SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - Round Rock scored in four different innings, including late runs in the eighth and ninth, to hand Salt Lake a 5-1 loss in the series opener. Niko Kavadas’ fifth inning solo homer provided the Bees’ lone run in Tuesday’s defeat.
Round Rock 5, Salt Lake 1
WP: Winston Santos (3-1)
LP: Ryan Costeiu (1-1)
Key Performers
Cade Marlowe: 2-4, 2B, SB
Niko Kavadas: 1-3, R, HR, RBI
Ryan Costeiu: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R/2 ER, BB, K, HR, QS, Loss
Game Summary
Round Rock capitalized right away, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning after a leadoff double off the right-center wall scored following an error.
The score remained tied in game one until the top of the fourth, when Round Rock drove in a pair of runs. Keyber Rodriguez, the Express shortstop, launched his 14th home run of the year with one down. Round Rock then extended its lead to 3-0 with two outs, bringing home another run via a single that deflected into right field.
Salt Lake was held hitless until one out in the bottom of the fourth inning when Cade Marlowe placed a fly-ball double down the right field line.
Niko Kavadas followed it up in the fifth with his 12th jack of the season, sending a ball to the berm in right to give the Bees their first run of the game.
Following two scoreless frames, Round Rock built on its lead in the eighth inning. A two-out RBI single pushed the visiting squad ahead 4-1 heading into the home half of the eighth.
Round Rock tacked on a late run in the ninth inning to push the score to 5-1. Nelson Rada drew a lead-off walk to open the bottom half, but Salt Lake’s rally stalled as they dropped the series opener to the Express.
Game Notes
- Salt Lake falls to 12-11 on Tuesdays (7-5 at home), while holding a 13-12 in series openers in 2026. The Bees are now 1-10 in games they score a single run.
- Salt Lake managed to connect for one homer, moving to 47-46 when launching at least one longball. They have yet to have a power surge in September, last launching multiple homers as a team on August 22 vs. Reno (three homers).
- Tonight’s gametime of 2 hours, 18 minutes was the Bees’ fifth shortest nine inning game this season. In games under three hours, Salt Lake is 35-46 in 2026.
- Starter Ryan Costeiu recorded his third quality start as a Bee and his second in as many starts, tossing six innings in his sixth start of the season. That means half of his starts with Salt Lake have now been quality starts. Costeiu struck out just one batter while allowing eight hits and three runs, two earned, while walking one and giving up one home run. He is now four strikeouts away from reaching 440 in his minor league career. Costeiu is the first Bee to pitch a quality start with only one strikeout since Dakota Hudson turned in a similar performance last season on Aug. 30, 2025 in Round Rock.
- In the top of the fourth inning with one out, outfielder Cade Marlowe delivered the Bees' first hit of the game with a double down the right field line. The double was his 28th of the season, giving him extra-base hits in three of his last four contests and back-to-back games with a two-bagger. With this extra-base hit, Marlowe pushed both his hitting and on-base streaks to four games.
- Niko Kavadas crushed his 12th homer of the season to leadoff the fifth inning. The Notre Dame product has homered twice in his past four games while reaching base safely in four straight contests and in 14 of his last 15 appearances. His on-base streak was pushed to six on his round-tripper.
- Opening the ninth with a six-pitch walk, outfielder Nelson Rada extended his on-base run to three games. He is now just four walks shy of reaching 70 for the year and 100 overall in his Triple-A career.
- In his 40th appearance for the Bees this season, veteran infielder Pablo Reyes saw his team-best 17-game hitting streak come to an end. The streak, which began on August 15, featured a .441 batting average (30-for-68) alongside a home run and 19 RBIs. He went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in tonight's contest.
- In his 31st appearance of the season, Rob Kaminsky spun a scoreless frame. The southpaw’s scoreless streak was extended to 3.1 innings in his 11 pitch outing. He dealt two flyouts and a groundout after he hit a batter to get through the seventh unscathed.
- In his second outing following his return to Salt Lake, right-hander Shaun Anderson recorded his first strikeout since July 31. However, he surrendered an earned run for the first time since a July 22 appearance against Omaha.
- Alex Faedo snapped his scoreless streak at 3.0 innings, after working one inning with one run allowed. The righty struck out one, recording at least one punchout in 12 of his 13 outings with Salt Lake. Faedo holds a 2.16 ERA across his last seven appearances.
Up Next
Game two of the six-game series between Salt Lake and the Round Rock Express continues at The Ballpark at America First Square, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. MDT.