Big Ninth Inning Sinks Rainiers

TACOMA, WA – The Tacoma Rainiers (47-37) allowed four runs in the ninth inning, falling to the Salt Lake Bees (36-47) by a score of 7-6, Wednesday at Cheney Stadium.

Both teams stayed scoreless until the third, when Michael Stefanic clubbed a two-run home run to give Salt Lake a 2-0 lead. They made it 3-0 in the fourth on a solo home run from Jack Lopez, his sixth of the year against Tacoma.

After being held off the board through the first four innings, Leo Rivas clubbed a two-run home run to bring the Rainiers within a run. They tied it in the sixth on a solo home run from Jonatan Clase, his second of the series.

With the game tied 3-3 in the seventh, Jason Vosler hit Tacoma’s third home run in as many innings, cranking a two-run shot to give the Rainiers their first lead of the game. Cade Marlowe provided insurance in the eighth with an RBI single, making it 6-3.

The insurance wasn’t enough, as Salt Lake stormed back with four runs in the ninth inning to regain the lead. They scored on singles from D’Shawn Knowles and Jake Marisnick as well as a sacrifice bunt from Elliot Soto.

It stayed 7-6 in favor of the Bees, as Guillermo Zuniga earned his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• Jason Vosler hit his team-leading 17^th home run of the year, going 1-for-4 with a run scored, a home run and two runs batted in.
• Casey Lawrence tossed a quality start, allowing just three earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out six over 7.0 innings.
• Brett de Geus’ struggles continued, allowing four runs on three hits and a walk in the ninth inning. The right-hander recorded just one out, losing his fourth game of the year.

Tacoma and Salt Lake will travel to Smith’s Ballpark tomorrow and play game four of their six-game set tomorrow night, with first pitch scheduled for 5:35 pm PT. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.milb.com/tacoma.