Robles delivers walk-off hit as Rainiers beat Space Cowboys 7-6

Victor Robles gave Cheney Stadium the kind of ending that keeps turning Tacoma games into late-night drama, pushing across the winning run in the ninth inning as the Rainiers beat Sugar Land 7-6 and collected their third walk-off victory of the season.

The finish completed a series-clinching win for Tacoma, which took four of six from the Space Cowboys and improved to 22-23. Sugar Land fell to 20-25. Robles, on rehab assignment with the Rainiers, delivered the final blow after already making his presence felt earlier in the game, a reminder of why every plate appearance matters when a big-league player is back in Triple-A trying to sharpen timing and rhythm.

The game never settled down. Tacoma scored twice in the first inning, then added another run in the second when Robles ripped a 102.3 mph double over the center fielder’s head. Sugar Land answered in the third with a four-run burst highlighted by James Nelson’s three-run homer, flipping the momentum and forcing Tacoma to respond again. The Rainiers did just that in the bottom half when Colin Davis launched a two-run homer to reclaim a 5-4 lead, and Patrick Wisdom followed with a solo shot in the fourth to stretch the edge to 6-4.

That cushion did not last. Sugar Land tied the game in the seventh, setting up another ninth-inning test for a Tacoma club that has made a habit of surviving on the game’s final pitch. Robles came up with the winning run on base and put a ground ball toward third. Cavan Biggio could not handle it cleanly, and Tacoma walked it off for a 7-6 victory.

The result fit a pattern that has defined the Rainiers’ season at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma also won on walk-offs against El Paso on April 5 and Las Vegas on May 2 before Robles made it three. For a 28-year-old on rehab assignment who entered the day with 29 Triple-A at-bats and six hits in 2026, the game offered both a loud individual moment and another example of Tacoma’s growing identity as a team that keeps finding answers when the ninth inning arrives.