Salt Lake Bees: Bell overcomes queasiness to hurl a gem

Trevor Bell, frankly, didn't feel very good upon taking the pitching mound Sunday afternoon at Spring Mobile Ballpark for the Salt Lake Bees against division rival Colorado Springs.

In fact, he thought he'd be lucky if he made it five innings.

Instead, Bell fought off his queasiness to hurl a gem — a five-hit, complete-game shutout, leading the Bees to a 5-0 victory in the final game before the Triple-A All-Star break.

"I think it was the breakfast I ate this morning — the sausage or something," said Bell Sunday of the cause of his upset stomach during the game. "It didn't set too well, but maybe I should eat those bad sausages more often."

It was Bell's second shutout in six starts for the Bees since being called up from double-A Arkansas — and both of them have been against the hot-hitting Sky Sox.

"It was perfect timing," said Bees manager Bobby Mitchell. "Trevor did a great job, the second time against a good hitting club. It's a credit to how he was pitching and mixing it up and throwing strikes."

The victory gave the Bees a 3-2 win in the five-game series and pulled them to within 4.5 games of the PCL Pacific Division leaders. The Bees enter the break with a 47-44 mark, while Colorado Springs is now 51-38. This is the fifth consecutive season that Salt Lake has had a winning record at the all-star break.

"Honestly, we wish we could have taken another game or two in this series," said Bees outfielder Terry Evans. "But we played really well this series, especially (Sunday). It's nice to get this win to close out the series and head into the break. Hopefully we can build on that for the second half."

While Bell had an outstanding pitching performance, the Bees had a nice day hitting as well. Evans got things started with a run-scoring double of the top of the left-field fence in the third inning. Sean Rodriguez later the same inning hit a two-run double to give Salt Lake a 3-0 lead.

The Bees added an insurance run in the sixth on a solo homer by Adam Pavkovich and another in the seventh on a Rodriguez single.

"It's a good sign because now everybody will go into the break with some confidence and will come out with a positive attitude," said Mitchell.

After the break the Bees will play a four-game set in Portland against the Beavers starting Thursday. They will then have an eight-game homestand beginning July 20.

BEES WAX: Pavkovich's homer gave him 159 extra base hits for his Salt Lake career, breaking the previous franchise record of 158 by former Stinger/Bee Nick Gorneault. Pavkovich is also Salt Lake's all-time leader in games played, at bats, doubles and sacrifice flies. ... Bees outfielder Chris Pettit, who was leading the PCL in batting average at .367 when he got hurt, has begun his rehab assignment. He is currently playing in Tempe. He was been on the disabled list since June 5 due to a fractured left hamate bone and subsequent surgery. ... Attendance at Sunday's game was 4,134.