Tacoma blows past Salt Lake in 10th after Bees' late rally

Salt Lake erased a three-run deficit and dragged Tacoma into extra innings, only to watch the Rainiers blow the game open with six runs in the 10th and escape The Ballpark at America First Square with a 12-6 win. The late rally gave the Bees a real shot to steal it, but Tacoma turned the game at the exact moment Salt Lake had to keep reaching into the bullpen.

The opening inning set the tone for a night that kept changing shape. Tacoma jumped on top with three runs in the first, sparked by Ryan Bliss’ one-out single and stolen base, but Salt Lake answered right away and spent most of the middle innings hanging around. Taijuan Walker and Carson Fulmer each settled in after the early damage, while Casey Lawrence gave Tacoma 6.0 shutout innings to keep the Rainiers ahead in the long stretch before the game broke open again.

Salt Lake’s best swing came from Jeimer Candelario, who delivered a two-run triple to keep the comeback alive. Later, Nelson Rada and Christian Moore helped push the Bees all the way back, and Salt Lake tied the game at 6 before the 10th. Joey Lucchesi gave the home club two scoreless innings out of the bullpen, but once the game kept going, Tacoma’s extra-inning offense had one more gear.

That gear showed up in a hurry. Tacoma batted around in the 10th, stringing together back-to-back singles, then a two-run single, before Colin Davis unloaded a three-run homer to left that effectively ended it. The six-run inning was tied for the most runs in a single extra frame in a Pacific Coast League game this season, and it came at Salt Lake’s expense on a night when the Bees had already burned through enough to survive, but not enough to stop the final surge.

Weston Wilson was just as dangerous earlier for Tacoma, finishing with his second straight three-hit, three-RBI game. The Rainiers’ offense had enough length to survive the late push and enough power to turn the 10th into a rout, while Salt Lake’s bullpen hit its limit trying to protect a tie that looked much closer than the final score.

The loss snapped Salt Lake’s four-game winning streak and dropped the Bees to 37-33. Tacoma improved to 31-40, but the bigger number was the one on the board in the 10th: six runs, one inning, game over.