SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - On Occidentals Night, Salt Lake snapped a two-game skid by narrowly defeating Tacoma 3-2. The victory was fueled by a quality start from George Klassen and a perfect outing by the Bees bullpen, marking the team's eighth consecutive Friday night win.
Salt Lake 3, Tacoma 2
WP: George Klassen (3-5)
LP: Nick Garcia (1-1)
SV: Kaleb Ort (4)
Key Performers
Yolmer Sánchez: 3-4, R, 2B, K
Ben Gobbel: 2-3, RBI, K
Nelson Rada: 2-4, R, K
George Klassen: W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R/1 ER, BB, 3 K
Game Summary
Friday’s game got off to a historic night on Occidentals Night as Josh Lowe hit a tape measure shot onto the top of the batter’s eye. After getting shutout a night ago, the outfielder put Salt Lake up by a run after the first.
Following a scoreless second frame, Brock Rodden brought the game to a 1-1 deadlock in the top of the third. Rodden belted his eighth home run of the year, a high-arcing drive with a 43-degree launch angle that landed on the right-field berm.
Patrick Wisdom led the fourth inning off with a double and after a lineout, a Bees error plated the go ahead run for the visitors. Klassen stranded the baserunner that reached on the error with a pair of force outs.
While the score remained locked through the fifth and the top of the sixth, Salt Lake finally broke through in the home half of the inning. Yolmer Sánchez ignited the rally with his third hit of the contest, a sharp single, and quickly advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Nelson Rada followed by beating out a bunt to put runners on the corners for Ben Gobbel, who lined an opposite-field single to pull the Bees even at 2-2. The Bees then surged ahead when an errant throw to third on a double steal skipped into left field, allowing the go-ahead run to cross the plate and giving Salt Lake a 3-2 lead through six.
Klassen finished with a quality start as Jared Southard relieved the righty and found immediate success, posting zeroes in the seventh and eighth innings, as the score stayed put headed to the final frame.
Kaleb Ort came in and sat the side down in order, posting his fourth save of the season and knotting the series back up at two apiece.
Game Notes
- The Bees won their eighth straight Friday night contest, dating back to May 1 vs. Sacramento and 10th total this season. The 10 Friday wins are tied for the most in Minor League Baseball and only trail Atlanta’s 11 for most in pro baseball this season. Tonight’s victory marks five consecutive Friday wins at home.
- Salt Lake continued their trend of winning games when out-hitting the opponent, doing so tonight 10-5 in the hit column. In 2026, the Bees are 26-3 and 17-1 at home when collecting more hits than the opposition.
- Salt Lake donned special jerseys playing as the Occidentals tonight. It was their fifth time wearing a speciality jersey at home tonight and the Bees have won all five contests.
- The Bees captured their 10th win in the month of June, surpassing their nine victories one season ago. Six of those 10 wins have come at The Ballpark in America First Square, which is tied with Las Vegas for most home wins in June among PCL squads.
- Salt Lake’s starter, George Klassen nearly surpassed his season high in innings, spinning six innings and turning in his second quality start for the Bees. The righty gave up two runs, one earned on five hits while striking out three and walking one. In four of his last five appearances, Klassen has gone at least five innings. Salt Lake is 5-2 this season when their starter records a quality start (5-1 at home).
- Josh Lowe quickly returned to form after his 21-game on-base streak ended in last night’s defeat. The outfielder launched a massive home run that sailed over the batter's eye in center field, occurring only six days after his 499-foot blast in Reno.
- After Lowe’s blast, Jeimer Candelario extended his streak to four games. The veteran singled to start a streak by Salt Lake where they had four straight hits. With the knock, Candelario also extended his on-base streak to four games. Candelario is a double away from 100 across his Triple-A career.
- Following a multi-hit performance in last night’s loss, Yolmer Sánchez picked up where he left off. He hit the second straight single in the first inning after Lowe’s tape measure blast. Sánchez made it back-to-back nights with multiple hits with a double in the bottom of the third inning. It’s his second time with a three-hit day this season.
- For the third straight single in the first inning, Nelson Rada beat out a grounder to extend his hit streak to five games. With the knock he also extended his on-base streak to five games. With a single in the sixth, Rada recorded his third straight multi-hit game. It’s also his 10th game this month where he’s notched multiple hits.
- With two outs in the second, Kyren Paris pushed his on-base streak to 13 games with a walk. It’s officially his longest of the season as it spreads across his time with Rocket City and Salt Lake. Paris' longest stretch was when he reached base safely in 32 consecutive games with Rocket City in 2023.
- Ben Gobbel’s first hit of the ballgame was the one that tied the game at two in the sixth. His RBI single to the opposite field extended his hit streak to five games. On the knock, his on-base streak that spans across both Rocket City and Salt Lake moved to nine games. The run he brought in was his second as a Bee after getting called up from Rocket City last week.
- After two straight games without a hit, Bryce Teodosio broke his short slump with an opposite field single in the seventh inning. It was his 16th hit in the month of June in his 15 games.
- After Klassen’s quality start, Jared Southard pitched two innings, giving up no runs. The righty pushed his scoreless streak to nine innings. It’s his seventh straight appearance without allowing a run. His inning streak is the second longest consecutive by a Bee this season, trailing only Samy Natera Jr.
- Kaleb Ort pushed his scoreless streak to 2.1 innings, sitting the Rainiers down in order to pick up his fourth save of the season. The righty has tallied two saves, picked up two strikeouts and surrendered a lone hit across the streak.
Up Next
Celebrating "Christmas in June" night, the Salt Lake Bees embrace the holiday spirit for game five of their series against the Tacoma Rainiers. Donning special Christmas green jerseys, Salt Lake aims to secure at least a series split. The action begins at 6:35 PM MDT at The Ballpark at America First Square.