This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Given the opportunity to start Salt Lake's Pacific Coast League season opener Thursday, pitcher Nate Smith made the most of it.

A 24-year-old left-hander, Smith allowed only three hits through 52⁄3 innings to lead the Bees to a 5-2 victory over Sacramento.

In cool-but-cloudless weather, Smith got the assignment against the River Cats, perhaps because Nick Tropeano was called up by the parent Los Angeles Angels earlier in the day.

He was outstanding.

Smith struck out five, walked only two and threw 53 of his 86 pitches for strikes.

"It all started for Nate," said Salt Lake manager Keith Johnson. "He did a good job. He attacked the strike zone … and we played some pretty good defense behind him."

What was the key to Smith's success?

"Just his ability to control counts," Johnson said. "Sometimes when he gets in trouble, he loses control of counts. I think there were just a handful of those tonight. For the most part, he was pitching ahead in the count and pitching on his terms."

Last season, Smith did well at Class AA Arkansas. He went 8-4 with a 2.84 earned run average in 17 games. But after a promotion to Salt Lake, he struggled and eventually finished with a 2-4 record. His ERA was 7.15.

Fast-forward six months.

Against Sacramento — with veteran catcher Jett Bandy calling the game for him — Smith was extremely effective.

"I felt good," he said. "The defense made some great plays behind me … and I can't say enough about Jett. Whatever he puts down, I throw. I've got full trust in him and things turned out well."

Offensively, the Bees got a lift from shortstop Gregorio Petit. He went 2-for-3 with an RBI. In all, seven different Salt Lake batters had hits against three River Cat pitchers.

"A lot of guys swung the bat well," Johnson said. "Some of them didn't have anything to show for it … but it was good."

The Bees broke the game open with a three-run fourth inning.

With one out, Kaleb Cowart walked and moved to second on Bandy's single. Petit followed with an RBI single before Salt Lake loaded the bases on Kyle Kubitza's single.

After Alex Yarbrough drove in Bandy with a sacrifice fly, Petit scored on Shane Robinson's infield single to make it 4-0.

"These guys have been chomping at the bit," Johnson said. "They've been out on that Arizona heat and they were anxious to get out under the lights. It was a little chilly, but not typical Salt Lake chilly for this time of year." —

Storylines

R Nate Smith pitches Salt Lake City to a 5-2 win over Sacramento.

• Smith allows only two runs on three hits in 52⁄3 innings of work.

• The Bees have seven hits, including two by shortstop Gregorio Petit.