Bees Bullets: Rainiers Thump Salt Lake As Bees Can’t Score

SALT LAKE CITY – The Bees anemic offense continues to struggle as they lose four of six games at home to fall into a third place tie with Tacoma.

The Bees hosted the Tacoma Rainiers in a six-game series at Smith’s Ballpark August 23-28.

Outside of a nine-run, 17-hit night on Wednesday, Salt Lake regularly struggled with runners in scoring position. Throw out a 6-for-12 with RISP performance in game two and the Bees finished the series 5-for-29, stranding 24 runners.

With the series loss, Salt Lake and Tacoma officially split the season series with each team winning 15 games.

After two wins on the homestand, the Bees franchise sits just two wins away from 2,000.

Game One: Bees 0 Rainiers 2

Davis Daniel (4-6) pitched well  but took the hard luck loss after tossing five innings of two run baseball in the 2-0 loss.

The Bees managed just five hits in the game, not collecting their first extra-base hit until an Orlando Martinez eighth inning double.

This was the fourth time Salt Lake had been shut out in a nine-inning game this year and the third time since July 22.

The Salt Lake Globetrotters??🤔👀 pic.twitter.com/nW9yMD6BCD

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) August 24, 2022

• With a 1-2-3 sixth inning, reliever Kyle Barraclough extended his longest stretch of appearances without allowing a run to seven games. He is now 4-3 with two saves and a 3.34 earned run average on the season.
• With an 0-for-6 performance with runners in scoring position on Tuesday, the Bees are now 25-105 with runners in scoring position over their past 12 games.

Game Two: Bees 9 Rainiers 3

Salt Lake overcame an hour long rain delay before first pitch to post 17 hits, tying a season high, on their way to a 9-3 win.

Adam Seminaris (1-3) started for the Bees and picked up his first Triple-A win. He scattered six hits across five innings while allowing a single earned run.

Jose Gomez's first Triple-A Triple!🎉 pic.twitter.com/kW5UEHfNeE

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) August 25, 2022

• With triples from Jose Gomez and Jake Gatewood, the Bees have 38 three-baggers this year. Only Albuquerque (41) and Oklahoma City (39) have more triples than Salt Lake this year. Kean Wong‘s four three-base hits lead the current clubhouse.

Just call @Jake_Gatewood2 a Wendy's meal because the man is 4 for 4.🙌 pic.twitter.com/i9gDKF8k2p

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) August 25, 2022

• 4-for-5 with a home run, a triple, four runs batted in and two runs scored. That was tonight’s line for first baseman Jake Gatewood. Gatewood is hitting .234 in 81 games with the Bees. He has a team best 17 home runs and his 50 RBI are behind only Dillon Thomas‘ 59.
• Thomas went 3-for-5 with four runs scored

Game Three: Bees 1 Rainiers 6

Making just his third start of the season, Jake Lee went three innings, giving up three hits and two run before giving way to Ryan Smith. Smith struggled through 1.2 innings, allowing three earned runs and the Bees offense couldn’t keep up in the 6-1 loss.

Jarred Kelenic supplied the big blast for Tacoma with a three-run home run, his 14th of the season, in the fifth inning.

.@THunterJr !!! pic.twitter.com/iRyK07lF0u

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) August 26, 2022

• A first inning run for Tacoma was the ninth-straight game at Smith’s Ballpark in which the opponent scored first.
• With four hits, this marked the fourth time in five games that the Bees had five or fewer hits.

Game Four: Bees 4 Rainiers 3

César Valdez (8-5) secured his Triple-A leading 10th quality start of the season with six shutout innings in the Bees 4-3 win.

After Tacoma cut the Bees 2-0 lead in half with an eighth inning RBI from Abraham Toro, Michael Stefanic added a two-run double in the bottom half of the inning, increasing the lead to 4-1.

Tacoma added a two-run home run in the ninth but Oliver Ortega held on for his first save with the Bees.

