Rainiers come back in 8th, beat El Paso 5-4

Tacoma, WA (7/30/22) – The Tacoma Rainiers (42-55) defeated the El Paso Chihuahuas (54-44) 5-4 on Saturday night at Cheney Stadium. Down 4-3 in the eighth, left fielder Trey Amburgey blasted a two-run, go-ahead homer to give Tacoma its seventh comeback victory when trailing after the seventh inning this season. Rainiers pitchers did not walk a single El Paso batter, the first time this year the Tacoma staff has not walked a hitter in a game.

The Rainiers got off to a hot start, scoring three runs on back-to-back-to-back two-out doubles in the top of the first. Mitch Haniger was hit by Chihuahuas RHP Thomas Eshelman, and with two out, advanced to third on a double by Erick Mejia. Kevin Padlo then snuck a ground ball under the glove of third baseman Brett Sullivan and into the corner for a double, driving in Haniger and Mejia. Joe Odom followed by dumping a ball into shallow right field. The outfield was playing deeply, which allowed Odom to race to second before El Paso right fielder Brent Rooker. Paldo scored on the play, giving Tacoma a 3-0 lead.

It took three batters for the Chihuahuas to respond in the top of the second. Luis Campusano and Rooker led off the inning with a pair of singles, and Eguy Rosario tied the game with a deep drive to left field off RHP Darren McCaughan. It was Rosario’s 16th homer on the year and his second in as many days.

In the fourth, Campusano ambushed the first pitch of the inning and sent it over the wall in left, giving El Paso a one-run advantage. While the home run ended McCaughan’s streak of consecutive quality starts at three, the Rainiers righty settled down after. He retired 12 of the next 14 Chihuahua batters he faced, allowing four runs, six hits, no walks and six strikeouts over his seven innings of work.

Tacoma took the lead back in the eighth inning. With one out, Joe Odom lined a double over the head of Sullivan at third, the Rainiers’ first hit since the third inning. Trey Amburgey followed by hitting a rocket over the wall in left to give Tacoma a one-run lead. Amburgey’s second homer of the year for the Rainiers proved to be the game winning hit on Saturday as LHP Danny Young and LHP Nick Ramirez shut down El Paso in the eighth and ninth innings (two perfect innings, five strikeouts) to preserve a 5-4 win.

The Rainiers look to secure a series victory against the Chihuahuas on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. PT at Cheney Stadium. LHP Austin Warner will open in a bullpen game for Tacoma, and RHP Matt Waldron will take the ball for El Paso.

Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto will have full coverage on TacomaRainiers.com. All 2022 Rainiers games, home and away, can also be heard for free on the MiLB First Pitch app. HD video broadcasts of every game can be viewed with a MiLB.TV subscription.

About the Tacoma Rainiers

The Tacoma Rainiers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The Rainiers are a member of the Pacific Coast League and have been a Mariners affiliate since establishing the Rainiers moniker in 1995.

The most up-to-date news and notes about the Tacoma Rainiers and Cheney Stadium can be found at WeRTacoma.com, or by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand), Instagram (@tacomarainiers) and liking the team on Facebook.