TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Northern Division race got a little tighter, as the Tacoma Rainiers cruised to a 7-1 win over the Salt Lake Bees on Tuesday night.
Tacoma is now within three games of the Bees with six games remaining, as Salt Lake's magic number for clinching remains at four.
After the Bees' Luis Jimenez tied the game at 1-1 with a two-out RBI single in the top of the third, the Rainiers responded with four runs in the bottom of the third to take control of the game.
Billy Buckner (7-3) was charged with the loss, as he went just 22?3 innings and allowed four runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
One bright spot for the Bees was that their four pitchers combined to record a season- high 15 strikeouts. Salt Lake, however, managed just five hits in the game.