This included Tacoma's Shawn Garrett's homer in the ninth that looked like a sure game winner.

Instead, after watching the Rainiers glove liner after liner all game, the Bees used three soft hits in the ninth to grab a come-from-behind, walk-off 3-2 victory, topped by Jordan Czarniecki's broken-bat single to center.

"It was the weirdest game," said Salt Lake manager Bobby Mitchell, adding that his players' reaction to the win was "more like a big sigh of relief."

Dee Brown looped a double to short left to start the comeback. Brandon Wood walked and Ben Johnson singled home Brown.

One batter later, Czarniecki delivered.

Redemption for the Bees, who came into the game having just been swept by Tucson.

The weirdness began with the first pitch when Bees leadoff hitter Chris Walker's line drive was snared by Tacoma starter Sean White, who threw his glove in the way, half in self-defense.

By the end of the second inning, two Salt Lake runners had been thrown out at third.

The second, Matt Brown, was out trying to steal third moments before Brandon Wood crashed a triple off the center field wall.

Earlier, Dee Brown crushed a ball to right, only to be robbed by Tacoma right fielder Prentice Redman's sensational diving catch on the warning track.

"We got frustrated," Czarniecki said. "The guys were really swinging the bats well tonight."

Except that Salt Lake hit into four double plays, three on hard-hit line drives.

Salt Lake starter Giancarlo Alvarado was the hard-luck starter, allowing four hits and an unearned run through seven innings.

Right fielder Adam Pavkovich also threw Luis Oliveros out at home to end the Tacoma seventh.

"That's my job, to try and hold the other team," Alvarado said. "The guys hit the ball pretty hard. [Tacoma] just got lucky. . . . We were laughing about it."

martyr@sltrib.com