Triple-A Tacoma’s historic season propels Rainiers to PCL Championship Series
The Seattle Mariners are stealing hearts and headlines in the baseball world — but their nearest minor league affiliates just 36 miles down Interstate 5 are enjoying their best-ever season in the Rainiers Era.
Triple-A Tacoma’s weekend wins over Triple-A Oklahoma City guaranteed the best record (86-64) in a 10-team Pacific Coast League, capped by right-hander Michael Mariot’s strong start (5.2 IP, 1 ER) on Sunday afternoon. The Rainiers rewarded the Cheney Stadium faithful with 52 home wins this summer, most in the PCL, and delivered the most wins (86) since the team rebranded in 1995.
The Rainiers feature leadoff infielder Samad Taylor, a lightning bolt on the basepaths with the most stolen bases in franchise history. They start 20-year-old Colt Emerson at shortstop, the Mariners’ No. 1 prospect expected to debut in the major leagues as early as 2026. And familiar names formerly in Seattle’s clubhouse are plentiful, from infielders Ben Williamson and Miles Mastrobuoni to outfielders Cade Marlowe and Leody Taveras.
Could a league title come next?
Triple-A Tacoma meets Triple-A Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League Championship, a three-game series that began Tuesday and stretches through Thursday night if a third game is necessary. The winner faces the International League champions in a one-game Triple-A Championship on Saturday at Las Vegas Ballpark.
The Rainiers are chasing their first PCL title since 2021 and seventh in team history. A Triple-A title would be Tacoma’s first in the modern era.
RAINIERS DROP GAME 1 TO AVIATORS
Aviators outfielder Ryan Lasko launched a two-run home run in the fifth inning, and Triple-A Las Vegas pulled away late for a pivotal Game 1 win over the Rainiers, 7-1, in the PCL Championship Series at Las Vegas Ballpark on Tuesday night.
Tacoma’s Samad Taylor slashed the deficit in half with a skyscraping solo homer in the sixth — but Las Vegas piled three runs in the seventh inning and two runs in the eighth, a convincing blow to the Rainiers in their quest for the Pacific Coast League title.
Rainiers starter Jhonathan Diaz threw six strong frames, allowing four hits and two earned runs on Lasko’s homer with one walk and six strikeouts. Triple-A Tacoma went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and Taylor’s eighth-inning double was the Rainiers’ only hit from the seventh inning on.
Triple-A Las Vegas’ Daniel Susac, Lasko, and Euribiel Angeles delivered run-scoring hits in the seventh inning, and Nick Martini added an RBI double that pushed the Aviators lead to five runs in the eighth. Rainiers reliever Collin Snider’s wild pitch scored Martini for Las Vegas’ seventh and final run.
Taylor went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and double, Tacoma’s only multi-hit performance. Rainiers shortstop Colt Emerson went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
Triple-A Tacoma faces elimination on Wednesday night, needing wins in Game 2 and Game 3 to advance to Saturday’s Triple-A Championship in Las Vegas. Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PDT.
SHORT HOPS
- Triple-A Tacoma raced to the best regular-season record in the Pacific Coast League (86-64) with a blazing-hot second half, when the Rainiers went 47-27 and outscored opponents by 94 runs.
- Since his promotion to Triple-A Tacoma on Sept. 16, shortstop Colt Emerson is batting .364 (8-for-22) with two home runs, two doubles, and nine RBI in six games. He’s reaching base at a .444 clip and slugging .727 (1.171 OPS), considered Seattle’s top prospect by MLB Pipeline. Emerson, 20, was selected 22nd overall by the Mariners in the first round of the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
- Samad Taylor stole his 93rd base in a Tacoma uniform (2024-25) on Sept. 16, setting an all-time team record that now sits at 94.
- Right-fielder Rhylan Thomas led all qualified Tacoma hitters with a .325 batting average this summer, one of four everyday players above the .300 mark in a hitter-friendly PCL.
- Austin Kitchen, Tacoma’s Reliever of the Year, became the first Rainiers bullpen arm since at least 2005 with a sub-3.40 ERA and sub-1.30 WHIP with more than 60 innings pitched in a season.
This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 2:41 PM.
