We actually hit the ball really well to begin the game, they were just going right at them. There is nothing you can do about that but keep going up there and trying to have quality at-bats. – Bees right fielder Roger Kieschnick said.
By Rich Winter
For the Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake Bees continued a recent trend of falling behind their opponents. In Wednesday’s series opener against the Iowa Cubs, the Bees found themselves down 5-0 and eventually lost 8-2.
Salt Lake starting pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes coughed up seven hits and surrendered five runs in the first two innings as the Bees fell behind early for the fourth time in five games.
“The guys battled all night. Jo-Jo had a couple of pitches here and there and we’re out of the inning,” Bees right fielder Roger Kieschnick said. “We have to make plays behind our pitchers and tonight we just couldn’t muster up enough runs to get back in the game.”
Salt Lake got on the board in the third on a solo shot from Matt Joyce, the Angel outfielder working on a rehab assignment in Salt Lake. Following Joyce’s blast, Efren Navarro singled, but Kyle Kubitza grounded out, stranding Navarro.
Bees third baseman Alex Yarbrough started the third with a walk followed by Kieschnick's large-hop single that bounced over the outstretched hands of the Cubs’ first baseman. Yarbrough scored on a sacrifice fly from Rafael Lopez that closed the Cubs’ lead to 5-2.
“We actually hit the ball really well to begin the game, they were just going right at them,” Kieschnick said. “There is nothing you can do about that but keep going up there and trying to have quality at-bats.”
The Cubs pushed across one more in the fifth, and that was it for Reyes, who pitched four and one-third innings, giving up nine hits but striking out five. Lefty reliever Ryan Verdugo allowed Reyes’ runner to score but punched out the last two Cubs batters as Salt Lake trailed 7-2.
The Iowa offense pushed across one more run across in the eighth.
The Cubs, third in the PCL American Northern Division, improved to 67-56.
Salt Lake dropped to 50-75, fourth in the PCL Pacific Southern Division.
Field oddity
There was a strange occurrence in the bottom of the second inning as Cubs pitcher Felipe Paulino, a 6-foot-3, 260 pound righthander, complained to the umpires about the condition of the pitcher's mound. After about five minutes, several Salt Lake Bees groundskeepers reworked the mound. After 10 minutes, the Cubs pitcher finally seemed satisfied, much to the derisive whistles of the Salt Lake crowd which seemed to like the fact that Paulino walked the first batter after the delay.
Streak snapped
Coming into tonight’s game the Bees had won 11 straight against the Cubs. Salt Lake swept the season series with the Cubs in 2013 and 2014. The 11-game streak dated back to May 2012.