Oakland either has two mediocre major league teams or two really good Triple-A outfits.
The team based in Sacramento continued to pound away at Salt Lake pitching, running away with a 13-5 Game 3 victory in the PCL's Pacific Conference Championship Series.
Salt Lake, which lacked Sacramento's drive, must now rebound from one of its worst games of the season to force a Game 5 on Sunday.
"We need a good pitching performance to start," Salt Lake manager Bobby Mitchell said.
"And we need to come out with more intensity.
"There was no sense of urgency."
The River Cats, South Division champs, already with eight homers in two games, smacked five more off of Bees pitchers Friday. Now, as Sacramento moves toward a fourth - and possibly series clinching game today - it would seem that Sacramento's experience has played a large role in its success.
"They've hit every mistake we've thrown up there," Bees' catcher Bobby Wilson, who contributed three hits, including a solo homer. "They have yet to miss one. It's frustrating because we wanted to come home and do something for the fans."
Sacramento's lineup featured seven hitters who have a combined 205 Major League Baseball appearances in 2008. Chris Denorfia, Carlos Gonzales and Donnie Murphy, who popped four home runs for the River Cats, are among them.
Denorfia hit starter Shane Loux's second pitch out of the park.
By contrast, Salt Lake brought five big league games, thanks to Matt Brown.
"They've got a good lineup over there," said Adam Morrissey, who had two hits. "They came out swinging. We tried to come back but they continued swinging."
Chris Gissell, Sacramento's starter, hasn't pitched an inning of Major League ball since appearing for Colorado four years ago. Yet, through five innings, he pitched like a big leaguer, allowing four hits. Overall, Gissell allowed one earned run through six innings. Gissell's only real trouble was his own fault. Leading 6-1, he began the sixth by inducing a comebacker by Matt Brown by his first baseman. Gissell, however, ignited a promising but short-lived two-run rally by firing the ball down the right field line.
Brown, standing on second and scored on Dee Brown's broken bat single to center. Bobby Wilson and Terry Evans then reached on a single and walk, respectively, loading the bases. Adam Morrissey drove in Brown, but Gary Patchett hit into a double-play, killing the Bees rally and their final offensive threat. The Bees finished with 10 hits, a far cry from the 19 in their series-opening win.
"We kept fighting," Morrissey said. "Credit [Gissell] who made his pitches and got the double-play."
Sacramento put the contest out of reach by scoring four the very next inning, including with back-to-back blasts by Murphy and Justin Knoedler to left.
Salt Lake's defense continually undermined its struggling pitching. The Bees committed three errors, including two during a single at bat by Gonzalez, who finally reached when the normally dependable center fielder Brad Coon dropped a medium deep fly.
"We picked a bad time to play one of our worst games," Mitchell said. "In all aspects."
martyr@sltrib.com
Playoff schedule
GAME 1: Bees 13, River Cats 10
GAME 2: River Cats 8, Bees 3
GAME 3: River Cats 13, Bees 5
GAME 4: River Cats at Bees, today, 7 p.m.
GAME 5*: River Cats at Bees, Sunday, 2 p.m.
*If necessary
Storylines
* Sacramento takes a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series with the help of five home runs.
* The River Cats hit 10 home runs in their two victories and 13 overall.
* Salt Lake continues today with scheduled starter Nick Adenhart.
Pioneer League
Raptors 12, Owlz 8: The teams combined for 35 hits, but it was Ogden's eight-run sixth inning that proved the difference in the regular season finale at Orem.
Eighteen of the 19 players to get an at-bat registered a hit, with the Raptors' Austin Yount and Joseph Becker and the Owlz's Ivan Villaescusa totaling three apiece.
Kyle Hurst took the loss for Orem, allowing five runs on four hits in just 1 1/3 innings.
The teams meet again tonight in the Pioneer League playoffs.
