Salt Lake Bees: Call-ups help with regulars gone

A memorable 2009 season-opening homestand for the Salt Lake Bees came to a close on Thursday night with a 7-5 victory over the Las Vegas 51s.

All things considered, Bees manager Bobby Mitchell is pleased with how his team performed in starting the season with a 5-2 mark.

"We're doing fine, especially under the circumstances and everything that's been going on," said Mitchell.

There were numerous reasons the Bees' opening homestand of the season was memorable — their field getting a new name and some cold, rainy games being played in front of small crowds among them.

But the one thing that will always stand out in the players' minds will be how they lost a former teammate, pitcher Nick Adenhart, in a tragic automobile accident on the day that was supposed to be their opener.

A week later, things are starting to get back to normal.

"I'm sure we have moments as individuals where it's still tough (dealing with Adenhart's death)," said Mitchell. "But it looks like overall they are handling it well — as Nick would want."

Thursday night's game, like Wednesday's doubleheader, was played without four Bees regulars. Outfielder Brad Coon, infielders Brandon Wood and Matt Brown and catcher Bobby Wilson were on leave from the team to attend funeral services following the auto accident in which Adenhart and two friends were killed last week.

Four lower-level minor leaguers were brought up to fill their places temporarily for Wednesday's and Thursday's games, and two of them came through for the Bees on Thursday. First baseman Abel Nieves, who will likely be sent back to Double-A Arkansas today, got a pair of hits and scored a run. Relief pitcher Jeremy Hill, meanwhile, picked up a save in two innings of work in his first Salt Lake stint.

The biggest bat for the Bees on Thursday was shortstop Sean Rodriguez, who hit a homer, a double, scored three runs and drove in three.

Catcher Ryan Budde, playing his third game in two days with Wilson gone, also had a pair of hits, including a solo homer.

Salt Lake starter Matt Palmer evened his record at 1-1 with the victory.

Meanwhile, the Bees are expected to get back to full strength today, as Coon, Brown, Wood and Wilson are scheduled to rejoin the team before the first-ever Triple-A game in the new Aces Ballpark in Reno.

BEESWAX: Adam Pavkovich played in his 426th game in a Salt Lake uniform on Thursday night, which is more than any other player in franchise history. He broke the previous record of 424 set by Chris Latham in the second game of Wednesday night's doubleheader. ... The announced attendance of 2,354 fans on Wednesday was an all-time franchise low. With rain, sleet, snow and cold, however, there were just a few hundred fans actually in the stadium for the doubleheader that ended after 11:30 p.m. ... Thursday's announced attendance was 2,583.

E-MAIL: lojo@desnews.com