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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake Bees were unable to rally a comeback on Independence Day against the El Paso Chihuahuas, losing 8-6 in front of a sellout crowd of 15,406 at Smith’s Ballpark.
The Chihuahuas got to Bees starting pitching early, scoring at least one run in each of the first four frames to take an 8-3 lead. El Paso catcher Rocky Gale opened scoring in the first with a one-out solo shot to left field to make it 1-0, finishing the night 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. The Bees rallied twice with two runs in the second and three in the seventh, but were unable to take a lead.
Jo-Jo Reyes (1-1) took his first loss of the year with Salt Lake, giving up eight runs (six earned) on 13 hits, walking four and striking out two in five innings. Chris O’Grady, recently called up from Double-A Arkansas, Kurt Spomer and Vinnie Pestano then combined to pitch four scoreless innings in relief.
Josh Rutledge homered for Salt Lake in the second with a solo shot to left field, Kyle Kubitza doubled, his 25th of the year, and Alex Yarbrough went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the contest. Alfredo Marte also continued his hot batting, going to 2-for-4 to lift his season batting average to .363. Charlie Cutler continued to hit well with limited time behind the plate, going 3-for-5 with a RBI.
Salt Lake’s Independence weekend homestand against the Chihuahuas continues through July 7, then hit the road for a series with Las Vegas before the All-Star break.
Click the video for highlights of the game from KSL's Rod Zundel.
