Locklear's Slam Lifts Rainiers Over Bees in Game Three
PCL Salt Lake Bees

Locklear's Slam Lifts Rainiers Over Bees in Game Three

July 4, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Salt Lake Bees News Release


TACOMA, Wash. - The Salt Lake Bees dropped Thursday night's contest 12-7 to Tacoma falling to 0-9 against the Rainiers this season.

Tacoma Rainiers 12, Salt Lake Bees 7

WP: Blas Castaño (5 - 1)

LP: Dakota Hudson (4 - 5)

Game Summary

Tacoma jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first, capitalizing on a leadoff double and a Salt Lake error. Leo Rivas opened the inning with a double and came around to score on a fielder's choice. Rhylan Thomas added an RBI on a sac fly, and two more runs crossed after an error in center field that finished off the fast start for the Rainiers.

Salt Lake answered with four runs of its own in the third with back-to-back doubles by Chad Wallach and Tucker Flint to get the Bees on the board. After Zach Humphreys was hit by a pitch, Scott Kingery delivered the third double of the inning, driving in two to pull Salt Lake within one. A wild pitch moments later brought Kingery home to tie the game at 4-4.

The Bees threatened again in the third after back-to-back singles from Matthew Lugo and Yolmer Sánchez led off the inning. Chad Wallach moved both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, and a hit-by-pitch to Tucker Flint loaded the bases with one out. But Tacoma starter Blas Castaño escaped the jam, inducing a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Humphreys to keep the game tied and prevent further damage.

Tacoma regained the lead in the fourth as Austin Shenton doubled and Jack López followed with a single to open the frame. Dakota Hudson responded with a pop-up bunt and a strikeout to bring up two outs with two runners on. Rhylan Thomas extended the inning with a two-run triple to center, and Harry Ford followed with an RBI single to cap a three-run rally that put the Rainiers back on top, 7-4.

In the sixth Tacoma exploded for five runs after three walks and single knocked Dakota Hudson out of the game. Tyler Locklear provided the dagger with a grand slam off Jack Dashwood who replaced Hudson on the third pitch of the at-bat that brought the score to 12-4 before the Bees could record an out.

After Kingery drove in a run with an RBI single in the seventh, Salt Lake threatened again in the eighth, leaving two runners stranded. The Bees continued to battle in the ninth, putting two on with nobody out despite trailing by seven. Korey Holland delivered an RBI single to right, and Carter Kieboom added a run with an RBI groundout to cap the scoring. The late push fell short as Tacoma held on for a 12-7 win in game three of the series.

Game Notes

Salt Lake dropped its third straight to open the series against Tacoma falling to 32-51 on the year and 0-9 against the Rainiers this season.

The 0-9 stretch against Tacoma marks the Bees longest single-season skid against the Rainiers since a nine-game stretch in 2021, which eventually stretched to 10 with a loss on Opening Day 2022. The nine straight to Tacoma marks the longest losing streak to any team in the PCL since dropping 10 in a row to Sugar in 2024.

Salt Lake allowed double-digit runs for the 22nd time this season, leading the PCL in most double-digit runs allowed with Sugar Land and El Paso following behind with 15. The Bees allowed five runs or more for the eight time against Tacoma this season while being outscored by the Rainiers by at least five for the fifth time in 10 games.

Scott Kingery had a big night at the dish going 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored while adding his sixth double of the season for Salt Lake. Kingery supplied his 10th multi-hit game of the year and his seventh game with at least three hits which only trails Carter Kieboom with seven. Kingery provided three runs batted in for the second time this season with the last time coming on May 24 against Omaha.

Korey Holland hit safely for the second straight game and provided an RBI single in the ninth for his 16th run batted in on the year. Holland is batting .286 with six hits against Tacoma this season, tying his most hits against any team this season since having six against Omaha where he batted .353 in the series against the Storm Chasers.

Matthew Lugo extended his hitting streak to seven games, tying his season long streak from June 17-24. Since the 17th, Lugo is batting .317 with 20 hits, the most for Salt Lake while having a team-high of four doubles in that span and a team-best nine runs scored.

Tucker Flint with 1-for-1 being hit by a pitch two times while scoring three runs on the night. Flint notched his second three-run game of the season, scoring for the fifth time in six games.

Up Next

Salt Lake and Tacoma will shift the series to Salt Lake at The Ballpark at America First Square as Brett Kerry (2-5, 10.76) and Michael Mariot (3-2, 6.16) face off on the mound at 7:05 p.m. MST.

Check out the Salt Lake Bees Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from July 4, 2025


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