Utah’s Offense Silenced as Three Big Innings Lead to Dirty Sodas Defeat
SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - The Utah Dirty Sodas fell to the Rainiers 13-1 in the second game of the series, as Tacoma starter Casey Lawrence carried a perfect game through five frames before being broken up in the sixth.
Tacoma 13, Dirty Sodas 1
WP: Casey Lawrence (3-3)
LP: George Klassen (0-4)
Key Performers
Donovan Walton: 1-4, RBI
Nelson Rada: 1-3, 2B, K
Trey Mancini: 1-3, 2B
Game Summary
George Klassen started on the mound for the Dirty Sodas. Although the right-hander permitted the opening two hitters to reach via a walk and a single, he quickly regained his composure and retired the following three batters in succession, striking out the side to escape the frame.
After setting Utah down in order in the bottom of the first, Tacoma struck first in the second inning. The Rainiers took advantage of more traffic on the bases. Jackson Reetz knocked in the first run of the game on an RBI single. With the bases loaded, Tacoma’s 18th-ranked prospect Brock Rodden crushed a 97 MPH fastball over the right field wall for a grand slam. It knocked Klassen out of the game after just an inning and two thirds of work.
Casey Lawrence was untouchable through five innings, as the Tacoma starter retired every one of the first 15 Dirty Sodas hitters he faced, taking a perfect game into the bottom of the sixth. This performance marked Lawrence's most dominant stretch since 2014, when he maintained a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
In relief of Klassen, Houston Harding surrendered only a single run during the fourth inning. While neither side scored in the fifth or sixth, Trey Mancini ended Lawrence's bid for perfection with a leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth.
The Rainiers added four runs in the top of the seventh inning, using a double and two singles against Huascar Ynoa to extend their lead. Following a scoreless bottom half, Tacoma tallied three more runs in the ninth. Utah finally broke through in the home half of the final frame when Donovan Walton hit an RBI single to score Christian Moore, accounting for the Dirty Sodas' only run in the defeat.
Game Notes
- The Bees moved to 5-3 during the season-long 12-game homestand as the series evened with Tacoma at 1-1. Salt Lake recorded their sixth game of this stretch without committing an error, tallying just two miscues thus far across the homestand. Dating back to Sunday’s finale against El Paso, the Bees have played clean baseball in 22 consecutive innings.
- Salt Lake surrendered 20 hits tonight, marking the second time an opponent reached the 20-hit threshold in 2026 (Apr. 24 at Las Vegas; 22 hits). All nine Rainiers collected at least one hit, scored once and reached base twice in the contest.
- On the third batter of the game, George Klassen recorded his 25th strikeout at the Triple-A level. The righty is five away from 300 in his professional career, after punching out four in tonight’s start.
- During tonight’s performance, Houston Harding reached a milestone by recording his 20th Triple-A strikeout in the third inning of his 15th appearance at this level. The left-hander logged 4.1 innings—his highest total since a five-inning start for the Rocket City Trash Pandas on September 12, 2024. Harding finished his outing with four strikeouts, allowing one run on seven hits. The righty notched his second longest appearance at the Triple-A level, only one out less than his career high of 4.2 innings (May 11, 2024 vs. Sacramento).
- The fifth started with some hard hit balls, and Chris Taylor took advantage of one of the singles. Taylor notched his third outfield assist of the season, gunning Colin Davis out at third from right field. His last assist was on April 15 vs. Sugar Land, when he did so as the right fielder.
- Trey Mancini broke up Casey Lawrence’s perfect game with a double that creeped down the third base line into left field. He has hits in four of his last five games, and it was his 14th extra-base hit of the year. Mancini does carry a five-game on-base streak.
- Nelson Rada stretched his hitting streak to six games with a double in the eighth inning. This marked Utah’s second hit of the contest. Rada has now recorded hits in eight of his previous nine games and has hit doubles in two consecutive nights.
- Yolmer Sánchez drew a walk in the eighth inning, marking the first base on balls for a Dirty Soda during the game. This free pass was his 10th of the season and allowed him to push his current on-base streak to nine consecutive games. At that point in the contest, Sánchez was only the third runner to reach base for the team.
- The fourth pitcher for the Dirty Sodas tonight, Justin Dunn, notched his first scoreless outing of the season and first in his Salt Lake tenure. The veteran right-hander pitched one inning of one hit baseball, while striking out one and walking one.
- Christian Moore drew a walk in his ninth-inning plate appearance, extending his on-base streak to seven games. He holds a .791 OPS across those seven games, a streak that dates back to his return from the injured list.
- Infielder Donovan Walton provided Salt Lake’s lone run on his ninth-inning single. He pushed his hit streak to five games, batting .313 (5-for-16) over that span with five walks and eight RBI.
Up Next
Talents take center stage as the Bees face the Rainiers in game three of the series on Talent Show Night, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. MDT on Thursday night.