Rainiers smack three homers to win fifth straight

Tacoma, WA (8/30/21) – The Tacoma Rainiers (59-42) downed the Salt Lake Bees (43-57) for their fifth-straight victory, notching a 10-5 win at Cheney Stadium on Monday night. Behind another offensive outburst, Tacoma improved to 14-3 on Mondays and 11-3 when Logan Verrett starts.

Matt Thaiss got the Bees on the board early, launching a two-run bomb to left-center field to score Jose Rojas (single) and give Salt Lake a 2-0 advantage. The Rainiers roared back in the bottom half of the inning, though. After a Jose Godoy RBI groundout, Marcus Wilson brought home Taylor Trammell (single) and Brian O’Keefe (walk) on a three-run blast of his own (his third in his last four games), putting Tacoma out in front 4-2.

Both teams continued to add on in the second inning. In the top of the frame, the Bees got a run back when Jake Gatewood (double) came around on a Brendon Davis single. In the bottom half, the Rainiers matched with a Jantzen Witte sac fly.

In the third, Eric Filia belted a two-run shot to right, giving the Rainiers a four-run advantage. Salt Lake chipped away in the fifth with a Luis Rengifo RBI single, bringing the score to 7-4. The Bees tacked on another run with a Preston Palmeiro solo shot in the seventh, but that would be as close as they would come.

Tacoma added the finishing touches with a three-run homer off the bat of Witte, helping the Rainiers cruise to a 10-5 triumph.

Tacoma’s bullpen of Zack Weiss, Keynan Middleton, Moises Gomez and Justin Grimm combined for four innings of one-run ball, allowing two hits and striking out four. On the other side, Tyler Danish provided a bright spot for the Salt Lake staff, throwing two innings of scoreless relief and striking out three.

The Rainiers will be back in action on Tuesday night (7:05 p.m.) at Cheney Stadium, where they hope to break out the brooms with a sweep of the Bees. Tacoma will send RHP Darren McCaughan to the hill, while Salt Lake will counter with LHP Brian Johnson.

Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto will have full coverage on TacomaRainiers.com. All 2021 Rainiers games, home and away, can also be heard for free on the MiLB First Pitch app. HD video broadcasts of every home game can be viewed with an MiLB.TV subscription. (Use code: RAINIERS to save $10 on an annual subscription.

About the Tacoma Rainiers

The Tacoma Rainiers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The Rainiers are a member of Triple-A West. Tacoma has been a Mariners affiliate since establishing the Rainiers moniker in 1995.

Single-game tickets for all remaining 2021 Rainiers home games are now available. Questions regarding season tickets can be directed to [email protected].

The most up-to-date news and notes about the Tacoma Rainiers and Cheney Stadium can be found at WeRTacoma.com, or by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand), Instagram (@tacomarainiers) and liking the team on Facebook.