Rainiers Walk Off Express in Opener

TACOMA, WA – The Tacoma Rainiers (79-66) won a back-and-forth game against the Round Rock Express (69-74) by a score of 14-12 in extras, Tuesday at Cheney Stadium.

Tacoma took an early 2-0 lead in the first on singles from Jason Vosler and Jake Slaughter, but Round Rock immediately answered with two runs of their own in the top of the second inning on a home run from Kellen Strahm to tie the game.

The Rainiers regained the lead on an RBI double from Ryan Bliss, but once again, the Express answered. An RBI ground out tied the game 3-3 and a two-run double from Trevor Hauver gave Round Rock their first lead of the game, at 5-3.

They extended their lead with three more runs in the fourth, scoring on a sacrifice fly from Matt Duffy and another two run double, this time from Blaine Crim. Trailing 8-3, the Rainiers fought back with three runs, scoring on a wild pitch and a two-run single from Michael Papierski.

Six singles in the sixth inning drove in five more runs and gave Tacoma the lead back, at 11-8. It wasn’t enough for the win, however, as Round Rock scored two runs in the seventh on a double from Jax Biggers and tied it in the eighth on a fielder’s choice.

Neither team scored again until the 10^th, when the Express took their first lead since the fifth inning on an RBI double from Sam Huff. Trailing 12-11 with one out in the 10^th, Slaughter ended the night with a walk-off three-run home run to keep Tacoma’s playoff hopes alive.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• Tacoma stole three bases tonight, putting them nine away from tying the modern-era PCL record for stolen bases in a season, with 272. The 1981 Albuquerque Dukes currently hold the record with 281.
• The Rainiers used nine pitchers in tonight’s game, the most they have used in a single game all year long. Their previous high was eight, done twice, most recently on Aug. 8 against Reno.
• Ryan Bliss and Jake Slaughter each went 4-for-6 with two runs scored, as Bliss clubbed two doubles and drove in one while Slaughter hit a home run and drove in five.

Tacoma and Round Rock will play game two of their six-game series tomorrow night, with first pitch from Cheney Stadium scheduled for 6:05 pm. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.milb.com/tacoma.