Tacoma Rainiers vs Salt Lake Bees

Tacoma struck first in the bottom of the second. Connor Joe drew a five-pitch walk to lead off, and Leo Rivas crushed a two-run home run over the trees beyond the right-field wall — his third homer with the Rainiers this season — for a 2-0 lead.

Salt Lake answered immediately in the top of the third. Arol Vera beat out an infield single, Nelson Rada walked, and after Pablo Reyes flied out, Kyren Paris lined an RBI single to centre. Paris stole second, and Jeimer Candelario followed with a two-run single to shallow centre, giving the Bees a 3-2 lead.

Starter Nolan Kingham settled after the third, retiring nine of the final 10 batters he faced. He finished with seven strikeouts, his most in a Tacoma uniform, and sparked a run of 12 consecutive Bees retired from the second out of the fourth through the first out of the eighth.

The game turned on a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth. Victor Labrada doubled to right, Rivas walked, and the pair executed a double steal to move into scoring position. Willie MacIver drew a walk to load the bases. On a 3-2 pitch, Mastrobuoni smoked a grand slam over the right-field wall — his second career grand slam and the first go-ahead grand slam by a Rainiers hitter in the sixth inning or later since Jake Scheiner on June 3, 2023.

The bullpen made it stand up. Cooper Criswell, pitching his third MLB rehab appearance, tossed a perfect seventh. Nick Garcia worked around two singles in a scoreless eighth. Seth Shuman closed it with a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save with Tacoma.

Miles Mastrobuoni (TAC) — Player of the Match. 1-for-3, grand slam (3), 4 RBI. His go-ahead blast in the sixth was the decisive blow.

Leo Rivas (TAC) — 1-for-2, HR (3), 2 RBI, 2 BB, R. His 102.6 mph two-run homer in the second was his hardest-hit ball since his first MLB home run on September 1, 2025.

Nolan Kingham (TAC) — 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Settled after a shaky third to retire nine of his last 10 batters.

Connor Joe (TAC) — 0-for-1, 2 BB, R, HBP. Extended his on-base streak to 25 games, the longest by a Rainiers hitter this season.

Jeimer Candelario (SL) — 1-for-4, 2 RBI. His two-run single in the third briefly gave Salt Lake the lead.

The Rainiers' bullpen held Salt Lake scoreless across 3.1 innings, extending a stretch of dominant relief work from the previous night (4.1 scoreless innings on Thursday). Tacoma's five grand slams this season are the most by the club in recent memory. Ryan Bliss added his 31st double of the season in the third, making him the first Rainiers player with 31 doubles since Jarred Kelenic hit 32 in 2022.

Connor Joe's 25-game on-base streak is the team's longest of 2026, during which he has walked 24 times against 14 strikeouts with a .467 OBP.

Tacoma improved to 60-70 overall and 27-28 in the second half, positioning for a series win in the penultimate homestand of the regular season. Salt Lake fell to 58-70, having lost back-to-back games at Cheney Stadium after winning five of their previous seven. The Rainiers face the Bees again on Saturday at 6:05 PM PT, with LHP Peyton Alford making his first start of the season in a bullpen game for Tacoma.

Mastrobuoni's sixth-inning grand slam was the kind of emphatic swing that can define a series. Tacoma's bullpen continues to be a reliable backbone, and with Kingham finding his groove, the Rainiers have the ingredients for a strong finish to the season.