Punchless Bees get handled by Fresno

Back-to-back dismal showings at the plate have Salt Lake wondering if it forgot to pack its offense when the team left Northern California earlier this week.

The Bees mustered only a single run for the second consecutive game, falling to Fresno 6-1 Friday in the opener of a four-game series at Franklin Covey Field.

Salt Lake managed six hits but ended up leaving six runners on base. The Bees' only run of the game came in the first inning after Terry Evans grounded into a force out but drove in Nathan Haynes to put the team up 1-0.

Korean pitcher Sun Woo Kim, making his first start for Fresno, had five strikeouts while giving up five hits in five innings.

Salt Lake manager Brian Harper acknowledged his team has developed yo-yo tendencies at bat. Either they get a lot of runs or they get almost none.

The current drought started in the Bees' final game in Sacramento, where they closed out a series with the River Cats by getting one run on eight hits.

It's a trend they can't afford to keep up.

"We've been really inconsistent with the bats," Harper said. "You don't win too many games with six hits and one run."

Harper feels confident the slump will come to an end sooner rather than later. And with good reason. One of his players, Haynes, leads the Pacific Coast League in hits and batting average. Two others, Matthew Brown and Terry Evans, also sport batting averages above .300.

"Our hitters are better than what they're showing right now," Harper said.

Fresno evened the score in the third when Clay Timpner knocked in Guillermo Rodriguez. Then the Grizzlies took a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning on a two-run single from Timpner.

The final deficit could have been worse if not for some timely outs delivered by Bees catcher Jeff Mathis. He connected with shortstop Brandon Wood to throw out back-to-back runners attempting to steal second base in the fifth.

Then Mathis made a wild stop in the sixth when he hauled in a long throw from center fielder Terry Evans a split second before Fresno shortstop Luis Figueroa reached home plate.

"He made a good play blocking the plate," Harper said. "Hung in there well."

Mathis came into the game tied for second in the PCL, with Alvin Covina of Colorado Springs, in throwing out attempted base-stealers.

BEES NOTES: The Bees honored the U.S. Armed Forces with a Military Appreciation Day. Salt Lake players showed support for the military by donning camouflage jerseys for all nine innings ... Attendance was 12,152 for fireworks night ... Bees right-hander Pedro Liriano picked up his sixth loss of the season.