SOUTH JORDAN, UT (June 20, 2026) — It was a back-and-forth game on Saturday night at The Ballpark at America First Square, as the Tacoma Rainiers (32-42) erased a three-run deficit in the top of the ninth inning, but the Salt Lake Bees (39-34) manufactured the winning run in the bottom of the frame to deal Tacoma an 8-7 loss, the Rainiers’ seventh walk-off loss of the season. Ryan Bliss homered and drove in a season-high three runs in the defeat.
After both teams were kept off the board through the first two innings, Tacoma produced the game’s first run in the top of the third inning. Blake Rambusch reached on an error by the second baseman Kyren Paris and moved up to second base as Brock Rodden drew a walk. The two pulled off a double-steal, putting Rambusch at third and Rodden at second base. Bliss drove in Rambusch on a sacrifice fly to deep center field to put Tacoma on top, 1-0.
The Bees responded in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Gabe Mosser retired the first two hitters of the inning before issuing a walk to Josh Lowe, who advanced to second base on an errant pickoff throw. Yolmer Sánchez (4) put Salt Lake on top with a two-run home run to right-center field, giving the Bees a 2-1 lead.
The Rainiers got back in front in the top of the fifth inning. Blake Rambusch hit a one-out single to right field and stole second base, his second steal of the game. With two outs, Bliss (2) clubbed a go-ahead, two-run home run to right field to give Tacoma a 3-2 edge.
The seesaw continued in the bottom of the frame, as the Bees managed to tie the game. After Mosser eliminated a Zach Humphreys leadoff single with a double play, the next two hitters reached when Nelson Rada singled and Lowe walked. Tacoma made its first call to the bullpen, bringing in Peyton Alford in relief of Mosser. Sánchez greeted Alford with an RBI double off the left field wall to tie the game at three. Alford recovered with a strikeout to strand a pair of runners in scoring position.
Tacoma plated another run in the sixth inning to retake the lead. The first three batters of the inning reached against Brady Choban, the Bees’ third pitcher of the night. Patrick Wisdom doubled, Spencer Packard beat out an infield single and Jakson Reetz walked to load the bases with no outs. Colin Davis hit into a 6-4-3 double play that scored Wisdom and put Tacoma on top, 4-3.
The Rainiers went back to the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Troy Taylor inherited a one-out walk at first base. Lowe singled and Sánchez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ben Gobbel tied the game with a sacrifice fly to right field to knot the game at four. Taylor rebounded with a strikeout to leave two runners aboard.
The Bees took their second lead of the night in the bottom of the eighth inning. Ryan Nicholson reached on an error with one out, followed by three consecutive walks to force in the go-ahead run in Nicholson to make it 5-4 Salt Lake. Gunner Mayer relieved Taylor with the bases loaded. Lowe swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a two-run single up the middle, giving the Bees a 7-4 lead.
Down by three runs, Rodden (9) kick-started Tacoma’s rally with two outs in the top of the ninth inning by hitting a solo home run to right field. Bliss kept the momentum going with a walk and advanced to second base on defensive indifference. Victor Labrada cut the deficit to one with a line-drive single to right field, driving in Bliss to make it a 7-6 game. With Wisdom at the plate, Labrada stole second and took third base on a wild pitch. Wisdom worked a walk, putting runners on the corners. Spencer Packard grounded a single back up the middle to drive in Labrada and tie the game at seven, sending the game to the bottom of the ninth.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, however, Salt Lake managed to score the winning run. Bryce Teodosio walked with one out and stole second base. A fly out from Nicholson allowed Teodosio to move up to third base. With two gone, Humphreys hit a dribbling ground ball to the left side of the infield and beat the throw to first base while Teodosio scored the winning run, giving the Bees an 8-7, walk-off win.
The series wraps up on Sunday evening, as Tacoma will look to earn the split in the six-game set. Johnathan Díaz is scheduled to make the start at 5:05 PM (PT).
POSTGAME NOTES:
- INF Ryan Bliss hit his second home run of the season in the fifth inning, finishing the game 2-for-3 with a home run, a season-high three RBI, one walk and two runs scored…Bliss, who extended his hitting streak to six games, has now recorded an extra-base hit in four of his last five games…over his six-game streak, Bliss is hitting .434 (10x23) with three doubles, one triple and one home run, driving in six.
- INF Blake Rambusch stole two bases on Saturday night, making him 7-for-7 in his time with Tacoma…since making his first start with the Rainiers on June 11, Rambusch’s seven steals are tied for the most among Triple-A hitters (also: Gwinnett’s DaShawn Keirsey Jr.)…Rambsuch’s streak of seven steals without being caught is the second-longest by a Rainiers hitter this season, trailing Ryan Bliss’ current eight-steal streak (May 29-current)…Rambusch is the third PCL player this season to score two runs and steal two bases out of the ninth spot in the order, joining Las Vegas’ Drew Swift (May 19 vs. ABQ) and Albuquerque’s Drew Avans (May 5 at Sugar Land).
- INF Patrick Wisdom went 1-for-4 with a double, his fifth consecutive game with an extra-base hit, dating back to May 15…it’s the fifth-longest extra-base hit streak in the PCL this season and the longest active streak…the last Rainiers hitter with a longer streak was Dominic Canzone, who went eight consecutive games with an extra-base hit from May 4-13, 2025.
- The Rainiers went 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts on Saturday, now 15-for-16 in the series against Salt Lake…it’s the second time this season the Rainiers have gone at least 5-for-5 in stolen bases in a game this season (also: June 16 at Salt Lake), tied for the most such games in the PCL.