TACOMA, WA (September 8, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (34-30/67-72) completed another ninth-inning comeback Tuesday, erasing a three-run deficit that was capped off by a three-run, walk-off home run by Patrick Wisdom to beat the El Paso Chihuahuas (21-43/56-83) 8-7 at Cheney Stadium in the series opener on Tuesday afternoon. Willie MacIver started the ninth inning rally with a leadoff single and hit his second home run with Tacoma in the sixth. Leo Rivas turned in another multi-hit performance, extending his on-base streak to 22-games.
El Paso struck first in the top of the third inning. Braedon Karpathios worked a leadoff walk and advanced to second two batters later on a Will Wagner single. Then, Miguel Andujar ripped a double down the left field line, pushing Wagner up to third and plating Karpathios, giving the Chihuahuas a 1-0 lead. Wagner scored on the next play when Carlos Rodríguez pounded a single through the middle of the infield, doubling El Paso’s lead to 2-0.
Pitching was the story for the early stages of the ballgame. Tacoma got only two runners on base: a Patrick Wisdom infield single in the second inning, and a Leo Rivas walk in the fourth. El Paso starter JP Sears struck out five across four frames of work before turning the ball over to Ty Adcock who tossed a perfect fifth while striking out one. El Paso was held quiet outside of the third inning, only managing three baserunners in their other four trips to the plate.
The Chihuahuas extended their lead in the sixth inning. Marcos Castañon and Nick Pratto worked back-to-back walks to lead off the frame. After Gage Workman struck out, Rodolfo Durán smacked a single through the right side of the infield. Pratto moved up to third as Castañon came around to score, making it 3-0. Durán stole second to get a pair of runners in scoring position and two batters later, Clay Dungan dunked a single into right-center field, scoring Pratto and Durán, pushing the lead up to five.
Tacoma cut into the deficit with a pair of runs in the home half of the sixth inning. With one out, Willie MacIver (2) crushed a solo shot over the right field wall to get the Rainiers on the board. Then, Ryan Bliss walked and two batters later, Andy Ibáñez beat out an infield single. Bliss advanced to third on a throwing error and the next batter, Patrick Wisdom, drew a two-out walk to load the bases for Nolan Jones. Jones walked on five pitches, forcing home Bliss to make it 5-2.
Tacoma got within one in the bottom of the seventh inning. Nick Raposo and Miles Mastrobuoni both walked to lead off the frame. After MacIver popped out and Bliss struck out, Rivas beat out an infield single to load the bases. Then, a fielding error on an Ibáñez ground ball allowed Raposo and Mastrobuoni to score, making it 5-4.
El Paso got two runs back in the top of the ninth inning. Bryce Johnson, batting in place of Andujar, led off with a single and advanced to second when Rodríguez walked. They both moved up 90 feet when Castañon laid down a sacrifice bunt. Pratto brought home Johnson with a sacrifice fly to center field, extending the Chihuahuas’ lead to two. Then, Gage Workman doubled on a fly ball to left field, plating Rodríguez to make it 7-4.
The Rainiers entered the ninth inning chasing three runs. MacIver lined a single into right-center field to lead off the frame. The next batter, Bliss, walked to bring Rivas to the plate, representing the tying run and Rivas bunted for a single to load the bases with no outs. Then, Ibáñez reached on a fielder’s choice that scored MacIver, bringing Tacoma within two. With one out and representing the winning run, Wisdom (33) crushed a three-run, walk-off homer over the left field wall, as the Rainiers came back to win 8-7 Tuesday afternoon.
Tacoma will attempt to extend their series lead Wednesday night. RHP Carson Fulmer will take the mound for the Rainiers with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 PM.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- Tacoma came back after trailing by three runs heading into the ninth inning, marking the fourth ninth-inning comeback in the team’s last eight games…Tuesday also marked the Rainier’s 14th come-from-behind win since the start of August, the most in Triple-A over that span…the victory was Tacoma’s eighth victory of the season when trailing in the ninth inning, the most in Triple-A.
- INF Patrick Wisdom hit Tacoma’s second walk-off home run of the season on Tuesday afternoon, joining OF Stuart Fairchild as the only Rainiers to accomplish the feat this season…the homer was Wisdom’s fifth career walk-off hit and his third career walk-off home run, his first since July 13, 2019 with Nashville against New Orleans…of note, Nashville’s shortstop that day was Andy Ibáñez, who also recorded a hit out of the three-hole in that game.
- C Willie MacIver hit his second home run with Tacoma in the sixth inning Tuesday, finishing 2-for-4 with a home run, RBI, and two runs scored…in his first 12 games with Tacoma, MacIver is batting .333 (13x39) with three doubles, two home runs and four RBI.
- INF Leo Rivas extended his on-base streak to 22 games with a walk in the fourth inning…Rivas is now tied with Jhonny Pereda for the second-longest on-base streak by a Rainiers hitter this season…since the streak started on May 22, he holds a .453 OBP…Rivas has recorded multiple hits in four of his first seven games to start September and is batting .325 (13x40) since rejoining the Rainiers on August 27.