Salt Lake is struck on five.
Thanks to a quirk in the Pacific Coast League schedule, this was the sixth consecutive game the Bees had played the Rainiers (25-40). Salt Lake (35-31) had won the first five, including a four-game sweep in Tacoma prior to opening another four-game series Monday at Spring Mobile Ballpark.
Salt Lake's comeback effort fell short, 7-3, in front of 9,925 spectators out to enjoy a warm June evening.
The Rainiers pushed four runs across home plate in the third inning then tacked on two more in the ninth.
"It's tough," Salt Lake manager Keith Johnson said about the scheduling. "At some point, the familiarity becomes a little old. It's tough if you're them. I guess this is the second or third time they've had this.
"If you're going good, it's a good thing."
The third was a bad-luck inning for Salt Lake starter Greg Smith, who allowed just one earned run in seven innings.
An error extended the inning and Luis Jimenez made the Bees pay with a two-run homer.
"We just have to come out [tomorrow] and execute," Johnson said. "We made a mental mistake and they came back and capitalized."
Monday's victory equaled the Bees' longest winning streak of the season. They put five consecutive wins together in late May. The last time Salt Lake won more than five in a row was two years ago.
The result Tuesday merely continued Salt Lake's crazy, up-and-down season. The Bees have had four winning streaks of four or more games.
Salt Lake has also had two losing streaks of six games or more.
"[New England Patriots coach] Bill Belichick had it the best," Johnson said. "It's about one-game winning streaks. You start thinking down the road ⦠you're putting the cart in front of the horse."
Twitter:@tribmarty —
Rainiers 7, Bees 3
• Bees first baseman Efren Navarro drives in two runs with a sixth-inning single.
• Tacoma snaps Salt Lake's five-game winning streak thanks to six solid innings by starter Brian Sweeney.
