RENO, NV. - Christian Moore’s 10th inning sacrifice fly was the difference Friday, as the Bees defeated Reno 8-7 at Greater Nevada Field. Moore combined with Josh Lowe to hit four tape measure homers, tallying 0.34 of a mile in distance that powered Salt Lake to victory.
Salt Lake 8, Reno 7 (Final/10 inn.)
WP: Jose Fermin (2-0)
LP: Antonio Menendez (0-2)
Key Performers
Christian Moore: 3-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Josh Lowe: 3-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
Kyren Paris: 1-3, RBI, R, 2 BB, K
Game Summary
Working opposite Reno’s opener, Kade Strowd, Josh Lowe wasted zero time starting Friday’s Soccer Kickoff Night. Just as his fellow Americans took a 2-0 lead in their first 2026 World Cup match, so did the Bees. Following a Nelson Rada single against the shift, Lowe absolutely demolished a cutter and sent it 499 feet away to right center for his sixth blast of the year.
The Aces cut the advantage in half on Anderdson Rojas’ first Triple-A longball, a solo shot to right. Starter Alek Manoah limited the damage to the lone run, as he started a 1-4-3 double play that ended the first.
Reno tied and took the lead in consecutive frames, starting each inning with a leadoff triple. An RBI single leveled the game at two in the second, before Manoah struck out the side. The Aces scored twice in the third, on a single and sacrifice fly to grab a 4-2 lead. Salt Lake trimmed the lead to one in the fourth, on Kyren Paris’ first Triple-A RBI of the season. The infielder singled in Jeimer Candelario, who started the frame with a base knock.
Manoah got some help from the men behind him in the fourth, as Christian Moore made a diving grab to keep the Aces off the board. The acrobatic snag completed four innings of work for the Bees starter, his longest outing since a five-inning effort on May 11 with the Angels. That play also carried momentum to the plate, as Lowe tied the game in the fifth with one swing on his 416-foot solo shot.
It appeared Reno would re-take momentum in the bottom half, as they loaded the bases with nobody out. However, Brady Choban induced a twin killing and forced an infield pop up to escape the jam without any damage. Reno got to the Salt Lake righty in the sixth, re-gaining the lead on an RBI double from Andrew Velazquez.
The lead didn’t even last a batter into the next half inning, as Christian Moore hit the seventh pitch of the seventh inning 445 feet into center to even the game again. Salt Lake loaded the bases later in the frame, but stranded all three. One inning later, Moore broke the deadlock, sending a 3-1 sinker deep into the Nevada night, swinging the lead back to Salt Lake at 6-5.
Clinging to a one-run advantage, Jared Southard took to the mound in the eighth. Despite allowing two singles, the right hander induced Salt Lake’s third twin killing of the night to exit the frame with the lead.
After a scoreless top of the ninth, it was time for José Fermin to shut the door. Rojas singled off the righty to start the bottom half, but Fermin responded with a strikeout. However, in the next at-bat, the Salt Lake closer allowed a deep RBI double that tied the game at six each. A walk put two runners on before a warning track fly ball moved the lead runner 90 feet closer. Another free pass loaded the bases and sent Matt O’Neill to the plate. In a right-on-right matchup, Fermin got the catcher to swing at three sliders, moving the game to extras.
Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Salt Lake in the 10th, bringing up Arol Vera with no outs. The 23-year old was hit with a 2-2 changeup, gave the Bees a 7-6 lead with an RBI the hard way and flipped the lineup back to the top. Moore cashed in his third RBI of the night on a sacrifice fly to right-center, providing Salt Lake with much needed insurance.
Fueled with a two-run lead, Fermin went back out, looking to seal the deal in the 10th. A grounder moved the ghost runner, who scored on a comebacker into no-man’s land that made it 8-7. Rojas singled for his fifth hit of the night, putting the winning run aboard. That was no trouble for Fermin, who locked down the ballgame with a strikeout and groundout to even the series at two wins each.
Game Notes
- Salt Lake moved to 4-2 in extra innings this season and 2-0 on the road. The Bees avoided another walk-off, standing as the only PCL team to not lose in that fashion in 2026. Salt Lake moved to 9-5 in one run games, earning their first victory on the road this season in a one-run decision (1-2). Tonight also marked the 10th road night game win of the season, as well as the 30th total victory under the lights in 2026.
- Salt Lake matched a season high four home runs on Friday night coming off the bats of Christian Moore and Josh Lowe. Moore and Lowe are the first pair of Salt Lake teammates to have multi-homer nights in the same game since Jason Martin and Jordyn Adams did so on July 31, 2024 at Tacoma. It was the fourth time this season the Bees have had a four homer game and the third time in June the club has reached that total. All four homers accounted for Salt Lake’s only extra-base hits of the game, making it the first time since Sept. 5, 2023, against Tacoma that the Bees hit at least four home runs with no other extra-base hits.
