Locklear and Thomas Homers Power Tacoma to 5-3 Victory, Sweeping Salt Lake
June 1, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TACOMA, WA - The Tacoma Rainiers (27-30) got four of their five runs from home runs in a 5-3 victory over the Salt Lake Bees (23-33), securing their first six-game series sweep since 2021 and their seventh consecutive victory.
Salt Lake scored first on Sunday afternoon. They took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a solo home run by Chad Stevens, his 10th of the season and second of the series.
Salt Lake added to their lead in the fourth inning. Christian Moore led off with a single, and he advanced to second base on a walk to Niko Kavadas. J.D. Davis grounded into a double play to record the first two outs of the inning, pushing Moore up to third. Yolmer Sanchez doubled into the right field corner, scoring Moore to double the Bees lead to 2-0.
Tacoma starter Nick Fraze allowed only those two runs over 5.0 innings of work. He walked two and struck out three, taking a no-decision.
Tacoma tied the game in the fifth with a two-out rally. Samad Taylor and Rhylan Thomas both flied out, which Dominic Canzone followed with a single to center field. Tyler Locklear then hit a two-run home run over the left field wall, his fourth of the season, evening the score at 2-2.
Shintaro Fujinami took over in relief for the Rainiers in the sixth inning. He issued a pair of walks to David Merson and Moore to start the frame but rebounded with a flyout and a strikeout to get the first two outs of the inning. Jacob Nottingham threw out Mershon as he attempted to steal third base to end the inning.
Tacoma took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jack López hit a one-out double, and after Samad Taylor popped out, Rhylan Thomas hit his second home run of the season over the right field wall, knocking Salt Lake starter Victor Mederos out of the game and giving the Rainiers a 4-2 lead.
Salt Lake got a run back in the seventh inning. Sanchez led off with his second home run of the season to bring Salt Lake within one. Kyren Paris hit a one-out single, but Tacoma reliever Hagen Danner was able to retire Tucker Flint and Zach Humphreys to escape the inning with the score at 4-3.
Tacoma padded their lead in the eighth inning. After López flied out, Taylor singled for his second hit of the game. Thomas grounded out to Salt Lake reliever Sam Bachman advancing Taylor to second base. Canzone was intentionally walked and when both runners took off with Locklear at the plate, Humphreys' throw to second was wide of the mark and into center field. Taylor scored and Canzone advanced to third before Locklear grounded out to end the frame with the score at 5-3.
Troy Taylor came on in relief in the ninth inning and secured the victory for Tacoma. Davis singled to lead off the inning, and Kavadas struck out swinging. A single from Stevens put the tying run on base, and Paris grounded into a fielder's choice. With runners on the corners, Flint grounded out to first base, ending the game with a score of 5-3 and giving the Rainiers the series sweep.
Shintaro Fujinami earned the win for Tacoma after his sixth-straight hitless outing, and Troy Taylor got the save, his second of the season. Victor Mederos took the loss for Salt Lake after giving up four runs over 5.2 innings.
Postgame Notes:
Tacoma extended their season-high winning streak to seven games on Sunday, which is the longest active streak in the PCL. Tacoma has not won seven straight games since September 11-18, 2021.
Sunday's victory secured a six-game sweep of Salt Lake for Tacoma. Since the six-game series was initiated in Triple-A in 2021, Tacoma's only other six-game sweep came August 26-31, 2021, which was also against Salt Lake.
Samad Taylor now has four active streaks that are tied for the PCL lead. This includes his 16-game hitting streak, his 22-game on-base streak, his 5-game extra-base hit streak, and his two-game stolen base streak. He is the only player to be tied for the longest active streak in four offensive categories in the PCL.
Shintaro Fujinami extended his hitless-outing streak to six games with a scoreless sixth inning on Sunday. This is the second-longest active streak of its kind in the PCL.
Pacific Coast League Stories from June 1, 2025
- Bouchard's Eighth-Inning Homer Gives Isotopes 3-2 Victory, Series Win - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Walter Sets Season-High in Strikeouts But Sugar Land Drops Series Finale - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Bees Drop Seventh Straight, Suffer Series Sweep to Tacoma - Salt Lake Bees
- Locklear and Thomas Homers Power Tacoma to 5-3 Victory, Sweeping Salt Lake - Tacoma Rainiers
- Okey, Dokie: Comets Win Series Finale - Oklahoma City Comets
- Lawlar & English Lead Late Rally, Aces Take Down Express 7-4 in Series Finale - Reno Aces
- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - vs. Salt Lake - Tacoma Rainiers
- OKC Comets Game Notes - June 1, 2025 - Oklahoma City Comets
- OKC Comets Win Over Aviators, 17-11 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Isotopes Hold off Sugar Land for 10-8 Victory - Albuquerque Isotopes
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
