Rainiers Offense Dismantles Bees, 17-1

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - The Tacoma Rainiers (39-35) set season-high marks in hits and runs in a 17-1 rout of the Salt Lake Bees (42-32) on Friday night at Smith's Ballpark.
The Rainiers offense hammered 21 hits - seven of which went for extra bases - drew 11 walks, and scored 17 runs in the club's best offensive performance of the season. Tacoma's 16-run cushion was the club's largest margin of victory since beating Colorado Springs by 19 runs, 25-6, on May 29, 2013.

Designated hitter Kirk Nieuwenhuis had his biggest night of the year, going 4-for-5 with two runs, two doubles, three RBI, and one walk. Second baseman Gordon Beckham (3x4, R, 2B), right fielder John Andreoli (3x5, 3 R, RBI, BB), and center fielder Andrew Aplin (3x4, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) all collected three hits. Overall, eight-of-nine batters in the Rainiers starting lineup collected at least one hit, with seven players collecting multiple hits.
Tacoma scored three in the first inning, three in the fifth, seven in the sixth, and tacked on four more runs against a Salt Lake position player pitching in the ninth to account for the 17 runs.
Casey Lawrence continued his long run of dominant pitching, this time allowing just one run on two hits over five innings of work. He walked two and struck out six. Lawrence has now allowed just three earned runs across his last four starts, spanning 27.1 innings of work.
Matt Tenuta (1.2 IP), Ryan Garton (1.1 IP), and Tyler Higgins (1.0 IP) closed out the game for Tacoma and combined to hold the Bees scoreless on five hits. The group issued no walks and struck out five.
Rainiers right-hander Christian Bergman (4-4, 4.30) will take the mound for Tacoma as the series continues on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. PT. The Bees have not yet named a starting pitcher.
All tickets, group outings, and suites packages for the 2018 season are available for purchase in person at the Cheney Stadium Box Office, online at TacomaRainiers.com, or over the phone at (253) 752-7707. The most up-to-date news and notes about the Rainiers throughout the season can be found by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand) or liking the team on Facebook.