The Peninsula Oilers lost 3-2 to the Anchorage Bucs on Thursday in Alaska Baseball League play at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

The Oilers started an eight-game, seven-day road trip by falling to 4-5 in the season series against the Bucs.

The Bucs lead the league at 18-9, while the Oilers are 2.5 games back at 16-12 and the Mat-Su Miners are 3.5 games back at 15-13. The Anchorage Glacier Pilots are 11-16, while the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks are 8-18.

The Oilers stay at Mulcahy Stadium on Friday to face the Pilots at 6:10 p.m.

Against the Bucs, the Oilers had a bad first inning and it cost them the game.

Anchorage scored three unearned runs in the first inning against Max Sasaki, who went five innings and gave up the three unearned runs on three hits while walking two and striking out two.

Colby Reynolds excelled in relief, going three scoreless innings while giving up a hit and striking out one.

But the mound Thursday clearly belonged to Zan Rose of the Bucs.

He went 8 2-3 innings, giving up two runs on six hits while walking none and striking out seven.

The Oilers fought back with a run in the third when Zakary Farris hit a sacrifice fly to score Aidan Sullivan, and with a run in the fourth when Max Roffwarg singled to score Cole Dawson.

Peninsula came close to tying it in the ninth. With one out, Cole Dawson singled, but Colin Robson flied out to center for the second out.

Cody New kept the Oilers’ hopes alive with a single that put Dawson on second and chased Rose in favor of Jeremiah Arnett.

Peninsula had the right player at the plate in Roffwarg, but his soft liner to center field was caught by a diving Riley Hunsaker to end the game.

Dawson was 2 for 4 for the Oilers, while Josh Hankins was 2 for 4 for the Bucs. Dylan Maltby had a pair of RBIs for the Bucs.