The Tacoma Rainiers scored two unearned runs in the eighth inning and one run in the ninth to rally for a 3-2 win over the Salt Lake Bees on Thursday night.
The Bees led 2-0 in the eighth when an error by shortstop David Fletcher allowed Joey Wong to reach base to open the inning. Ian Miller followed with a single and the runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch by Branden Pinder. A one-out ground out brought in Wong with the first run,and Gordon Beckham singled off of Deolis Guerra to bring home the tying run. Tacoma won the game in the bottom of the ninth, as Guerra (4-1) walked Mike Marjama, who scored from first on a triple to right by Andrew Aplin.
Salt Lake took a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by Fletcher and added a run in the fifth when Zach Houchins tripled and scored on an errant relay throw.
The Rainiers’ comeback spoiled a solid start by Osmer Morales, who went 6 2/3 innings and allowed no runs on two hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Morales did not allow his first hit until Wong led off the sixth with a clean single to right.
Fletcher led the Bees with two hits and one run batted in, while Houchins went 2 for 3 in his Triple-A debut. The loss, combined with El Paso’s 5-1 win over Fresno, drops Salt Lake into a tie for first with the Chihuahuas with four games left in the season. El Paso owns the tiebreaker over the Bees, as they won the season series 10-6.