This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Bees have struggled to close out winnable games this season.
It happened again Saturday night, when Las Vegas rallied for a 6-2 victory at Smith's Ballpark.
Behind a superb outing by starter Justin Thomas, the Bees took a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning.
But the 51s used a two-out, three-run homer by Andrew Brown to take the lead.
Las Vegas added three more runs in the ninth and handed Salt Lake its third loss in four games despite Brennan Boesch's two-run homer in the first.
Bees manager Keith Johnson used four pitchers in relief of Thomas in the final two innings, but they allowed six runs, four hits and five walks.
"It's extremely frustrating," Johnson said. "… [Thomas] did a great job. He competed his behind off and left himself in position to get a win. We just weren't able to do it again."
Meanwhile, the fallout from the blockbuster trade between the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego that featured All-Star closer Huston Street continued Saturday.
The Padres sent Street and minor league pitcher Trevor Gott to the Angels for four prospects, including Salt Lake second baseman Taylor Lindsey.
The Padres also received pitcher Elliott Morris, pitcher R.J. Alvarez and shortstop Jose Rondon in the deal, which triggered two more personnel moves prior to the Bees' loss to Las Vegas.
First, L.A. made room for Street on its 40-man roster by designating Salt Lake infielder Ian Stewart for assignment.
To clear a spot on the 25-man major league roster, the Angels also sent first baseman C.J. Cron back to the Bees.
Cron, of course, is the former University of Utah star who started the season in Salt Lake.
In 28 games with the Bees, he hit .319. Nineteen of his 36 hits went for extra bases, including 12 doubles and six home runs.
Cron was called up on May 3 and, in 53 games with the Angels, he hit .269 with nine homers and 27 RBIs.
Over his last 23 games, however, Cron is hitting only .238. He went 0 for 6 in a 16-inning win over Seattle on Friday night just before the Street trade was made official.
Cron's timetable for rejoining the Bees is not known.
The Bees and 51s complete their four-game series Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Reno arrives in Salt Lake for a four-game series starting Monday night.
Twitter: @sluhm
Storylines
R Las Vegas rallies from a two-run deficit in the eighth inning to defeat Salt Lake.
• Brennan Boesch supplies most of the Bees' offense with a two-run homer in the first.
• The parent Los Angeles Angels announce C.J. Cron is being sent back to Salt Lake.
PCL standings
American North
W L Pct. GB Iowa 54 46 .540
Omaha 51 48 .515 2½
Oklahoma City 51 51 .500 4
Colorado Springs 42 57 .424 11½
American South
W L Pct. GB Nashville 53 48 .525
New Orleans 52 48 .520 ½
Memphis 49 49 .500 2½
Round Rock 48 50 .490 3½
Pacific North
W L Pct. GB Sacramento 57 42 .576
Reno 52 48 .520 5½
Tacoma 48 50 .490 8½
Fresno 48 52 .480 9½
Pacific South Division
W L Pct. GB Las Vegas 58 43 .574
El Paso 49 51 .490 8½
Albuquerque 45 55 .450 12½
Salt Lake 41 60 .406 17
saturday's Games
Memphis 1, Colorado Springs 0, 1st game
Iowa 5, Round Rock 4
Nashville 7, Oklahoma City 3
New Orleans 9, Omaha 5
Memphis 2, Colorado Springs 0, 2nd game
Las Vegas 6, Salt Lake 2
Sacramento at Albuquerque, Late.
El Paso at Fresno, Late.
Tacoma at Reno, Late
sunday's Games
Las Vegas at Salt Lake, 1:05 p.m.
New Orleans at Omaha, 1:05 p.m.
Colorado Springs at Memphis, 5:05 p.m.
Nashville at Oklahoma City, 5:05 p.m.
Iowa at Round Rock, 6:05 p.m.
Sacramento at Albuquerque, 6:05 p.m.
El Paso at Fresno, 7:05 p.m.
Tacoma at Reno, 7:05 p.m.
51s 6,Bees 2
Salt Lake AB R H BI BB K AVG
Campana CF
4 0 0 0 0 0 .300
Shuck LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 .324
Jimenez 3B 3 1 1 0 1 0 .283
Boesch RF 4 1 1 2 0 0 .315
Field 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 .290
O'Malley SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 .335
Lopez 1B 3 0 1 0 0 0 .279
Martinez C 3 0 1 0 0 0 .264
Albitz DH 3 0 0 0 0 0 .308
Totals 31 2 5 2 1 1 .290
HR: Boesch (14, 1st inning off Verrett, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: O'Malley; Boesch 4; Martinez, L; Jimenez, L; Lopez, R.
RBI: Boesch 2 (54)
Las Vegas AB R H BI BB K AVG
den Dekker CF 3 2 0 0 2 0 .311
Reynolds SS 5 0 3 1 0 0 .344
Flores 3B 4 1 1 1 1 1 .325
Brown 1B 5 1 1 4 0 2 .303
Satin DH 3 0 2 0 2 1 .320
Muno 2B 4 0 0 0 1 3 .263
Vaughn RF 3 0 0 0 1 0 .252
Centeno C 3 1 1 0 1 0 .284
Seratelli LF 3 1 0 0 1 1 .254
Totals 33 6 8 6 9 8 .284
2B: Satin (17, Thomas, J). HR: Brown, A (16, 8th inning off Newby, 2 on, 2 out). TB: Satin 3; Centeno; Brown, A 4; Flores, W; Reynolds, M 3. RBI: Brown, A 4 (49), Reynolds, M (12), Flores, W (54).
Salt Lake 200 000 000 2 5 1
Las Vegas 000 000 033 6 8 0
Salt Lake IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Thomas 6 2⁄3 4 0 0 4 6 5.99
Richardson 2⁄3 0 1 0 1 0 6.88
Newby L, 0-2 1⁄3 2 2 0 0 1 2.70
Kohn 2⁄3 0 3 3 3 1 4.24
Lerew 2⁄3 2 0 0 1 1 6.45
Totals 9.0 8 6 3 9 8 5.95
Las Vegas IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Verrett (W, 8-2) 7 4 2 2 1 1 4.58
Thornton 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.43
Church 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.67
Totals 9 5 2 2 1 1 4.703
T: 2:56. Att: 10,767.