- For the third straight games, Salt Lake left double-digit runners on base, leaving 12 stranded on Friday night after a season-high 16 the night before. Salt Lake went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, making them 8-for-45 (.177) in the series in RISP.
- Salt Lake walked eight times on Friday night, marking the third straight games with at least eight walks giving the Bees a Triple-A best 361 free-passes this season. In four games against the Aces this week, the Bees have tallied 32 walks, 12 more than the next closest PCL squad (Las Vegas); it is the most among all 120 Minor League clubs across all action this week.
- Every Bee in the starting lineup reached base safely at least once tonight, with five using a hit, six drawing a walk and two via a hit-by-pitch.
- Bees starter Alek Manoah tossed four innings tonight. Salt Lake is now 2-1 in games which the former All-Star throws in, with both wins coming in his last two outings.
- It was a two-homer night for Josh Lowe tonight, his first since August 30, 2025 with Tampa Bay. He obliterated his sixth homer of the season, landing 499 feet away from home way beyond the right center wall. It is the longest homer hit by a Bee this season, surpassing Bryce Teodosio’s 458-feet blast earlier this week on Wednesday. His seventh homer also went 400 feet (416 to be exact), marking 915 feet of longballs on Friday. Tonight’s multi-homer effort was Lowe’s seventh as a minor leaguer and 10th total in his pro career. Lowe collected three RBI tonight, his fifth such game with the Bees, the most by a Salt Lake hitter in 2026. Lowe notched a three-hit night, his second at Triple-A this season (May 28 at Round Rock).
- Christian Moore greeted lefty Yu-Min Lin’s second inning of work with a single, building on his dominance of southpaws this season. He tagged Lin again in the seventh hitting his sixth longball of the season, a solo shot that traveled 445 feet to straightaway center. The infielder is batting 23-for-54 (.426) against left-handed pitchers. Moore later delivered another big swing, blasting at the time, a go-ahead eighth inning solo shot to complete a multi-homer night. It is his third multi-homer game at the minor league level and first since Moore also pushed his current hit streak to five games and on-base streak to 12 games. Additionally, with his 10th inning sacrifice fly, Moore now has three straight multi-RBI contests, notably consecutive nights with exactly three RBI.
- Nelson Rada singled against the shift in his first at-bat, continuing his success inside Greater Nevada Field. The outfielder is 14-for-40 (.350) in downtown Reno across his career, with five of those hits coming this week against the Aces.
- Friday’s second baseman, Kyren Paris, drew his seventh and eighth walks in four games with Salt Lake this season. Paris has at least one free pass in each of those four contests, all of which have come this week against Reno. Across 35 games in the minors this season, Paris has 20 walks and a .328 OBP. In the fourth, the infielder tallied his first RBI as a Bee this season and has 36 in his Triple-A career.
- Jeimer Candelario has back-to-back games with a hit and has reached base safely in three straight contests. The New Yorker has scored in his last three games, posting four total runs in that span.
- After a fourth-inning hit-by-pitch, Bryce Teodosio has now reached in three consecutive games. The outfielder is one game shy of matching his season-high on-base streak of four (May 24-28).
- Thanks to a pair of walks, Ben Gobbel pushed his active on-base streak to five games. That streak dates back to his last two games at Double-A and adds in his first three Triple-A games of the season. He has five walks over his most recent five games.
- Reliever Rob Kaminsky tossed 1.1 scoreless innings tonight, his longest such outing since a May 30 appearance at the Arizona Complex League (also 1.1 IP). The southpaw has allowed two runs across his last 4.2 innings of work.
- Jared Southard continued his recent scoreless stretch, adding a shutout inning in tonight’s ballgame. The right hander now has an active 4.2 scoreless streak and has surrendered a lone run over his last 13.1 innings (0.68 ERA).
- Looking for his fifth straight Triple-A save in as many opportunities was José Fermin. The right hander failed to collect a save for the second time at Triple-A this season and first since April 15 vs. Sugar Land. Fermin stayed out for the 10th, holding off Reno to secure his second win of the year. The closer tied his longest outing this season (also Apr. 15), as he tossed two innings and struck out three.
- Arol Vera was plunked in the 10th, collecting his second career Triple-A RBI. It was just the sixth time in 42 plate appearances at the level in which he has reached safely.
- Making his Triple-A debut tonight was Ryan Nicholson. The first baseman pinch-hit for Ben Gobbel in the 10th, lining out to right field. The University of Kentucky product was called up from High-A Tri-City on Wednesday, but had yet to appear for the Bees since his arrival. Nicholson put the fifth pitch he saw in Triple-A into the air, tallying an exit velocity of 96.8 mph on the third out of the top half.
Up Next
Salt Lake will go “to infinity and beyond” with Toy Story Night at Greater Nevada Field on Saturday. The Bees and Aces will roundup for the penultimate game of the series at 7:35 p.m. MDT from the Silver State.