Shortstop David Fletcher had three hits, including a home run, and two RBIs as the Salt Lake Bees beat the host Albuquerque Isotopes 6-4 in a Pacific Coast League game on Saturday night.
Eric Young Jr. snapped a 4-4 tie in the seventhinning with an RBI single, and the Bees improved to 67-66.
After Albuquerque scored two runs in the sixth inning to tiethe game, Nolan Fontana led off the top of the seventh with a walk andthen stole second base. Young followed with a single to right thatbrought home Fontana with the go-ahead run. The Bees added aninsurance run in the eighth, as Carlos Perez tripledto right with one out and then scored when Fletcher singled over apulled-in infield.
Salt Lake had taken a 1-0 lead on a solo homer byFletcher in the second inning and added three more in the third on asacrifice fly by Shane Robinson and a two-run homer by Ramon Flores.
Jason Gurka (2-1) retired both batters he faced toearn the win and Brooks Pounders worked a three-up, three-down bottom ofthe ninth to pick up his fifth save of the season, his first since June18 at Tacoma.
Salt Lake starterOsmer Morales went five innings and allowed just two runs on four hitswith five strikeouts and two walks. One of the runs he allowed was on aleadoff home run in the third by long time Philadelphia Phillies sluggerRyan Howard, who is trying to make a comebackin the Rockies organization. Fletcher led the Bees with three hits andtwo runs batted in, while Young added two hits and one RBI. With the winand El Paso splitting a doubleheader, the Bees hold a one game leadover the second place Chihuahuas and a threeand a half game advantage over the third place Isotopes.