Tacoma Rainiers get back on winning track behind 10-3 victory over Space Cowboys
By Charles Hamaker
Tacoma, WA - In the second game of a six-game set against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Affiliate of the Houston Astros), our Tacoma Rainiers stopped a four-game losing skid behind a strong offensive performance and impressive outing from the pitching staff for somewhat of a complete effort on Wednesday night. With a season high 15 strikeouts from the Rainiers pitchers in this one against Sugar Land, Tacoma was able to support the offensive production of ten runs to the delight of the fans at Cheney Stadium on a beautiful afternoon in the state of Washington. It’s an exciting thing to see the Rainiers perform like this, especially considering the sort of names and prospects currently on the roster for Tacoma. Here’s to hoping that a win like tonight can be a strong launch point for the club, as they currently sit at fourth in the Western division of the Pacific Coast League.
Getting the start for our Tacoma Rainiers in this one, left handed pitcher Jhonathan Díaz threw five innings of three run ball while striking out ten batters against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 at Cheney Stadium. (Photos by Aimee Lou Arnold-Worthington for Circling Seattle Sports)
The visiting Space Cowboys were able to open the scoring on the first pitch of the game off Rainiers starting pitcher Jhonathan Díaz, as Sugar Land shortstop Zach Short hit a solo homer to right field. It appeared as though Tacoma was going to be able to respond to the Space Cowboys early lead in the same frame, as they got runners on second and third with two outs, but Tacoma stranded those two first inning runners after Austin Shenton flied out to right fielder Quincy Hamilton.
While they missed out on that ability to respond immediately in the first inning, the Rainiers were able to get on the board in the second inning. After a one out double from left fielder Spencer Packard, third baseman Nick Dunn hit his first home run of the season to right field, giving the Rainiers a 2-1 lead that Tacoma never relinquished.
Tacoma Rainiers third baseman Nick Dunn hit his teams only homer of their 10-3 win over the Sugar Land Space Cowboys on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 at Cheney Stadium. (Photos by Aimee Lou Arnold-Worthington for Circling Seattle Sports)
As mentioned, Tacoma never lost that lead they gained on the Nick Dunn homer and they were able to add on to their lead in the third inning. Speedy Rainiers catcher Harry Ford led off the inning with a walk, and second baseman Cole Young followed with a single into center field to put some traffic on the bases. Ford tagged up and moved to third on a flyout from designated hitter Tyler Locklear, before first baseman Austin Shenton drove a two-RBI double into the corner of right field, which then extended the Tacoma lead to 4-1.
Sugar Land wasn’t going to go away easily at Cheney, as they scored again in the fourth, as first baseman Collin Price broke Jhonathan Díaz’s five consecutive strikeouts with a home run to left-center. Díaz sat down third baseman and MLB veteran Luis Guillorme before center fielder Kenedy Corona hit the second Space Cowboys’ homer of the inning, bringing the score to 4-3. It was certainly an interesting outing for Díaz, as he gave up the three solo home runs by struck out ten to cap his performance in the win.
Some sights of the Tacoma Rainiers offense as they put up ten runs in their home victory against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys by a final score of 10-3 on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 at Cheney Stadium. (Photos by Aimee Lou Arnold-Worthington for Circling Seattle Sports)
Tacoma broke the game open in the fourth, adding on to their lead so that they’d never have to look back as the bullpen ensured they didn’t need to. Dunn began the inning with a walk, followed by a single from right fielder Rhylan Thomas. Dunn scored on a single from Ford, after which Cole Young would walk to load the bases up for Tyler Locklear. Locklear then knocked a bases-clearing double down the right field line, which Shenton followed with an RBI single to drive him in. After center fielder Samad Taylor singled to continue his hot hitting on the 2024 MiLB season, Spencer Packard scored Shenton with a double. Dunn walked for the second time in the inning as the lineup card rolled over, but he would unfortunately be the last Rainier to reach base, as shortstop Jack Lopez struck out and Rhylan Thomas popped out to finish the frame. In that frame, the Rainiers sent 12 men to the plate and scored six runs on six hits both season-highs for an inning, bringing the score to 10-3 which ended up being the final tally.
We wouldn’t see any further scoring in this game from the fifth inning on, as Tacoma starter Jhonathan Díaz reached 10 strikeouts in the fifth, a new season-high for the Rainiers, and largely was strong in this game besides the trio of solo home runs he gave up to the Space Cowboys. The bullpen saw Hagen Danner, Matt Brash, and Tayler Saucedo combine for five more strikeouts in order to help keep Sugar Land off the board, as the game ended with a final score of 10-3 and Tacoma snapped their four-game losing streak.
Rhubarb, the Tacoma Rainiers mascot, and center fielder Samad Taylor wave to the fans following the teams big 10-3 victory against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025. (Photos by Aimee Lou Arnold-Worthington for Circling Seattle Sports)
Quick Rainiers baseball notes
3,162 was the announced attendance at Cheney Stadium.
The Rainiers’ 15 strikeouts as a pitching staff marks a new season-high. The game on August 4th, 2024 versus Salt Lake is also the last time the Rainiers struck out 15 or more batters in a game, as the staff set down 17 Bees on strikes in that game
The six runs the Rainiers scored in the fourth inning are the most they’ve scored in a single inning this season. The last time they scored six-or-more runs in an inning was in the sixth inning of a 9-8 loss against El Paso on August 28th, 2024
Jonathan Diaz’s 10 strikeouts are the most in a game by a Rainiers’ pitcher this season, and the most since Blas Castano’s 12 strikeout performance against Salt Lake on August 4th, 2024
Samad Taylor’s three-hit game today is his fifth of the season, the most in the PCL. He’s recorded three hits in two straight games and three of the last four
What’s next?
Following tonight’s win in game two of a six-game series between a team in the West division of the Pacific Coast league and a team in it’s Eastern division, our Tacoma Rainiers will battle the Sugar Land Space Cowboys once again tomorrow, Thursday, April 24th with a first pitch time of 7:05PM PDT as it’s “Thirsty Thursday” down at Cheney Stadium. Our Rainiers will have right hander Blas Castano on the mound, looking to keep his perfect 2-0 record on the right track, to duel against Space Cowboys right hander Tyler Ivey, who is looking to get his first victory of the 2025 season. Both starters will be looking for some length for their respective teams in this game, as neither escaped the fourth inning in their previous outings (Castano went three innings, Ivey went three and a third innings). With last night being the second time that Tacoma has hit the ten run mark this month, previously doing so back on the 12th against the Sacramento River Cats, our Rainiers will look to continue some offensive momentum here in game three of the series.
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Cover photo and photos in this article by Aimee Lou Arnold-Worthington, her first game with CSS. Check out her portfolio here and follow her on Instagram by clicking here.
Check out our previous articles with writing by Charles Hamaker here.
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