Some baseball games are won by a steady number of runs scored throughout game. That wasn’t the case on Thursday night, when the Salt Lake Bees used two big innings to beat the Tacoma Rainiers 11-9 at Smith’s Ballpark.
Seven runs in the second inning and four runs in the seventh gave the Bees a big enough boost to overcome a three-run rally by Tacoma in the fifth, that put the Rainiers up by two.
Starting pitcher Drew Gagnon allowed three hits, three runs and walked three in three innings of work. Reliever Adam Hofacket gave up four hits and three runs in just 1 2/3 innings. Jose Alvarez allowed three hits and two runs in 1 1/3 innings. Manny Banuelos, Luis Diaz and closer Jason Gurka brought relief, giving up a combined two hits over three innings.
Turning Point — Trailing by two after giving up a four-run lead in the fifth inning, the Bees put together a four-run seventh inning to jump back ahead. Carlos Perez started the inning off with a lead-off double. After Rey Navarro walked and David Fletcher hit a single that brought home Perez. Dustin Ackley hit a sacrifice fly to center field, which allowed Rey Navarro to score, which was followed up by a Sherman Johnson single, bringing Fletcher home. Eric Young Jr. capped off the comeback with a ground ball triple that let Johnson score.
Bees MVP — Eric Young Jr. went 3 for 5, including a double in the third inning and a triple in the seventh.
Hidden Hero — Carlos Perez went 3 for 5, including a double, and got walked in the first inning. He was also responsible for two of the Bees’ 11 runs.
Quoteworthy — “At this level, these guys are trying to develop so then if they make it up to the big leagues they are ready for that,” said manager Keith Johnson. “Once you get deep into August you start to think about [the playoffs] a little bit. We haven‘t relinquished the [division] lead yet so in essence everyone is chasing us so it’s a matter of us just going out, day in and day out, and doing the best things we can to try and win home games and if we lose, make sure that if we lose we get beat, were not beating ourselves … but the energy is good, the clubhouse is good and were putting a good product out there.“
Angel Angle — Former Angels pitcher Jared Weaver announced his retirement on Wednesday. Drafted by the Angels with the 12th overall pick in the 2004 draft, Weaver worked his way through the Angels minor league system quickly. In 2006, he appeared in 12 games for the Salt Lake Bees before being called up to the majors. While in Salt Lake, Weaver posted a 6-1 record with a 2.10 ERA. He played for the Angels from 2006 to 2016, and was then traded to the San Diego Padres.
Up Next — The Bees close out their four-game series against the Rainiers on Friday at 6:35 p.m.