OGDEN — Shortly after the Ogden Raptors snapped a four-game losing streak with a white-washing of Helena earlier in the week, they got a rare day off.
That's not what the Raptors needed, especially with first-place Idaho Falls coming to town.
Ogden starter Robert Blevins held up his end of the deal by holding the Chukars to three runs on seven hits in five innings, but the offense, which produced 11 runs on 16 hits in Ogden's last game, tallied just eight hits in a 6-3 loss to Idaho Falls Friday night.
"We've got to come out and swing the bats well and obviously today we didn't do it so well," Ogden shortstop Jaime Pedroza said.
The Chukars used four pitchers to limit the Raptors' somewhat hot bats.
Starter John Leonard allowed just one run on four hits in four innings; Joseph Hughes allowed one run in three innings in earning the win, while Ben Swaggerty didn't allow a run in the eighth and Greg Holland allowed a run one one hit n an Alex Garabedian homer in the ninth.
The Raptors (9-15) drew first blood with a run in the first on an RBI single by Pedroza in the bottom of the first, but the Chukars (15-9) tied the score at 1-1 with a run in the top of the second.
Blevins (3-3), who had six strikeouts in the game, fanned the side in the third and allowed just one hit in the fourth before Idaho Falls broke the game open in the fifth.
"Usually when they (the pitching staff) keeps us in the game we swing the bats well, and today we couldn't manage to do it," Pedroza said.
After Blevins struck out the lead-off hitter in the inning, Idaho Falls strung together four straight hits—one of which was a two-run single by Adrian Ortiz n—take the lead for good at 3-1.
Pedroza added his second RBI of the game in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double to pull the Raptors to within a run. After Pedroza's hit the Raptors added just one hit and had just four baserunners in the final four innings in suffering their 10th loss in 12 games.
"It's the grinding part of the season and we have to go out and play hard every day. That's all we can do," Pedroza said. "The results will take care of themselves."
Pedroza, Elian Herrera, and Garabedian had two hits each for the Raptors, while Oriz and OD Gonzalez had two RBIs each for the Chukars.
Game 2 of the three-game series between the two teams is tonight at 7 p.m. at Lindquist Field.
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com