SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - A seventh-inning RBI double was just enough for El Paso to collect their first victory of the series, securing a 3-2 decision on Thursday night. Despite two first-inning runs, the Bees were held in check over the final eight frames of the ballgame.
El Paso 3, Salt Lake 2
WP: Sean Boyle (3-4)
LP: Najer Victor (1-1)
SV: Ethan Routzahn (4)
Key Performers
Denzer Guzman: 2-3, R, 2B, BB
Nelson Rada: 2-4
Tayler Saucedo: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 K
Game Summary
Caden Dana schooled the El Paso lineup to start Thursday’s Teacher Appreciation Night, setting down the first three Chihuahuas. Two walks and a Denzer Guzman double put Bees all aboard in the bottom half. A double play and error each brought home runs for Salt Lake, giving them an early 2-0 lead.
A sun-affected double, combined with good baserunning, got the visitors on the board and cut the deficit in half at 2-1 in the second. El Paso tied the game two innings later on an RBI single right up the middle. A great outfield relay from Jose Siri to Yolmer Sánchez to Zach Humphreys kept an additional run from coming home, keeping the game all knotted up.
Salt Lake relievers retired seven in a row, keeping El Paso at bay. The visitors broke through in the seventh on Pablo Reyes’ go-ahead RBI double to the right field wall and grabbed a 3-2 lead. With the bases full of Chihuahuas, Tayler Saucedo entered and punched out two to put out the fire and keep the game close.
Zach Humphreys ended a streak of 15 straight Bees set down by El Paso pitching in the eighth and represented the tying run. Two fielder’s choices and a Guzman single put runners on the corners with two outs. A steal of second put the go-ahead run into scoring position, but El Paso squashed the threat to remain in front.
Righty Kaleb Ort notched a 1-2-3 frame, the Bees’ 5th of the night, continuing a streak of eight straight Chihuahuas retired. His efforts shifted momentum to the lineup in the ninth.
Nelson Rada singled with one out, serving as the tying run. With two down in the frame, Sanchez stepped in. The infielder, playing in his 900th Triple-A game, singled into right to put Rada 90 feet away from a tie game. Down to the final strike, Humphreys grounded a ball to second, giving El Paso their first victory of the week and closing out the tight contest.
Game Notes
- The Bees dropped their first home game of the week, ending a three-game win streak in South Jordan. It is just their second home defeat in May, moving to 4-2 in the month.
- Salt Lake arms punched out 10 batters tonight, the 12th double-digit tally in a game this season. It is back-to-back games with 10+ strikeouts for Bees pitching.
- For the second time in the first three games of the set, Salt Lake played their first run via a bases-loaded double play. The Bees tied things up in game one after Denzer Guzman grounded into a double play in the first game of the series. Tonight, Trey Mancini rolled one to shortstop, and the first of two runs in the first inning came around to score.
- His third double in the past two games pushed Denzer Guzman’s hitting streak to eight games. The shortstop is batting 15-for-34 (.441) with seven XBH, 14 RBI and nine runs over the span. He has also reached base safely for an 11th straight game. Guzman has recorded back-to-back-back games with multiple hits, helping boost his month of May to a .409 average with 17 RBI, seven extra base hits, 10 runs scored and a 1.185 OPS.
- For the second out of the fourth inning, Justin Dunn struck out Carlos Rodriguez. The punch out was the 90th of his at the Triple-A level. The righty finished with 2.2 innings of one run ball in relief with three total strikeouts. It marked his best outing as a Salt Lake Bee and first outing with a single earned run allowed since July 19, 2025 with Triple-A Omaha at Buffalo (3 IP, 2 R/1 ER, 3 K). This is Dunn’s second straight appearance with three punchouts, after his May 9 outing in Oklahoma City.
- After a first inning single, Nelson Rada has now gotten at least one hit in his last five games. The centerfielder is 6-for-18 with a triple with five runs in that time frame. Rada recorded his first multi-hit game since April 29 vs. Sacramento after a ninth-inning single.
- With a single up the middle in the eighth, Zach Humphreys broke up a 15-batter streak where no Bee reached base. The catcher has hits in four of his last five games, building off a four-hit performance on May 8 in Oklahoma City.
- Yolmer Sanchez extended his hit streak to four games with a ninth inning single. He’s hitting 7-for-15 (.467) with four RBI and a run scored. It’s his second four game hit streak of the year as he looks for his longest of the season tomorrow night.
- It was the second time this year that Tayler Saucedo has struck out three batters. The southpaw worked an inning and a third in the loss tonight, throwing 17 pitches with 13 of them being strikes. Saucedo has allowed one or fewer runs in 12 of his 14 appearances this season. Additionally, he has enjoyed success toeing the rubber at home, allowing two runs in 11.1 innings of work in eight appearances inside The Ballpark at America First Square.
- A 1-2-3 ninth inning for Kaleb Ort made three straight scoreless outings for the right hander. He’s tallied 3.2 innings of work in that span with four strikeouts. Ort holds a 1.17 ERA over his last six appearances with 7.2 innings pitched.
Up Next
The series moves into the weekend with Friday’s Golf Night at The Ballpark at America First Square. Salt Lake and El Paso will square off for the fourth time this week starting at 6:35 p.m. MDT from South Jordan.