Roark, Zunino help Tucson tie series at 2-2

Tanner Roark scattered 4 hits and 1 run over 8 innings and the Tucson offense took care of the rest, cruising to an 8-1 win over Sardine City in Game 4 on Thursday night.

The King Snakes' victory knots up the best-of-seven semi-final series at 2-2, essentially turning it into into a best-of-three with whichever team can win two more games first.

Roark (1-0), whose only other postseason appearance this year was out of the bullpen, was in control from the start. The first hit Roark allowed was in the 5th, promptly erased on a double play. The top-seeded Straphangers didn't get a runner to get to 2nd base until the 7th inning, at which point they were down 9-0.

In his final inning of work, Roark gave up a leadoff single before striking out the side, exiting after 96 pitches (60 for strikes, .625), finishing with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks. Josh Hader worked a hitless 9th to finish up for the 4th-seeded King Snakes.

Roark's counterpart, Sonny Gray (0-1), threw 94 pitches (54 for strikes, .580) and also had 5 Ks and 2 BBs but only lasted 4 innings. Tucson peppered him for 7 hits and 5 runs.

The King Snakes blasted two homers in the 2nd inning to grab a 3-0 lead. Avisail Garcia lined a single down the right field line with one out before Luis Valbuena homered deep to left field. Two batters later, Mike Zunino swatted a solo homer keep to left field.

Gray worked around two walks in the 3rd inning to keep the King Snakes off the board but the bottom of the order got to him again in the 4th inning. Valbuena singled to lead off the inning and took 2nd on a wild pitch. Zunino flexed his muscles again, blasting his second homer, deep down the left-field line to make it 5-0.

A double play got Gray out of the 4th inning but come the 5th, Sardine City opted for Alex Colome. Fun fact: Colome led the league with 33 saves in 2017 when he was with Blue Ridge. But it didn't take long for the King Snakes to get to Colome. A leadoff double by Jose Altuve was followed by another double, by Marcell Ozuna, for Tucson's 6th run and it could have been worse if not for bad baserunning. Ozuna was thrown out at 3rd base when Garcia popped out to right. Valbuena walked before Nelson Cruz ended the 5th with a fly ball to left.

Colome didn't fare much better in the 6th inning. Leading off, Zunino doubled for his 3rd hit before Nolan Arenado singled to put runners on the corners. Sardine City, trying to stay close in a 6-0 game, called to the bullpen for Sam Tuivailala. Brett Gardner greeted him with another postseason hit, a double to left center scoring Zunino to make it 7-0. After Brandon Crawford struck out, Altuve lofted a fly ball to right, deep enough to score Arenado and get Gardner to 3rd base. That closed out the scoring at 8-0 as Ozuna popped out to 1st base to end the 6th.

Tuivailala scatted a couple of walks in the 7th but otherwise worked 3 solid innings, allowing a hit and 2 walks while striking out 3. The runners on base when he came on were credited to Colome, who had an ugly line of 4 hits and 3 runs allowed with a walk in just 1 inning of work.

Tucson finished with 8 runs on 12 hits and left 7 on base. Sardine City managed 4 hits and 1 run, leaving only 4 aboard. Zunino went 3-for-3 with 3 runs scored, 2 HRs, a double, and walked in his final at-bat. Valbuena was 2-for-2 with 2 runs, 2 RBI and a HR. Gardner had another two-hit playoff game. Cruz and Crawford were the only King Snakes without a hit.

Game 5 will be Saturday in Sardine City with the Straphangers turning to their No. 1, Corey Kluber, who won Game 1. Tucson is likely to throw a lefty, just a matter of who; both Game 1 starter Robbie Ray and Game 2 starter Madison Bumgarner will probably be available.

Game 6 will be back in Tucson on Monday.