This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Salt Lake Bees trailed by seven runs and cut the deficit to two before ultimately dropping the first game of their series with the Las Vegas 51s, 10-6, in front of announced 11,124 at Smith's Ballpark on Friday night. Kevin Plawecki and Josh Rodriguez each hit three-run home runs for Las Vegas (31-50) off of Bees starter Daniel Wright (3-4).

Bees outfielder Shane Robinson went 2 for 4 and logged his third consecutive multi-hit game. He now has multiple hits in six of his past eight games. Cesar Puello hit his fourth home run in 21 games with the Bees (45-36), and Kaleb Cowart had two hits.

TURNING POINT: After trailing by seven runs after the top of the fifth, the Bees rallied to within two, 8-6, in the sixth. However, Las Vegas responded with a two-run seventh inning.

BEE'S MVP: Cowart went 2 for 4 with a walk and three RBIs. He's now batting .313 this season.

HIDDEN HERO: Cesar Puello went 1 for 5 with a solo home run in the second inning of the team's first hit. He also threw out a runner at the plate from right field in the fifth inning to help limit Las Vegas to one run in the inning.

QUOTABLE: "It can be discouraging, but that's also part of the game," said Cowart of being optioned back to Triple-A one day after going 2 for 3 with what turned out to be the game-winning RBI for the Angels. "They have a job to do. I have a job to do wherever I'm at — whether that's Triple-A or the big leagues. I'm going to keep my head down, play hard. The trade deadline is coming up. You never know what's going to happen."

ANGEL ANGLE: Prior to Friday night's game, the Los Angeles Angels recalled pitcher Brooks Pounders and optioned pitcher Jose Alvarez to Salt Lake. Pounders has gone 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA in eight appearances (7 1/3 innings) for the Angels this season. He tossed one scoreless inning on Tuesday night for the Bees. The Angels also acquired utility man Nick Franklin from Milwaukee on Friday in exchange for either a player to be named or cash considerations.

HISTORY LESSON: The Salt Lake franchise celebrated its 12 millionth visitor to Smith's Ballpark on Friday night. The prize pack that included season tickets for this year and next as well as an Angels getaway for the 2018 season went to a Greg and Heather Jackson from Murray.

NEXT: The Bees continue their Fourth of July weekend series against Las Vegas at 6:35 p.m. Saturday at Smith's Ballpark.