It was billed as "Dog Day Afternoon" at Spring Mobile Ballpark. The Humane Society of Utah was on hand with adoptable pets, and several hundred fans brought their hounds to the ballpark.

The 300 or so dogs had plenty to bark about. They were treated to a pretty good show by the home team. So, too, were the 5,616 humans in attendance.

After a sluggish start, the Salt Lake Bees went on to defeat the Reno Aces, 8-3, in a Sunday matinee.

"I didn't really know that there was 300 (dogs)," said Bees manager Bobby Mitchell. "But I could hear barking."

And plenty of cheering as the game progressed.

Reno jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The first three batters for the Aces reached base — on an error, a single and a walk. Alex Romero then knocked in a run on a fielder's choice, and John Hester drove in another with a sacrifice fly.

The latter is how Salt Lake scored its first run two innings later. The Bees cut the deficit in half on a sac fly from Reggie Willits.

The 2-1 score didn't last long.

Both teams put runs on the board in the fourth.

After Bryan Byrne's two-out RBI single for the Aces, the Bees responded with a two-run double by Bobby Wilson in the bottom of the inning.

Salt Lake broke the 3-3 deadlock in the fifth when Chris Pettit hit an RBI triple and Sean Rodriguez added a three-run homer.

The blast was Rodriguez's 12th of the month, setting a new franchise record. His 35 RBIs were just one away from equaling the best.

"I've been fortunate," said Rodriguez, crediting his teammates.

Mitchell acknowledged the accomplishments by noting that the shortstop is "having a great year."

Adam Pavkovich led off the next inning with a triple and later scored on a groundout by Jean Segura to increase the Bees' lead to five runs.

The outburst accompanied a solid start by Brad Knox (4-2). The righthander allowed just four hits and one earned run over 7 2/3 innings.

"He really did a good job of mixing his pitches well," Mitchell said. "I thought he got stronger as the game went along."

The five-game series concludes tonight at 7:05.

Veteran major leaguer Kelvim Escobar is the scheduled starting pitcher for Salt Lake. The right-hander, who missed all of last season with a shoulder problem that required surgery, is expected to rejoin the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after a one-game rehab assignment for the Bees.

Reno is expected to send RHP Seth Etherton (4-4, 6.00 ERA) to the hill.

E-MAIL: dirk@desnews.com