Smith Leads Bees To Victory

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO (June 25, 2016) - Salt Lake starter Nate Smith tossed six and one-third scoreless innings to lead the Bees to a 5-2 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes on Saturday night. Smith (5-2) allowed six hits with six strikeouts and two walks, as he lowers his earned run average to 3.92. Relievers Jose Valdez and Greg Mahle kept the shutout intact, but Javy Guerra walked the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth and both scored before he finished the game with a strikeout of Rafael Ynoa, who was representing the potential tying run.

Salt Lake took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by Kaleb Cowart, who extened his hitting streak to ten games. The Bees broke the game open with a four run fifth inning on an RBI single by Todd Cunningham, a run scoring ground out by Nick Buss, an error and an RBI single by Rafael Ortega. Cunningham and Ortega each had two hits and one run batted in, while Sherman Johnson, Ryan Jackson and Quintin Berry chipped in with two hits each. Salt Lake is now 5-0 against Albuquerque this season and have won their last seven games versus the Isotopes, who have now lost nine straight games.