Salt Lake Snaps Losing Streak Against Sugar Land

The Salt Lake Bees were finally able to take down the Sugar Land Space Cowboys on Saturday evening, snapping a 10-game losing streak against their opponents with an emphatic 8-2 victory.

After scoring just eight runs combined over their four defeats against the Space Cowboys this week, the Bees got their bats heated up in a big way on Saturday, matching that run total on 12 hits against Sugar Land pitching. All of this damage came in the middle innings of the game, starting in the third when Zach Humphreys snuck a 2-2 fastball from starter Aaron Brown over the wall in right field for his third homer of the season and his first since April 27 at Round Rock. Eric Wagaman followed this up in the fourth with an RBI single to bring the lead up to two, and after this, the floodgates opened up in the form of a five-run fifth inning for Salt Lake that put the game out of reach. This outburst began in a unique way, with the Bees plating their first run of the frame after Willie Calhoun was hit by a 3-2 offering from Parker Mushinski with the bases loaded. The big swing of the night came right after this, as Wagaman would go on to split the gap in left-center for a three-run double, making it four RBI on the night for the third baseman and six runs on the board for Salt Lake. The capper in the fifth came on a run-scoring single by Humphreys, and to close the book on Salt Lake’s day on offense, Cole Tucker picked up an RBI of his own on a double in the seventh.

Bring 'em all in 🫡

Eric Wagaman clears the bases with a double in the gap and we've got a 6-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/0hOvFE1r9F

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) September 1, 2024

This performance with the bats provided ample support for Bees starter Kenny Rosenberg, who took it and ran to one of his better performances of the season. The lefty finished seven shutout innings in his outing against the Space Cowboys, surrendering just four hits while walking none and punching out eight hitters. This matched Rosenberg’s second-longest start of the season, trailing only his eight-inning effort against Albuquerque on May 24, and it marked his second-most strikeouts this year, only ranking behind the 10 he picked up against Las Vegas on April 13. After Rosenberg, Salt Lake brought things to the finish line with little trouble, with Eric Torres surrendering a run in the eighth but stranding the bases loaded to avoid more damage and Nick Robertson working a clean ninth to seal the deal.

The Bees will now try to use this momentum to earn another victory in the series finale against the Space Cowboys on Sunday evening, with Sam Bachman currently scheduled to take the ball for Salt Lake against Sugar Land’s A.J. Blubaugh for first pitch at 5:35 p.m.