The Salt Lake Bees gave up 14 hits and blew a 3-1 lead as they fell to the Fresno Grizzlies 8-3 at Franklin Covey Field on Wednesday.
"We started off so well, and then we just couldn't get anything going offensively," said Bees manager Brian Harper. "They shut us down two nights in a row, so you've got to give them credit," he added, referring to the Grizzlies' 12-3 romp over Salt Lake on Tuesday.
After giving up an unearned run in the top of the first, the Bees took a 3-1 lead with their first three batters.
Erick Aybar hit a lead-off single and was scored by a Casey Smith homer for a 2-1 lead. Tommy Murphy added a single shot homer to left field for the 3-1 start.
Bees pitcher Kasey Olenberger started strong, going four innings without giving up a hit. But in the top of the sixth inning, Fresno came to life.
Jason Ellison got on base for the Grizzlies with a lead-off single. Fred Lewis also hit a single and Abraham Nunez hit his first of two three-run homers of the evening to give the Grizzlies a 4-3 edge.
After a solid performance in the first four innings, Olenberger finished with seven hits, one walk, two strikeouts and three earned runs in six innings.
Greg Jones came in to pitch for the Bees in the top of the ninth with the Bees trailing 5-3 and looking for a breath of fresh air. But after allowing two runners on base, Jones gave up Nunez's second three-run shot of the evening, and Fresno never looked back.
Patrick Misch took the win for the Grizzlies, giving up six hits and three runs in seven innings.
Harper said it was commendable for Misch to rebound from giving up three hits to the first three batters he faced.
"You've got to give him credit for him to start so badly and then to regroup," Harper said.
The Bees were led by Corey Myers with a two-for-three performance. Aybar went two-for-four for Salt Lake.
The Bees' loss marks the second game of a four-game series with the Grizzlies. Harper said he is optimistic about the second half of the series.
"We're real excited," Harper said. "We can't wait until tomorrow."
The Bees meet the Grizzlies tonight at 7.