SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - The Bees jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, scoring 11 runs on 19 hits in a dominant 11-1 win over Round Rock on Abejas Night. Niko Kavadas homered twice, while Raudi Rodriguez and Yolmer Sánchez also left the yard to help Salt Lake secure its first win of the series on Thursday night.
Salt Lake 11, Round Rock 1
WP: Joel Hurtado (1-3)
LP: Anthony Veneziano (2-1)
Key Performers
Niko Kavadas: 4-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Raudi Rodriguez: 3-5, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, K, SB
Sebastián Rivero: 3-5, K
Joel Hurtado: W, 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, BB, 5 K
Game Summary
The Bees took an early 1-0 lead in the opening frame when Raudi Rodriguez kicked off the bottom of the first with a leadoff single. After two quick outs, Niko Kavadas delivered a clutch single to center field driving in Rodriguez from second.
Salt Lake starter Joel Hurtado held Round Rock scoreless again in the top of the second, paving the way for a four-run offensive outburst by the Bees in the bottom half. Zach Humphreys initiated the scoring with a sacrifice fly to right field. Raudi Rodriguez followed up with his second hit of the night—a towering two-run home run—before Niko Kavadas lined an RBI single of his own to extend the Salt Lake lead to 5-0 through two innings.
Salt Lake added to its advantage in the bottom of the third as Cade Marlowe led off with a double, moved to third on a Bryce Teodosio sacrifice bunt, and scored on a Ben Gobbel RBI single to center. Later in the frame with two outs, Yolmer Sánchez launched a three-run home run onto the right-field berm, capping a second consecutive four-run inning for the Bees and making it a 9-0 ballgame through three.
The score stayed put till the sixth inning when Kavadas led things off with his 13th homer of the season as he watched it fly off the bricks beyond right field. Salt Lake was up 10-0 headed to the seventh.
Hurtado was relieved in the seventh, and Round Rock immediately got on the board with a two-out RBI single.
In the bottom of the eighth, Kavadas provided another highlight, blasting his second leadoff homer of the game to extend the Bees' lead to 11-1.
Mason Erla shut the door in the ninth as the Bees secured their first victory of the series.
Game Notes
- Salt Lake picked up a win on the day they have found the least success, as they now are 5-16 overall and 3-7 at home in Thursday games.
- The Bees homered four times tonight, the first power surge in September and ties their single-game high this season (last done on August 21 vs. Reno). Niko Kavadas launched two of the longballs and has five over his last four home games.
- Salt Lake managed 13 hits across the first three innings of play tonight, their most in a game since May 23, 2016 vs. Memphis (15 hits). It is just the fourth time in franchise history (since 2005) that the Bees recorded 13 hits in a game’s first three frames.
- Salt Lake stole three bases on Thursday with Raudi Rodriguez, Bryce Teodosio and Yolmer Sanchez all having a swipe. The three steals moved the Bees season total to 178 on the year which ranks third in the PCL to move within two of the franchise record of 180 set in 2016.
- Bees starting pitcher Joel Hurtado delivered his first quality start with Salt Lake, marking his first such performance since July 10 during his time with Rocket City. Hurtado turned in a brilliant outing, striking out five over 6.2 one run while allowing just four hits and a single walk on 98 pitches. He became the first Salt Lake starting pitcher to work 6.2 innings since George Klassen accomplished the feat against Omaha on July 25.
- To leadoff the bottom of the first for the Bees, Raudi Rodriguez lined a four-seamer 101 MPH off the pitcher’s glove. The outfielder has hits in consecutive games and in three of his last four games. Launching his fourth home run of the year and second on home turf, Rodriguez brought Ben Gobbel around to score on a two-run shot during a four-run second inning. With homers in two of his past four contests, he extended his streak of consecutive games with an extra-base hit.
- Leading off the sixth inning, Niko Kavadas launched his 13th home run of the year—and his second in three days—bringing his September total to three. The Notre Dame product smashed his 14th big fly of the year in the eighth inning, sending a second leadoff shot into virtually the same area. This marks his second multi-homer contest of the campaign, following a two-homer performance against Reno on Aug. 22. Across his four seasons at the Triple-A level, he has now accumulated 15 career homers during the month of September. Both of his home runs led off the inning with nine of his 14 home runs this season coming when leading off the inning while batting .441 in that spot. The first baseman has reached base safely in 15 of his last 17 games. Driving in his 50th run of the season, Kavadas added Salt Lake’s fifth run with another RBI single.
- Sebastián Rivero finished with his first three hit performance since April 21 in Las Vegas. The catcher has hits in three straight and has reached in seven of his first 11 games since being back with the Bees. Rivero drew his 20th walk with Salt Lake in 2026.
- Bryce Teodosio snapped a two game hitless skid in his first at-bat, singling up the middle. Immediately after, Teodosio swiped his 25th bag of the year, trailing only Nelson Rada (36), and Cade Marlowe (33) for most by a Bee. In the fourth inning, the outfielder collected his first double since Aug. 25 at Tacoma.
- The second straight single in the bottom of the second inning, Ben Gobbel hit a hard single into centerfield. The knock snapped an 0-for-10 skid that lasted three games. Gobbel is two hits away from 60 on the season. Gobbel plated his first run since Sept. 2 in Sacramento in the third inning on an RBI single.
- Returning from the development list for his first game since Aug. 22, catcher Zach Humphreys delivered an immediate impact by driving in a run with a sac-fly—his first RBI since that game against Reno.
- After striking out in his first at-bat Yolmer Sánchez followed up Raudi Rodriguez 2-run homer with a double down the right field line. The veteran has hits in back-to-back games as the double was his first since Sept. 1 in Sacramento. In Sánchez’ next at-bat, the utilityman crushed his eighth homer of the season, a two-run shot to the berm in right. It’s his first homer since Aug. 21 against Reno.
- Cade Marlowe opened the third with a double, his 29th of the year. It extends his career-high for doubles in a single Triple-A season. The outfielder has now recorded a hit in five consecutive contests and doubled in four of those five games.
- Pablo Reyes extended the two-out third-inning rally by lining a single into center field for the 555th hit of his Triple-A career. With the base hit, Reyes snapped a two-game hitless streak and has now reached base in consecutive games.
- In his 13th appearance of the season, southpaw Leonard Garcia turned in a brief but scoreless performance. Working 0.1 innings, he gave up no hits, issued one walk, and recorded a strikeout, extending his scoreless streak to five innings over six games.
- Dillon Tate worked his third straight scoreless appearance in his inning of work. His current streak is pushed to 3.1 innings. The right-hander struck out one in his outing.
- Wrapping up the game for the Bees was Mason Erla. The right-handed pitcher has posted back-to-back run-free outings across all three appearances following his return from the injured list. Extended to four consecutive appearances without giving up a run, his streak was highlighted by his first strikeout of the year—and his first since fanning four batters in Sacramento on May 13 of last year.
Up Next
The Bees return to the field for game four of their six-game series facing the Round Rock Express. Friday's matchup features a 9/11 tribute, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 PM MDT at The Ballpark at America First Square.