Salt Lake Bees: Busy Bees rewriting record book

The Salt Lake Bees just keep rewriting the record books.

The Bees rode pitcher Giancarlo Alvarado's strong arm and their powerful bats to an easy 8-0 win over the Fresno Grizzlies Friday night at Franklin Covey Field.

The Bees have now won 11 straight — a team record — and improved to 19-1 — a minor league baseball record, at least as far as anyone in the organization and the PCL can determine.

Alvarado pitched 6 2/3 flawless innings, surrendering just five hits and no runs while striking out five and walking only one batter.

"All of my pitches were working tonight," he said. "I got good support from my teammates while we battled."

Manager Bobby Mitchell was equally complimentary about his team. "We stayed aggressive on the bases and played great defense in the field."

The Bees started strong in the second as Dee Brown drove in Brandon Wood, one of his two RBIs on the night. Brown was 3-for-3 and a walk in his four plate appearances. His second RBI came on a broken bat single in the eighth to close out the Bees' scoring.

"(The Fresno pitcher) jammed me and I connected with it. Usually that's an out, but it found the hole. I'm just trying to fit in," he said as the club house exploded — literally — with a fireworks prank.

In between Brown's RBIs, the Bees added another run in the first and in the third and two more in the sixth when Wood hit a 470-foot home run after the other Brown in the lineup — Matt Brown — had led off the inning with a triple.

Fresno threatened in the eighth when Brian Horowitz led off the inning with a double to center field and advanced to third on a fielder's choice. After Ivan Ochoa walked, Justin Leone hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

The Grizzlies also stranded a runner in the ninth after a lead-off triple by Scott McClain, as Bees closer Alex Serrano retired the next three batters to preserve the shutout.

BEES NOTES: Attendance Friday was 5,571. ... Both Terry Evans, who scored the winning run Thursday, and Adam Pavkovich, who had the game-winning hit, sat out Friday's game. ... The Angels called up pitchers Jose Amedondo and Rich Thompson after Friday's game. No word yet on who will be joining Salt Lake. ... Today's game was moved up to a 2 p.m. start so as not to conflict with Game 4 of the Jazz-Rockets series.

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E-mail: jringwood@desnews.com