SALT LAKE CITY – The Tacoma Rainiers may have lost Sunday evening to the Salt Lake Bees, but at least they did so in a creative fashion.
After all, it’s not often that a pitcher issues four walks before allowing an inside-the-park grand slam.
That, in a nutshell, is what happened to Tacoma starter Mauricio Robles in a 10-2 loss to the Bees.
Robles was wild. The 22-year-old walked the bases loaded with two outs in the first inning, and then he walked Efren Navarro to force in a run.
Still, it looked like Robles was going to get out of the inning allowing just one run when Jeremy Moore lifted a seemingly routine fly ball to left field.
But Tacoma left fielder Carlos Peguero never saw the ball. Staring into bright sunshine, Peguero came in on a ball that flew over his head – and landed about 15 feet shy of the warning track before bouncing to the fence.
The speedy Moore sprinted around the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam, making it 5-0. It was the first inside-the-park grand slam against the Rainiers since Sacramento’s Sean Doolittle hit one at Cheney Stadium on April 18, 2009.
“A ball lost in the sun cost us four runs, but the walks … we gotta get the ball around the plate,” Tacoma manager Daren Brown said.
Robles fared no better in the second inning, walking the first three batters he faced before being relieved by Forrest Snow.
Robles (1-1) walked seven of the 11 batters he faced, throwing 20 of his 53 pitches for strikes. Robles was charged with seven runs in one-plus inning of work.
It was a 180-degree turn from Robles’ first Tacoma start, in which he walked one batter while tossing six shutout innings.
Snow fared well in his Triple-A debut. Promoted from Single-A High Desert just in case Robles had a short outing, Snow lasted six innings and gave up three runs, saving the rest of the pitching staff.
Looking a lot like current Mariners starter Doug Fister, the 6-foot-6 Snow struck out nine batters and walked one.
“He did a nice job in the situation he was in, for a kid flying here from A-ball, giving us innings,” Brown said. “He gave us what we needed today.”
Offensively, Tacoma was shut down by former major leaguer Jerome Williams. Williams (5-1) pitched six shutout innings, striking out 12.
SHORT HOPS
Tacoma made room for Snow on the roster by placing Josh Fields on the temporary inactive list. Snow, who graduated from Lakeside High School in Seattle and was drafted in the 36th round out of the University of Washington in 2010, was 4-10 with a 5.00 ERA at Single-A Clinton and High Desert. … During batting practice, Tacoma trainers Jeremy Clipperton and Charlie Kenyon stepped off the home run Peguero hit on Saturday at an estimated 507 feet.
ON TAP
The road trip concludes with a 6:05 p.m. game today. Salt Lake will start Matt Palmer (4-9, 7.95 ERA) against Tacoma’s Jarret Grube (1-2, 9.00).
Mike Curto is the radio broadcaster for the Tacoma Rainiers
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