A day after blowing their 13th save opportunity, the Salt Lake Buzz bullpen laid a few eggs on the Las Vegas Stars.
Goose eggs, that is.Four score-less innings of relief allowed the Buzz to slip past the Stars 2-1 at Franklin Covey Field Saturday night.
"That was outstanding to shut the door and keep it shut," Buzz manager Phil Roof said. "That's what you want out of the bullpen. That's the kind of performance that wins ball games."
Salt Lake has won seven of its past 10 outings. The latest triumph, coupled with Fresno's loss at Iowa, pulled the Buzz (46-44) to within 101/2 games of the division-leading Grizzlies.
"We've got a lot of making up to do," Roof said. "We've got to get on some sort of streak and not have any lapses."
Though Salt Lake bats produced seven hits Saturday, it was pitching and base-running that prevented any let down. Starter Shane Bowers struck out six in five innings of work. And aside from surrendering a solo home run, threw four scoreless frames, including the first two of Salt Lake's game-ending run of six shutout innings.
The Buzz, meanwhile, broke from a 1-all deadlock in the eighth when Michael Moriarty scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch. The defense-oriented shortstop, who entered the contest with a meager .182 batting average and just three hits over his past seven games, led off the inning with his second double of the night. He advanced to third on a groundout by Chris Latham and eventually put the Buzz ahead when Stars catcher Creighton Gubanich was unable to handle a Heath Murray pitch. The Las Vegas hurler went the distance, allowing seven hits and striking out six, in taking the loss.
Las Vegas took a 1-0 lead when Dusty Allen led off the third inning with his second homer in as many nights. The Buzz, however, pulled even in the fifth when Esteban Beltre scored on a wild sequence. Beltre reached base on a single, followed by Marc Lewis' hit to right field. Two fielding errors by the Stars culminated with Beltre getting nailed in the back with a throw from third as he crossed the plate.
Game 3 of the four-game set is today at 5 p.m. Salt Lake LHP Travis Baptist (8-3, 2.79 ERA) and Las Vegas RHP Matt Clement (9-5, 3.62) are the scheduled starters.
BEE LINES: Though he surrendered a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning Friday, Buzz pitcher Travis Miller (2-4, 4.72) was called up by the parent Minnesota Twins. The reliever will replace Bob Tewksbury, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sore shoulder. . . . First baseman Scott Stahoviak missed his second straight game. He is listed as day-to-day because of a lower back strain.