Salt Lake Bees: Late Reno rally dims Bees' playoff hopes

SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake Bees have saved some of their best baseball for last.

Still, it doesn't look like it will be enough to get them into the PCL playoffs.

Salt Lake's five-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday night at Spring Mobile Ballpark, as the Reno Aces rallied to beat the Bees 6-5. Two unearned runs — one in the eighth and another in the ninth — cost Salt Lake a chance for a sixth straight win.

The loss dropped Salt Lake to 73-70 on the season and — combined with Tacoma's win at Colorado Springs — puts the Bees 1-1/2 games back with just two games to play.

That means the Rainiers' "magic number" for clinching the division title is one — meaning any Tacoma win or Salt Lake loss gives the Rainiers the Pacific North Division title.

"We've gotten back in it and we're still in it," said Bees manager Bobby Mitchell. "Anything can happen with two games (left). We've just got to go out and win (Sunday) and then see what happens Monday."

Salt Lake led 5-4 entering the eighth inning, but Reno scored the final two runs of the game with the help of Salt Lake's errors as a golden opportunity got away from the Bees.

"It's just unfortunate the way we lost that game," said Mitchell. "We battled and took the lead, but then we pretty much gave it away."

The Aces jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Saturday against Bees starter Ryan Vogelsong. But the Bees got a run in the bottom of the third on a run-scoring Mark Trumbo single and then knotted the game when Paul McAnulty pounded a two-run homer in the fourth.

Both teams scored a run in the fourth inning, but the Bees took their first lead of the game in the fifth. Outfielder Terry Evans continued his torrid hitting of late with a double and then scored the go-ahead run on a Michael Ryan single.

Evans is 21-for-40 in his last 11 games — a .525 average during that stretch.

The third game of the final four-game series will be today at 2 p.m. The Bees are scheduled to start Amalio Diaz (4-6, 5.87 ERA) against Reno's Andrew Berger, who will be making his first appearance for the Aces.

The regular-season finale will be Monday at 2 p.m. in a Labor Day matinee.

BEES WAX: Evans' double was his 186th extra-base hit and his 112th double in his Salt Lake career, as he continues to add to his all-time franchise records in those categories. ... Attendance at Saturday night's game — which featured post-game fireworks as part of "Fan Appreciation Night" — was 11,661.

e-mail: lojo@desnews.com