Series Preview: Bees vs. Fresno Grizzlies
The Salt Lake Bees (29-31) look to climb back over .500 this week as the team welcomes the Fresno Grizzlies (29-31) to Spring Mobile Ballpark, where the Bees have won the second-most home games this season in the PCL. The Bees' 18 victories at home trail only the 21 by the Round Rock Express. This will be the first of three series against the Grizzlies this month, but the only series at Spring Mobile Ballpark.
Salt Lake took won three of four games against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in the previous series, with a loss in the finale ending the Bees' five-game winning streak. The Bees outscored the Sky Sox 23-7 in the first three games of the series before dropping the fourth game 7-0. The Grizzlies head to Utah coming off a sweep at the hands of the Las Vegas 51s. The Grizzlies have lost five in a row, and 10 of the last 12 overall. This is the first meeting between the two teams this season, with the Grizzlies winning 11 of the 16 matchups last season.
The last trip through the rotation has been fantastic for Bees starters, who appear to be rounding into form after struggling earlier this season. In the last five games, Salt Lake's starters have gone at least six innings and allowed no more than three runs in each game. Billy Bucker threw six shutout innings against Sacramento to start the streak, and Matt Shoemaker followed suit with 10 strikeouts and just two hits in seven innings in the next game.
Fresh off winning his first PCL Player of the Week Award, outfielder Kole Calhoun has continued his scintillating play since coming off the disabled list. Over his previous 10 games, Calhoun is hitting .359 with three home runs, 12 RBI, six walks and three stolen bases, and has served as the catalyst the Bees have needed at the top of the lineup this season. Calhoun won the award for the week of May 27-June 2, when he hit .407 with two homers, three steals, seven runs scored, and nine RBI.
Mike Kickham, the no. 5-rated prospect in the Giants' system, has been a mixed bag this season for the Grizzlies. Slated to throw the series finale on Sunday, Kickham leads the Grizzlies and is tied for 10th in the league with 59 strikeouts, but has a 4.57 ERA and a 3-5 record in 11 starts this season.
Triple-A has not been kind to center fielder Gary Brown, the Giants' fourth-rated prospect to begin the season. In his first season with the Grizzlies, Brown has struggled, hitting .205 with a team-high 58 strikeouts, seventh most in the PCL. Despite leading the team in at-bats by a wide margin, Brown is just sixth on the team in hits and fifth in walks, leading to a dreadful .268 on-base percentage.
Thursday night will be Green Night Presented by Orbit Irrigation at Spring Mobile Ballpark, kicking off a series of special events at the ballpark. The team will wear special green jerseys for the game, which will then be auctioned off in support of the Salt Lake Bees Green Team and Larry H. Miller Charities. Friday will be Mustache Appreciation Night, in which all patrons with a mustache (real or fake) will get half-price tickets at the box office, and the winner of a Best Mustache contest will win $500. Saturday's game will feature postgame fireworks, a dove release following the national anthem, and the dueling pianos form the Tavernacle providing entertainment during and after the game.
The first three games of the series will begin at 7:05 p.m. MT, with Sunday's finale beginning at 1:05 p.m. The Bees will then hit the road for four games against the Sky Sox in Colorado Springs, followed by four against the Grizzlies in Fresno. All games can be heard on 1280 The Zone and at slbees.com.