Bees power past Chihuahuas 11-4 behind six-run second inning

El Paso gave itself enough offense to stay interesting, but Salt Lake had already done the damage that mattered. The Bees scored six times in the second inning and added four more in the third on the way to an 11-4 win Tuesday night at The Ballpark at America First Square, handing the Chihuahuas a rough start to their six-game road trip and the first game of the six-game season set.

The encouraging part for El Paso was the power. Nick Solak went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk, continuing a strong stretch at the plate and reaching base seven times over the past two games. José Miranda also went deep for the Chihuahuas, and Pablo Reyes kept his own steady run going by drawing a walk in his final plate appearance to stretch his on-base streak to 28 games. El Paso scored the final three runs of the game, a small sign of life after the deficit had already become steep.

Salt Lake answered with the kind of middle-inning burst that turns a normal loss into a one-sided one. The Bees sent 10 batters to the plate in the six-run second, then hit two home runs in the four-run third to blow the game open. That left El Paso chasing the scoreboard almost immediately, and the Chihuahuas never got close enough to force the issue.

Jonathan Enriquez and the El Paso pitching staff could not keep the Bees in the yard early, though Justin Yeager, Kyle Hart and Garrett Hawkins each turned in scoreless relief appearances to stop the bleeding late. It was too little, too late against a Salt Lake club that finished with the cleaner box score, the bigger innings and the win.

Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe caught all nine innings for Salt Lake on MLB injury rehab in front of an announced crowd of 3,801. The game lasted 2 hours, 46 minutes, and the result left El Paso at 19-21 while Salt Lake moved to 17-22.