Bees finally beat nemesis Fresno

SALT LAKE CITY — It took some ninth-inning heroics to get it done, but the Salt Lake Bees finally found a way to end the Fresno Grizzlies' run of success at Spring Mobile Ballpark.

A one-out, bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Peter Bourjos brought home the winning run as the Bees prevailed 8-7 Saturday night.

It was Salt Lake's first home victory over Fresno since June 24, 2009, a skid of seven games.

"They've got a great team over there," Bourjos said while noting the difficultly Salt Lake has had against the squad with the Pacific Coast League's top record (32-17). "They don't give up. They've got great pitching, great offense, they play good defense and they're fundamentally sound. So it's good to get a win."

Bees manager Bobby Mitchell acknowledged it wasn't easy.

After giving up a solo homer to Steve Holm in the top of the ninth, Salt Lake needed a bases-loaded walk by Gary Patchett to pull even. Bourjos then followed with the game-winner, capping a seesaw affair.

"It was a good game," Mitchell said. "I thought it was a well played game by both teams.

Fresno jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Matt Downs drove in a pair with a single.

Salt Lake cut the deficit in half an inning later on an RBI groundout by Gary Patchett.

It failed, however, to ignite a momentum shift. That would come later -- after the Grizzlies built a 4-1 advantage in the third on run-scoring doubles from Brett Pill and Jesus Guzman.

The Bees responded with two scores in the bottom of the inning to climb back into contention. Cory Aldridge and Mark Trumbo drove in runs with a double and single, respectively, to close the gap to 4-3.

Salt Lake pulled ahead in the fifth when Aldridge belted a two-run homer to right field.

The Bees held onto to their 5-4 lead until the eighth. That's when Fresno pulled even on an RBI single by Joe Borchard and regained an edge on a two-out solo home run by Pill.

Trailing 6-5, Salt Lake knotted the score in the bottom of the inning on a run-scoring single by Hank Conger with two outs.

BEES WAX: Saturday's attendance was 6,198 ... The series continues today at 2:05 p.m. Salt Lake RHP Fernando Rodriguez (0-0. 7.71 ERA) and Fresno RHP Joe Martinez (4-2, 3.74 ERA) are the scheduled starters ... The Bees now have four successful ninth-inning rallies this season.

e-mail: dirk@desnews.com