2025, with Seattle.
- OF Nolan Jones crushed a game-tying, two-run bomb in the ninth inning, his second straight game with a home run…it’s Jones’ first game-tying home run in the ninth inning since August 27, 2025 with Cleveland…also his third time homering in back-to-back games this season.