• Find team by: Affiliation | Class | Geography
     
08/28/2008 1:54 AM ET
Bees win third straight division title
Adenhart halts personal three-game losing streak in clincher
By Steve Conley / Special to MLB.com
Nick Adenhart snapped a personal three-game losing streak in Salt Lake's division clincher. (Phil Richmond/MLB.com)

ADVERTISEMENT
• Audio: Bees swarm to title
• Box score
• Pacific Coast League standings
• Try on a Bees cap for a cause

The Salt Lake Bees didn't finish the season the way they started it, but they'll find themselves in a familiar place when the Pacific Coast League playoffs begin.

Nick Adenhart tied a season high with eight strikeouts over six innings Wednesday as the Bees clinched their third straight Pacific North Division crown with a 4-0 blanking of the Portland Beavers at PGE Park.

Adenhart (8-13), who made his Major League debut for the Angels in May, scattered five hits and walked four to end a personal three-game losing streak. Henry Bonilla allowed one hit and fanned three in two innings before Chris Bootcheck tossed a perfect ninth to close out Salt Lake's first shutout since May 1.

The Bees got off to a torrid start, winning 21 of their first 22 games. They led the division from wire to wire, although the final four months of the season weren't nearly as easy.

"We started off great, but then there were some injuries at the big league level and we lost some guys and some continuity," said Salt Lake first-year manager Bobby Mitchell, who compiled a 132-148 record in two years at Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga. "We didn't know how far we'd be able to go, but it would have been a letdown if we wouldn't have won it."

Since their 21-1 start, the Bees have barely played .500 ball at 60-58. They rank sixth in the 16-team league with a .286 batting average and eighth with a 4.78 ERA. Third basemen Freddy Sandoval leads the PCL with 171 hits, including 45 doubles, while batting .333 average. Right-hander Shane Loux was 12-6 with a 3.98 ERA in 22 starts before being called up to Los Angeles.

"It's a credit to the depth of the team and the organization," Mitchell said. "We've had our share of moves and the guys that stepped in have picked up the guys that left. We've gotten some timely hitting lately and our pitching has picked us up the last week or two."

Although they've qualified for the playoffs three years in a row, the Bees (81-59) have been bounced out in the first round the previous two seasons. They're looking for a different result this time around.

"We know we have what it takes," Mitchell said. "Sacramento is an awfully good club. They do a great job and it's always a big challenge, so we're looking forward to it. Hopefully, we'll be able to compete."

In the clincher, Kendry Morales plated a run with a double play groundout in the first, Gary Patchett delivered a two-run triple in the second and Bobby Wilson drew a bases-loaded walk in the third. Sandoval and Bradley Coon contributed two hits apiece.

Former first-round pick Cesar Ramos (9-11) allowed four runs -- two earned -- on five hits and four walks while striking out seven over five innings for Portland (69-70).

Chip Ambres had two hits of the Beavers' six hits.

Steve Conley is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.