Buzz 7, Rainiers 6TACOMA, Wash. -- It has taken only three games for Buzz manager Phil Roof to see things his team needs to work on.
His pitching staff his having a tough time closing games and his hitters are striking out too much -- 26 times.
Sure, it throws up a red flag, but Roof will take a little more time to before making any big moves.
"I've always said every year that it takes 25 games to find out whether the ball club can play together, make adjustments and compete," he said. "They're pressing and they want to get off to a good start. I'm not going to raise the roof and I'm not going to brow beat them for the first few games for sure."
However, he is going to monitor them closely.
"It's early. I'm not going to fuss much about it (the strikeouts)," he said. "We need to address it and we have."
After all, the Buzz, following Saturday's 7-6 victory over Tacoma, are 2-1 and have a combined 21 hits in the victories.
But in the first game the Buzz blew a 7-0 lead by surrendering three runs in the eighth and ninth innings in the 7-6 opener, and one run in the eighth and two more in the ninth Saturday in losing a 7-3 lead.
"My heart was in my throat. We have a tough time finishing those games off," Roof said. "That's not the way you're supposed to finish games off."
Salt Lake starter Jason Ryan fired five solid innings. He allowed five hits and three runs before giving way to Alan Mahaffy, who struck out three in two innings without surrendering a run.
By that time the Buzz had built a 7-3 lead heading into the eighth inning.
Shane Monahan's double in the eighth scored a run and RBI singles Jose Flores and Rich Butler to cut the lead to 7-6.
Brian Buchanan belted his second home run of the season in the top of the eighth that proved to be the game-winner.
If anyone in the Buzz bullpen had stepped up it's Gus Gandarillas, who earned the save in the first game without allowing a hit, and then Saturday he allowed just one hit in notching his second consecutive save.
Jay Canizaro had an RBI double in the second followed by an RBI single by Jose Valentin to give the Buzz the early 2-0 lead. Buchanan added an RBI double in the third and Valentin belted a two-run homer of Tacoma starter Tom Davey, who suffered the loss in the fourth.
After the Rainiers cut the lead to 5-3 in the fifth, Salt Lake's Mike Moriarty scored Canizaro, who reached after being hit, with a single in the sixth.
Buchanan finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, bringing his three-game total to 4-for-11 with two homers, two doubles and four RBIs.
Valentin finished 2-for-4 also with three RBI for the Buzz.
The two clubs wrap up the four-game series today at 2:35 p.m. (MDT) with Salt Lake's Benj Sampson facing Rob Ramsay.