Bees provide early fireworks show

Friday's Cinco de Mayo celebration at Franklin Covey Field got off to a fast start. Long before the postgame fireworks show, the Salt Lake Bees lit up the scoreboard with runs in each of the first four innings.

It proved to be enough — though things did get interesting in the middle — to help them topple Tacoma. Juan Rivera drove in six runs as the Bees prevailed 17-7 in the series opener between the Pacific Northern Division's top two teams.

"We got it rolling tonight," said Salt Lake manager Brian Harper, whose team finished with 17 hits.

Nick Gorneault ignited the early outburst with a two-run single in the first. An inning later, Adam Pavkovich and Juan Rivera knocked in scores with a double and sacrifice fly to increase Salt Lake's lead to 4-0.

It didn't stay that way for long.

Hunter Brown's solo homer gave Tacoma its first score in the top of the third. Salt Lake, however, retaliated with three runs over the third and fourth frames to pull comfortably ahead once again. A homer by Erick Aybar was book-ended by run-scoring drives by Mike Eylward and Jeff Mathis.

The Bees' 7-1 advantage quickly eroded, though.

Tacoma scored on a wild pitch in the fifth before erupting for four scores in the sixth. The latter was highlighted by a three-run homer from Adam Jones. The Rainiers also scored on a wild pitch.

With its lead cut to 7-6, Salt Lake returned to its earlier form. The Bees scored five times in the bottom of the sixth. A two-run blast by Rivera and a solo shot from Dallas McPherson got things started. The Bees then scored on a passed ball before Eylward added an RBI single to make it 12-6.

The margin would swell significantly by game's end. Tacoma's lone response down the stretch was a solo homer by Rob Johnson in the seventh.

Salt Lake capped things off with a bases-loaded by Rivera in the eighth. Gorneault and Mathis contributed a run-scoring triple and single, respectively, in the seventh.

"Tacoma's a good team. They're a solid team and they've got some good hitters," Harper said. "The game is never really over until you get that last out in the ninth inning.

"The good thing about our team is that we answered back right away," he added.

The series continues tonight at 6:30. Salt Lake RHP Jered Weaver (2-1, 3.41 ERA) and Tacoma RHP Cha-Seung Baek (1-1, 3.24 ERA) are the scheduled starters.

BEES WAX: Eylward, who was promoted from Double-A Arkansas Thursday night, singled in his first at-bat with the Bees . . . Tacoma's game at Colorado Springs Thursday was suspended in the third inning by fog. Inclement weather also postponed Salt Lake's series finale with Las Vegas . . . Tacoma is the top affiliate of the Seattle Mariners . . . Attendance was 7,122.

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E-mail: dirk@desnews.com