TACOMA, WASH. - The Bees failed to open their season-long 12-game road trip with a win, falling 8-5 to Tacoma on Tuesday. The Rainiers scored three unanswered runs from the fifth inning onwards and held Salt Lake to a lone hit in the same span. Tacoma’s bullpen shut out the Bees, collecting eight strikeouts to beat Salt Lake for the 12th straight time at home.
Tacoma 8, Salt Lake 5
WP: Cooper Criswell (1-0)
LP: Joel Hurtado (0-2)
SV: Seth Shuman (1)
Key Performers
Jeimer Candelario: 3-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, K
Yolmer Sánchez: 1-4, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB
Bryce Teodosio: 1-4, R, 2B, RBI
Game Summary
A scoreless first inning was how Tuesday’s series opener began, but both teams woke up in the second. Bryce Teodosio doubled home Jeimer Candelario for a 1-0 lead in the top half, before Yolmer Sánchez extended the advantage to 3-0 on his two-run single.
Two walks plagued starter Joel Hurtado in the home half. The righty served up a two-out, three-run blast on the first pitch to Nick Raposo, tying the game at 3-3 with one swing. Hurtado got out of the frame without further damage, thanks to Raudi Rodriguez’s outfield assist. The young right fielder started a relay to the plate that ended the inning.
In the third, with a runner on first, Candelario unloaded on a hanging curveball sending his 13th home run of the season to left to give the Bees lead back at 5-3. Tacoma’s half inning was nearly a carbon copy of the second, drawing a two-out walk ahead of another game-tying homer, this time off Stuart Fairchild’s bat to even the score at 5-5.
Fairchild came through for the hosts in the fifth, delivering an RBI double that nearly left the yard but put Tacoma in front by a run at 6-5. The Rainiers padded insurance in the seventh and eighth, using an RBI single through the left side in both frames to cushion their lead to 8-5.
Salt Lake went down quietly in the ninth, striking out twice to end the contest and drop their 12th straight game inside the confines of Cheney Stadium. After Candelario’s homer, 19 of the final 23 Bees were retired by Tacoma pitching, only surrendering three singles and an error.
Game Notes
- Salt Lake’s streak of back-to-back series-opening wins came to an end Tuesday as the Bees and opponent finished with an even 9-9 hit total. Salt Lake moves to 4-5 this season when the hit column is even.
- The Bees have now lost 12 straight games at Cheney Stadium, dating back to August 2, 2024. It is their longest active losing streak in one location and, since 2005, is tied for the longest in franchise history, dropping 12 in a row at Cashman Field, the former home of the Las Vegas Aviators (51s), from July 27, 2014 to July 5, 2016. Salt Lake has one other double-digit losing streak at a visiting venue, dropping 11 straight to the Sacramento River Cats at Sutter Health Park between May 16, 2008 and June 21, 2009.
- Salt Lake has homered in nine consecutive games, the longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League, second longest current streak in Triple-A and matches a new season-long for the Bees (July 1-10). The Bees have hit 17 homers over this span, which leads the PCL since the streak began on August 14.
- Jeimer Candelario earned his second straight three-hit night and third consecutive multi-hit effort. The infielder hit a home run in his third straight game, launching a two-run shot to left for his 13th of the year. He is the fourth Bee this season to have a streak of three consecutive games with a homer joining Gustavo Campero (7/26-29), Kyren Paris (7/8-10) and Ben Gobbel (7/3-5). Candelario holds a four-game hit streak, has reached safely in 12 straight games and has scored in four consecutive games. He also has driven in a run in each of his last four games, a season-long streak; it is his longest streak since a five-gamer with the Cincinnati Reds between June 11-16, 2024.
- Starter Joel Hurtado matched his Triple-A long with five innings of work, while setting a new AAA career-high with six strikeouts. The Dominican gave up six runs, his third start at the level this season yielding at least half a dozen runs. Additionally, Hurtado tied his professional high with six walks on Tuesday, doing so twice with High-A Tri-City in 2024. Four of the six free passes he issued to Tacoma hitters tonight came around to score.
- Raudi Rodriguez singled off a southpaw in his first at-bat of the series, doing so for the fifth time at Triple-A this season. The outfielder scored once and has come home in four of his last five games. Rodriguez has reached base in 13 of the 15 games he has played with Salt Lake since joining the Bees on August 4.
- Facing a 1-2 count, Bryce Teodosio doubled home Candelario, his 11th two-bagger of the year. Six of the outfielder’s doubles have come when he has been behind in the count, despite batting .155 in that situation. Teodosio’s RBI was his 27th of the year with Salt Lake and first since August 19. The Clemson alum is batting 9-for-27 (.333) in the month of August, also coinciding with his return from the injured list.
- Yolmer Sánchez collected his 420th and 421st Triple-A RBI on a two-run single in the second. He has 10 RBI in August, all coming in multi-RBI games (four total). Sánchez swiped his 15th base of the season tonight, his most in a single season since stealing 17 total bags with Triple-A Charlotte (16) and the Chicago White Sox (1) in 2014.
- Continuing his monster August was Pablo Reyes. He singled to push his hit (and on-base) streak to seven games, before scoring on Candelario’s longball. Reyes is batting .397 in August, good for the PCL lead.
- Cade Marlowe’s fourth-inning base hit gave him knocks in five of the last six games. The former Rainier has a hit in five straight games at Cheney Stadium, dating back to May 28 with Las Vegas.
- First out of the bullpen tonight was Mitch Farris. The lefty tallied 1.1 innings, allowed one run and struck out two. Farris has 21 punchouts in eight Triple-A outings this season, collecting at least one in each appearance.
- Dillon Tate dealt 1.2 innings of work allowed two hits and one run with one strikeout. Tate has tallied at least one strikeout in five consecutive appearances giving him 11 strikeouts to three walks in the month of August.
Up Next
The six-game set continues from the Evergreen State on Wednesday as the Bees and Rainiers square off at 8:05 p.m. MDT at Cheney Stadium.