With just one month remaining in their 144-game season, the Salt Lake Bees have rounded third and are heading into the homestretch ahead of the pack in the Pacific Coast League's Pacific Northern Division.
And with a six-game lead over their nearest rivals in the North (the Tacoma Rainiers) entering Thursday night's doubleheader against the Albuquerque Isotopes, Bees manager Brian Harper figured his team needed to play about .500 ball the rest of the way to hang on.
The Bees played exactly .500 ball Thursday night at Franklin Covey Field. They looked every bit the part of a division leader in the opening game of the twinbill, winning 8-3. But the Bees bumbled their way to a 10-2 loss in the nightcap.
Tacoma's win Thursday night pulled it to within 5 1/2 games of the Bees with 32 games remaining.
"If we continue to play good baseball and continue to win games, there shouldn't be a problem," said Harper. "If we start losing multiple games in a row, that's when we'll get in trouble. If you look at it mathematically, if we play .500 or better, it's almost impossible to lose."
Kendry Morales' bat and Dustin Moseley's arm led the Bees to the victory in the opener. Morales, Salt Lake's designated hitter, hit a solo homer in the first inning and added a three-run shot in the third. Morales finished off his big game with a run-scoring single in the sixth, as he finished with five RBIs for the game.
"He's been swinging the bat great," said Harper of Morales, who now has five home runs in the past two series.
Moseley pitched the complete seven-inning game, giving up just five hits with six strikeouts to earn his first Bees victory since June 29.
The nightcap wasn't nearly as successful, however. Two first-inning errors allowed the Isotopes to take a 3-0 lead against Bees starter Jonathan Rouwenhorst. The Bees pulled to within one run in the fourth with a two-run double by Nick Gourneault.
But the another Bees error helped the Isotopes score a run in the fifth and then Albuquerque put the game away with a five-run sixth. A two-out grand slam home run by Chris Aguila off Bees reliever Chris Bootcheck proved to be the big blow.
The same two teams will meet tonight and Saturday before the Bees open up a four-game homestand against Round Rock on Monday.
BEES WAX: The "Famous Chicken" will entertain Bees fans tonight and Saturday night at Franklin Covey Field . . . The passed ball allowed by Bees catcher Jeff Mathis in the second game was just the team's sixth this season. They entered the night tied with Iowa for the fewest passed balls this year . . . Bees shortstop Erick Aybar extended his hitting streak to 13 games in the opener, but then failed to get a hit in the night cap . . . Attendance for the game was 5,553.