This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Something about the calendar and the opponent made extra innings seem predestined for the Salt Lake Bees' home opener on Tuesday night.
The Bees lost to the Sacramento River Cats, 8-7, in a four-hour, 11-inning game in front of an announced 4,254 at Smith's Ballpark — two years to the day that the teams played an 18-inning game, the longest in the history for both franchises, a game also won by Sacramento.
Tuesday's game featured 29 hits, eight walks and 21 runners stranded on base. The teams resume their four-game series on Wednesday.
Bees third baseman Kaleb Cowart (3 for 4, three runs) and shortstop Nolan Fontana (3 for 6) led Salt Lake's offense, while Coward and Ryan LaMarre (2 for 6) also drove in two runs apiece.
River Cats designated hitter Carlos Moncrief had three hits, including the game-winning RBI single in the top of the 11th.
An unlucky carom paved the way for the Bees' loss. River Cats first baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang hit a blast to the right-center field wall in the top of the 11th, and it bounced wildly between both Bees outfielders.
By the time it was finally corralled, Hwang was at third base with one out.
Two batters later, Moncrief's RBI single provided the go-ahead run, and the Bees went down in order in their half of the inning.
Bees starting pitcher Alex Meyer, a 6-foot-9 right-hander ranked by Baseball America as the top pitching prospect in the Angels' farm system, gave up two runs on six hits and three walks. He recorded all six of his strikeouts after the first inning.
Meyer, who pitched 251⁄3 innings last season due to a shoulder injury, has 13 strikeouts in 10 innings this season. His outing Tuesday seemed like a distant memory by the time the game wrapped up.
Trailing 5-2 after six innings, the River Cats swung momentum in their favor in the seventh, bringing seven batters to the plate before an out was recorded. A two-run double by Christian Arroyo pulled Sacramento within 5-4 as Bees left-handed reliever Cody Ege, who pitched a scoreless sixth innings, allowed each of the first three batters of the inning to reach base before giving way to right-handed veteran Kirby Yates.
Yates had no luck trying to stop the River Cats. The first four batters he faced reached base, and Wyton Bernard's two-run double to right field put Sacramento back in front, 7-5. Sacramento sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning overall, and five scored.
Cowart's second home run of the season, a line drive down the left-field line, started a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh which tied the game. The Bees seemed poised to take the lead with runners on second and third and one out, but the rally was cut short, and the score remained tied at 7 until the 11th.
Twitter: @LWorthySports —
Storylines
R Bees starting pitcher Alex Meyer strikes out six and allows two runs in five innings in his second start of the season.
• Bees third baseman Kale Cowart finishes 3 for 4 and hits his second home run of the season in the seventh inning to start a rally that led to the Bees tying the score and ultimately going into extra innings.