Bellhorn busts out big stick

It has been a long road for Sky Sox designated hitter Mark Bellhorn.

The 34-year-old, who was a vital part of the 2004 World Series champion Red Sox and inspired "Who died and made you Mark Bellhorn?" T-shirts, has bounced around in the minor leagues for the past three years.

But Thursday against Salt Lake, Bellhorn showed glimpses of the past, blasting a tie-breaking solo home run in the sixth inning and another solo shot in the eighth. His homers were the difference as the Sky Sox won 4-2 at Security Service Field.

"It felt pretty good, I'm not going to lie," Bellhorn, who went 2-for-4, said. "That's all I can do down here is hit and hope I get another shot sometime."

Though Bellhorn provided the offense late, it was second baseman Eric Young Jr. who got it going early.

In the first two innings, Young had two hits, a run scored and an RBI, propelling the Sky Sox to a 2-1 lead.

But the Bees refused to go away.

In the third inning, Salt Lake shortstop Gary Patchett knotted the score 2-2 with a towering home run over the scoreboard in left-center field.

Despite allowing Patchett's shot and another homer by catcher Bobby Wilson, starter Franklin Morales continued his stretch of quality starts, going 51/3 innings while allowing only two earned runs. Over his past four outings, the 6-foot lefty has pitched 232/3 innings and allowed only five earned runs (1.90 ERA).

Matt Wilhite came on in the eighth inning and recorded the final six outs for the Sky Sox, notching his sixth save in six tries.

"It was exciting going out there and shutting them down," Wilhite, who was released May 4 by Salt Lake, said. "In the end, it's just another save, but it definitely felt good."

The teams will play the rubber game of the three-game series at 7:05 p.m. today. The game, which will feature postgame fireworks, is sold out. Alan Johnson (7-3, 5.87 ERA) will pitch for the Sky Sox while Shane Loux (0-1, 3.86 ERA) goes for Salt Lake.