Things that happened in 1985:

-Back to the Future was released
-Queen performed at Live Aid
-Cesar Valdez was born

Six scoreless innings tonight for the vet 😤 pic.twitter.com/T13W4egaNp

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) August 27, 2022

• Valdez’s eight wins ties him with six other pitchers, including Salt Lake’s Jake Kalish, for the second best mark in the Pacific Coast League.
• This was the first time in 10 games that Salt Lake scored first at home.
• Steven Duggar homered for the first time with the Bees. He is hitting .148 in eight games with Salt Lake.

Game Five: Bees 4 Rainiers 10

Rehabbing Los Angeles Angel Michael Lorenzen didn’t look sharp in his second appearance with the Bees. Lorenzen scuffled in 3.2 innings, giving up six runs on seven hits while striking out six in the 10-4 loss.

Angels infielder Matt Duffy, also on a rehab assignment, went 2-for-5 with a run batted in.

Matt Duffy of the Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) knocks in a run for us! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/57UNIlFQOL

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) August 28, 2022

• With four errors tonight, the Bees ended their streak of nine straight games without an error.
• Rob Zastryzny gave up three hits and a pair of runs in his first appearance in a Bees uniform. Zastryzny was claimed off of waivers the day before. He had a 3.61 earned run average in 26 appearances with the New York Mets Triple-A affiliate Syracuse.
• In 10 games, Duffy is hitting .171 (6-for-35) with one extra-base hit, a home run.

Game Six: Bees 0 Rainiers 5

In a microcosm of the series as a whole and the Bees offensive performances of late, Salt Lake limped to a 5-0 loss in the final game of the series.

Janson Junk (1-4) took the loss, allowing one run in 3.2 innings.

The Bees managed just three hits with the bottom three batters in the order being the only Bees hitters to reach base.

The @SaltLakeBees are on the verge of being shutout for the second time this series and fourth time since July 22.

– 11-41 w/RISP on homestand
– Stranded 32 runners

— Brian Preece (@bpreece24) August 28, 2022

• This is the second time Salt Lake was shut out in the series and fourth time they have been blanked since July 22.

Barraclough Putting Up Donuts

Bees reliever Kyle Barraclough has been superb in August. In eight August appearances, the right-hander has thrown 8.2 scoreless innings while giving up just three hits. Batters are hitting just .107 against Barraclough this month and have struck out 14 times while drawing seven walks.

Earlier this season, Barraclough threw nine innings across eight appearances for the Los Angeles Angels. He gave up three runs on seven hits as an Angel.

Kyle Barraclough in August: 8.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 14 K 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/LjXwbim8ju

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) August 27, 2022

Roster Updates

The #Angels have claimed LHP Rob Zastryzny off waivers from the New York Mets. He has been optioned to Triple-A @SaltLakeBees.

In a corresponding move, INF Jared Walsh has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) August 25, 2022

• Zastryzny was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2013 and is still looking to make his mark at the big league level.
• With the New York Mets Triple-A Syracuse Mets, Zastryzny allowed a .261 batting average against with a 3.61 earned run average in 47.1 innings.

.@Gerardo15Reyes got the call-up! 📞😇 pic.twitter.com/qgT1ray6EL

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) August 26, 2022

• Gerardo Reyes was acquired via trade in August of 2020 from the San Diego Padres. He was assigned to Salt Lake last season but didn’t pitch due to injury.
• In 2022, Reyes has appeared in 38 games out of the bullpen for the Bees. With a 3.69 earned run average and a .210 batting average against, Reyes has been a key cog in one of the PCL’s best bullpen’s this season.

On Deck

The Bees (57-65) head to El Paso where they will face the El Paso Chihuahuas (66-55), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Game one is scheduled for a 6:35 p.m. (MST) first pitch on Tuesday, August 30.

El Paso won four of six games against the Bees in Salt Lake in early June.

Purchase tickets to see the Bees play at slbees.com. Listen to ‘Voice of the Bees’ Steve Klauke on The Zone Sports Network & KSLSports.com.

Follow @bpreece24