Aviators rally to split series, hand Bees third straight loss
Six early Aviator runs flipped a series Salt Lake once led 3-0, and the Bees finished with a 10-4 loss and a third straight defeat.
Salt Lake had a chance to leave Las Vegas with the upper hand, but six early Aviator runs turned Sunday into a 10-4 setback and sent the Bees home with a split and a sour finish. After winning the first three games of the six-game set, the Bees lost their final three and were outscored 33-13 over that closing stretch.
The game swung fast at Las Vegas Ballpark. Gage Jump struck out three Bees around a walk to start the afternoon, and Brett Kerry could not match him. A single, stolen base, error and wild pitch handed Las Vegas the first run, then Joey Meneses made it worse with a two-out solo homer to left. By the time Henry Bolte unloaded a three-run shot to center in the fourth, the Aviators had turned a short lead into a 6-1 cushion and forced Salt Lake into chase mode.
The Bees did claw back twice. Nick Madrigal drove in a run with an RBI single in the second, then Jeimer Candelario added another RBI single in the third after Denzer Guzman doubled. One inning later, Yolmer Sánchez kept Salt Lake alive with a two-run homer, his second of the season, trimming the deficit to 6-4 and briefly giving the Bees a pulse. But the comeback never got past the threat stage.
Las Vegas answered immediately in the fifth. Junior Perez launched a two-run homer to push the lead back to five, and the Aviators kept control the rest of the way. The bullpens traded scoreless sixth and seventh innings, but the damage was already done. Brett Harris added the 10th run with a two-out double in the eighth to close out the home club’s third straight win and seal the split.
There were a few positive notes buried in the loss. Salt Lake went a perfect 12-for-12 on the basepaths during the week, including two steals in the finale, a sharp contrast to the way the pitching staff unraveled. Denzer Guzman finished 2-for-3 with a run, a double and a walk, Sánchez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run, and Candelario reached base three times. The bigger question is whether this was just a bad getaway day or another warning that Salt Lake’s staff can be stretched thin when the game gets away from it early.
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