Second Inning Stifles Tacoma in 9-3 Loss to Salt Lake

SOUTH JORDAN, UT (May 22, 2026) — The Tacoma Rainiers (23-26) fell 9-3 to the Salt Lake Bees (23-25) on Friday night after the Bees put together eight runs in the second inning. Leo Rivas, Brock Rodden, Hogan Windish, and Alejo Lopez all had multi-hit performances in the contest. Colin Davis extended his hit streak to seven games with a single in the fourth inning while Gunner Mayer lowered his ERA on the season to 0.61 by tossing a perfect frame in relief.

Tacoma scratched across two runs in their first trip to the plate in the first inning. Leo Rivas jumped on the first pitch of the ball game and drove it into center field for a single. He moved up to second when Ryan Bliss worked a walk and then, Brock Rodden beat out an infield single to load the bases with no outs. Brennen Davis reached first base when Rodden was tagged out at second, keeping the bases loaded with one out for Victor Labrada. Labrada dropped a single into shallow left field which allowed Rivas to come in to score and put Tacoma on the board, 1-0. Colin Davis followed with a bases-loaded walk to plate Bliss and extend the Rainiers’ lead to two.

Salt Lake took the lead with an eight-run explosion in the bottom of the second inning. Denzer Guzman roped a leadoff double into the left-center field gap and came around to score when Trey Mancini lined a double into the right field corner to put the Bees on the board. Omar Martinez was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second before Yolmer Sánchez crushed a triple into right-center field, scoring Mancini and Martinez to give the Bees a 3-2 lead. Two batters later, Sánchez scored when Johan Macias reached on a fielding error, extending Salt Lake’s lead to two. Christian Moore worked a two-out walk and Nick Madrigal followed with a single to left field, scoring Macias from second and making it 5-2. Then, Guzman (8) smacked a three-run home run over the right-center field wall, to give the Bees a six-run lead.

Tacoma cut into the deficit in the top of the fourth inning. Colin Davis dropped a single into left field to lead off the frame. Two batters later, Hogan Windish moved Colin Davis into scoring position with a single into center field. Then, Alejo Lopez dropped the third Rainiers single of the inning into center, bringing home Colin Davis from second to make it 8-3.

Salt Lake got the run back in the fifth inning when Guzman (9) deposited a leadoff home run over the left field wall, extending the Bees’ lead back to six.

Tacoma found themselves needing six runs to stay alive heading into the ninth inning. The Rainiers failed to score as the Bees secured a 9-3 victory Friday night.

Tacoma will continue the six-game series on Saturday night. LHP Jhonathan Díaz will toe the rubber for the Rainiers. First pitch set for 5:35 pm (PT).

POSTGAME NOTES:

• OF Colin Davis extended his hitting streak to seven games Friday night, finishing 1-for-3 with an RBI a walk, and a run scored…he is 10-for-15 in the series against Salt Lake with two home runs, five RBI and three walks…since his hitting streak started on May 14, Davis’ four home runs are tied for the most in the PCL and his .481 batting average (13x27) ranks third best.

• INF Alejo Lopez extended his hitting streak to six games with his second multi-hit game of the season Friday night…he finished 2-for-4 with an RBI…in May, Lopez is batting .324 (11x34) with three doubles, three RBI, and five walks.

• RHP Gunner Mayer turned in his fifth straight hitless outing Friday, tossing a perfect inning in relief while striking out two of the three batters he faced…five straight appearances without a hit is the second-longest active streak in the PCL and tied for the sixth longest of the season…Mayer’s 0.61 ERA, .104 batting average against, and five hits allowed are the lowest among PCL pitchers who have made at least 14 appearances this season.

• OF Brennen Davis recorded his ninth double in the month of May on Friday night, tied for the most in the PCL…he finished 1-for-5 with a double…Davis’s 13 extra-base hits are also tied for the most in the PCL in May and his 44 total bases ranks fifth.