Bees Prevail In Slugfest

The Salt Lake Bees (23-29) defeated the Albuquerque Isotopes (22-30) 11-9 in a back-and-forth game that saw five home runs and multiple lead changes.

Albuquerque started the game firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a three-run lead in the top of the first inning before Salt Lake came right back and loaded the bases with no outs in the first, scoring on a walk to Taylor Jones, a sacrifice fly from Jordyn Adams and then a bases-clearing two-RBI triple by Jack Lopez to take a 4-3 lead. Lopez was the star of the show early, ending the top of the second with a diving catch into the stadium netting along third base. The Bees lead didn’t hold for long, as Albuquerque fired back to tie the game at four with a solo shot and then retook the lead with a three-run homer by Jimmy Herron in the third. Continuing the back-and-forth manner of the game, Salt Lake got on the board in the third themselves before the Isotopes scored another run in the top of the fourth to keep the lead at three. Jake Lamb then tied everything back up at eight with a 450-foot mammoth shot over the right field wall to score three. Salt Lake broke it back open in the fifth to take a 10-8 lead on the back of solo shots by Jordyn Adams and Chris Okey. Things calmed down as the sixth and seventh were scoreless before Albuquerque scored a run in the top of the eighth and Salt Lake replied with one in the bottom of the same frame.

Bees starter John Swanda went 4.0 innings in his second appearance with Salt Lake while allowing eight runs in total, but just five were earned as all three runs in the first inning came due to error. Cesar Valdez relieved Swanda to start the fifth, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out three to earn his third victory of the season before Zack Weiss took over for the seventh and eighth, allowing one run on just one hit. Andrew Wantz appeared for a three-out save in the ninth, his first of the season for the Bees.

Salt Lake returns tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. to face Albuquerque for game two of the six-game series with the Isotopes at Smith’s Ballpark this week.