Rainiers Take Fifth Straight

TACOMA, WA – The Tacoma Rainiers (70-50) moved to a season-high 20 games above .500, beating the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (74-45) by a score of 4-3 in the series finale, Sunday at Cheney Stadium.

The Rainiers jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs in the first inning on a bases loaded single from Jason Vosler. Two runs were enough for Jhonathan Diaz, who kept Sugar Land off the board.

Diaz allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out seven over 5.1 innings, giving way to the bullpen in the sixth. The Space Cowboys got on the board in the seventh on a solo home run from Jacob Melton, cutting their deficit in half.

Still 2-1 entering the eighth, the Space Cowboys tied the game on an RBI single from Jesus Bastidas. With two outs in the bottom of the frame, Luis Urias got Tacoma’s first hit since the first inning, starting a rally.

Two batters later, Vosler delivered again, clubbing his 21^st double of the year to bring in two more runs and give the Rainiers a 4-2 lead. Sugar Land wasn’t done, as Melton clubbed his second solo home run of the day to bring them back within a run.

That was all they would score, as Joey Krehbiel recorded the final three outs to earn his ninth save of the season and Tacoma’s fifth straight victory.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• Jason Vosler recorded his team-leading 33^rd multi-hit and 25^th multi-RBI game of the season today. The utility-man went 2-for-4 and drove in all four runs for Tacoma.
• Joey Krehbiel closed out his ninth save of the season, leading the team and second in the Pacific Coast League.
• The Rainiers won their fifth game in a row for the first time all year. They had previously won four games in a row seven times entering today’s game.

Tacoma will get tomorrow off and welcome the Sacramento River Cats to town for a six-game series beginning Tuesday night. First pitch from Cheney Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 pm. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.milb.com/tacoma.