SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - Salt Lake erased an early deficit and carried a 3-1 lead into the seventh behind a strong start from Sam Aldegheri, but Oklahoma City rallied for five unanswered runs over the final three innings to hand the Bees a 6-3 loss. The defeat marked Salt Lake's 10th straight and fourth consecutive at home, despite Aldegheri's quality outing.
Oklahoma City 6, Salt Lake 3
WP: Charlie Barnes (3-2)
LP: Dillon Tate (1-2)
SV: Seth Halvorsen (5)
Key Performers
Nelson Rada: 3-5, 2 R, 2 K, SB
Niko Kavadas: 2-4, R, BB, 2 K
Cade Marlowe: 2-4, RBI
Sam Aldegheri: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, ND
Game Summary
Starters Sam Aldegheri and Gavin Stone traded zeroes to begin the game in the first. In the top of the first, a one-out walk issued by Aldegheri came back to haunt the southpaw. Hyeseong Kim followed with an RBI triple to drive in the game's first run, giving Oklahoma City a one-run advantage heading into the bottom of the second.
Salt Lake found some two-out magic after Niko Kavadas lead-off single in the bottom of the second. Cade Marlowe came through with a pulled single to tie the game at one after two innings.
Aldegheri worked a shutdown inning in the third. Gustavo Campero came through with his second single of the game, driving in Nelson Rada to give Salt Lake their first lead of the series, 2-1.
The 2-1 score held until the bottom of the fifth inning, when consecutive singles by the Bees created a scoring opportunity. With runners positioned at second and third, Comets pitcher Ben Casparius committed a balk. This allowed Rada to cross home plate from third base, pushing Salt Lake's lead to 3-1.
In the seventh inning, Aldegheri exited after throwing 103 pitches, turning the game over to Dillon Tate. Tate hit the initial batter he faced and promptly surrendered a single. A subsequent RBI groundout allowed Oklahoma City to claim its second run of the contest, narrowing the visitors' deficit to one. The Comets then managed to draw even at 3-3, thanks to a lined RBI single.
Oklahoma City regained a 4-3 advantage in the subsequent frame, utilizing a lead-off walk followed by back-to-back singles, the latter of which was an RBI hit from Kim. The third straight hit, a double from Ryan Fitzgerald put the visitors up 6-3, while knocking Tate out of the game.
The score held as the Bees were unable to push any runs across, remaining scoreless after their fifth-inning run and suffering their 10th consecutive defeat.
Game Notes
- Salt Lake dropped their 10th straight game, marking their first double-digit losing streak since an 11-gamer between August 23 - September 3, 2021. Additionally, it is the Bees’ fourth consecutive home loss, matching their stretch in July 21-24 vs. Omaha.
- The Bees outhit the Comets 11-9 tonight, marking their third defeat at home when posting more hits than their opponent (22-3). They are 35-7 overall in that category. All 11 of Salt Lake’s hits were singles, snapping their 42-game streak with at least one extra base hit. It was the PCL’s second longest active streak and their first game with zero doubles, triples or homers since a 3-0 win in Reno on June 13.
- A quality start was spun by Sam Aldegheri, marking the 15th such performance of the season by a Bees starter. Salt Lake is 8-7 in such games, holding an 8-2 record at home. It was the first loss at home since April 18 vs. Sugar Land (Caden Dana’s QS) that a quality start went for naught, snapping a streak of eight straight home victories.
- In his 14th start of the season, lefty Sam Aldegheri delivered a masterful performance on the mound. He earned his third quality start of the year by tossing six innings of one-run ball, limiting opponents to just two hits while striking out seven and issuing four walks. This outing marked his second consecutive game with seven punchouts—and his third such performance in his last four starts, while also pushing him past the 60-strikeout milestone for the season.
- Making his Triple-A debut, Jose Atencio dealt two innings of no-run baseball. During his appearance, he registered his first strikeout at this level, allowed two hits, and permitted two walks.
- With one out in the bottom of the first, Raudi Rodriguez reached first on an error. Playing in his third game as a Bee, the outfielder has reached in seven straight games, spanning back to his time with Rocket City. Rodriguez hit the second straight single to start the bottom of the bottom of the fifth. It extended his hit streak to four games that is split between the Trash Pandas and Bees.
- Gustavo Campero stayed hot in his first at-bat, lining a single into the right-center gap. The switch-hitting catcher extended his hit and on-base streaks to four games. Playing in his 13th game as a Bee this season, he gave Salt Lake the lead in the third with his second base-hit of the game. Campero has a hit every day in August and has compiled nine early in the month.
- Niko Kavadas, playing as tonight's designated hitter, led off the bottom of the second with a single that deflected off the first base bag. With the hit, he has hits in five consecutive games and reached base in eight straight. Notably, Kavadas has recorded a hit in every single game played this August. The Notre Dame alum singled in his second at-bat giving him multi-hit performances in four of his last five games.
- In the bottom of the second inning, Cade Marlowe provided some two-out magic for Salt Lake. Batting in the eight-hole, Marlowe drove in his 55th run of the season with an RBI single, marking an RBI in two of his last three games. He has now hit safely in three consecutive games and has recorded a hit in eight of his 11 appearances with the Bees, while successfully reaching base in 10 straight contests.
- Nelson Rada snapped his 0-for-15 skid with a lined single at 94.7 MPH into the left-center gap. The outfielder’s single was his 100th of the season and first since July 31 in Sugar Land. Rada swiped his 31st bag of the year after the knock. He sits in sole possession of the PCL lead in the stolen base category. Rada singled for the second straight at-bat, marking his first multi-hit game since July 24th against Omaha. He finished with his first three-hit game since July 24th.
- The second straight single to lead-off the fourth inning came off the bat of Kyren Paris. Tonight’s shortstop pushed his on-base streak to 24 straight games. Paris also extended his hit streak to four games on the knock. The Californian is one hit away from 100 at the Triple-A level.
- Jeimer Candelario worked a walk to lead-off the sixth inning. The veteran’s free pass was his 39th of the season as he’s reached base in two of his last three games.
- Salt Lake’s losing pitcher, Dillon Tate surrendered the most runs (5), all earned, in an outing since April 13, 2019 with Double-A Bowie when he gave up five runs. It’s the most he’s allowed in a relief appearance in his professional career.
Up Next
The Bees and Comets go head-to-head in game four of the six-game set on a Friday night Fireworks Night. First pitch from The Ballpark at America First Square is set for 6:35 PM MDT.