Rainiers sting back late, beat Bees in 12 

Tacoma, WA (6/29/22) – The Tacoma Rainiers (29-44) defeated the Salt Lake Bees (35-39) in a 12-inning affair on Wednesday night at Cheney Stadium, by a 6-5 final. Erick Mejia drove in the winning run in the Rainiers’ longest game of the season (by innings). It was already Tacoma’s fifth win by walk-off during the season’s first half, and Jarred Kelenic (DH) twice tied the game with an RBI single in extra innings, to snap a four-game losing streak.

Wednesday also featured a fantastic pitching matchup between Tacoma LHP Justus Sheffield and Salt Lake LHP Reid Detmers, who combined to strike out 21 batters over six innings apiece.

After retiring the first four batters of the game, Sheffield allowed consecutive singles to Jack Mayfield and Kean Wong. The next batter, Chad Wallach, flied out to centerfield, scoring Mayfield and giving the Bees an early 1-0 lead. In the fourth, with two on and two out, Magneuris Sierra beat out a ground ball deep in the hole at short. Wong scored on the play, extending the Salt Lake lead to two. Sheffield silenced the Bees’ bats the next two innings, equaling season-highs in innings pitched (6.0) and strikeouts (7), while allowing only two runs (5 H, 2 BB).

Detmers, who threw an MLB no-hitter for the Angels against Tampa Bay on May 10 of this year, matched Sheffield with six strong innings of his own in his first Triple-A start of the season. After getting Kelenic to fly out to lead off the first, Detmers struck out the next seven batters, setting a Bees record for most consecutive strikeouts in a game. In the middle of this stretch, in the second inning, Detmers struck out the side on 10 pitches, barely missing an immaculate inning. Detmers finished with 14 strikeouts, tying a Salt Lake record for most Ks in a single appearance (3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB).

In the sixth, Tacoma finally broke through against Detmers. Alex Blandino ambushed the second pitch of the inning, blasting it over the fence in left to bring the Rainiers within one on his third homer with the club.

Tacoma’s bullpen kept them in the game. Relievers Jacob Barnes, Anthony Misiewicz and Matt Brash each faced the minimum in innings seven through nine, allowing zero runs and striking out three combined. Leading off the bottom of the ninth, Zach Green came up clutch with an opposite field solo shot to right, sending the game to extra innings on his 10th homer (tied 2-2).

In the 10th, Jake Gatewood knocked a single down the line in right, scoring Wallach and giving the Bees a 3-2 advantage. In the bottom of the frame, Kelenic singled to right, driving in Blandino and tying the game 3-3.

Mayfield put Salt Lake back ahead by one on an RBI single in the 11th. McCoy responded in the home 11th with a sacrifice fly to deep right field, scoring O’Keefe and allowing the Rainiers to hold serve.

In the 12th, the Bees went up 5-4 on a Michael Stefanic sacrifice fly to right. In the bottom of the inning, Kelenic drove in Trey Amburgey on an RBI single. Two batters later, Mejia hit a sac fly to left, scoring Blandino and winning the game 6-5.

Game three of the series will be Thursday night at Cheney Stadium, a 7:05 p.m. PT first pitch. The midpoint of this weeklong set between the Rainiers and Salt Lake will mark the end of the first half of the Pacific Coast League season (75 scheduled games, one PPD for Tacoma).

Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto will have full coverage on TacomaRainiers.com. All 2022 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 a MiLB.TV subscription.

About the Tacoma Rainiers

The Tacoma Rainiers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The Rainiers are a member of the Pacific Coast League and have been a Mariners affiliate since establishing the Rainiers moniker in 1995.

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.