Sidewinders edge Bees again

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Sidewinders edge Bees again
09/07/2006 2:14 AM ET
By Jim Street / MLB.com

TUCSON -- A trend that developed during the season between the eventual Pacific North and South Division champions held true to form Wednesday night in the first game of the Pacific Coast League playoffs.
Another close game turned into in another close win for the Tucson Sidewinders.
The Pacific South Division champions overcame a three-run deficit in the eighth inning, then stung the Salt Lake Bees when Alberto Callaspo delivered a two-out RBI single in the 11th to give the Sidewinders a 4-3 victory.
Callaspo's seeing-eye game-winner eluded diving first baseman Kendry Morales. Kenny Perez, who reached on a one-out double and advanced on an infield out, trotted home with the winning run. It marked the sixth time this season that Tucson beat Salt Lake by one run.
"It was a good, solid ballgame," Salt Lake manager Brian Harper said.
When the Bees scored two unearned runs in the eighth to take a 3-0 lead, it appeared they would accomplish something that hadn't been done in the PCL this season -- beat Sidewinders right-hander Micah Owings.
After going 6-2 at Double-A Tennessee, Owings built a 10-game winning streak during his 17-start regular season with Tucson. One of those wins came against Salt Lake, who nicked him for four runs over 5 1/3 innings on July 23 at Franklin Covey Field.
The Sidewinders' ace pitched better in the rematch, but the run he surrendered in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by Morales and Dallas McPherson produced the game's only run until the eighth.
Salt Lake right-hander Kasey Olenberger, who was 7-5 with a 5.10 ERA during the season, held the South Division champions to two hits over seven innings and encountered only one predicament along the way -- a two-on, two-out mini-jam in the fifth.
But he departed after seven innings and Harper turned the game over to his bullpen.
"Our bullpen has been throwing really well. That has been our strength all season, especially late in the season," Harper said.
But the Sidewinders have their own strength -- they don't go down easily.
"We have been doing that stuff all year," manager Chip Hale said of the three-run uprising. "Olenberger pitched a great game. He did a great job keeping us off-balance, and you have to give him all the credit.
"When he came out of the game, all of a sudden we got something going."
A leadoff walk to Donnie Sadler started the rally against right-hander Marcus Gwyn. Callaspo doubled and Sadler scored on a wild pitch before Jon Weber delivered an RBI single to cut the margin to one.
Harper went to Matt Wilhite, who induced a double-play grounder from Scott Hairston. But consecutive two-out singles by Chris Carter, Brian Bardon and Robby Hammock -- his third of the game -- tied it.
"We had a 3-2 lead and it still looked good when we got the double play," Harper said. "Then they get three two-out hits. It looked like we were going to get out of it, and it didn't happen."
The strangest play in the series opener occurred in the third.
Salt Lake second baseman Adam Pavkovich drilled an apparent leadoff single to right field, but Weber, playing shallow, fielded the ball on the second bounce, never hesitated and threw a strike to first baseman Kenny Perez for a rare 9-3 putout.
"He was playing in quite a bit," Harper said of Weber, "and he got away with it. I hope he plays that shallow the entire series because he'll eventually get burned."
The Sidewinders' bullpen did the burning Wednesday.
Four Tucson relievers held the Bees to two hits over the final five innings, retiring the last 11 Salt Lake batters.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.