SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - Down to their final strike, Gavin Cross rescued Omaha from the brink of defeat, launching a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth to help the visitors defeat Salt Lake 12-9 on Thursday night. The Bees scored in their first six innings, but couldn’t hold on as they dropped their third straight contest.
Omaha 12, Salt Lake 9
WP: Jose Cuas (5-2)
LP: Kaleb Ort (5-3)
SV: Anthony Gose (1)
Key Performers
Gustavo Campero: 3-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, R, K
Jeimer Candelario: 3-5, HR, 3 RBI, R, K
Pablo Reyes: 3-5, 2B, 2 R
Nelson Rada: 2-4, 2B, 2 R, K
Game Summary
Caden Dana worked himself out of a first-inning jam and was immediately rewarded. Nelson Rada doubled and scored on Gustavo Campero’s first-pitch single to give the Bees an 1-0 lead.
Kyren Paris’ leadoff double in the second set the tone for Salt Lake to extend the advantage. Cade Marlowe’s first hit as a Bee moved Paris up 90 feet, and the latter scored on a Yolmer Sánchez’ RBI groundout to increase the lead 2-0.
The lead was erased by Omaha in the third, as the Storm Chasers tallied four runs in the frame. An RBI double and single evened the score at two each, before Brett Squires’ two-run blast to left put them in front 4-2.
Campero cut the deficit to 4-3 in the bottom half, lifting a leadoff solo shot 324 feet onto the right field berm. Two singles and an error later set the table for Paris to tie the game at 4-4 on a sacrifice fly to right field.
Omaha re-captured the lead on Kyle Isbel’s second RBI double of the day that made it 5-4. A two-out walk in the fourth marked the end of Dana’s outing, but Sammy Peralta ended the frame with a three-pitch strikeout. Salt Lake scored for the fourth straight half inning, evening the game on Campero’s third hit of the night, a RBI double for a 5-5 score.
Four singles, two of which didn’t leave the infield, allowed the visitors to post another crooked number and take an 8-5 advantage. Again, Salt Lake generated a response in the form of Pablo Reyes and Jeimer Candelario. The third baseman legged out an infield single, before Candelario landed a two-run blast onto the berm that cut the score to 8-7.
Sánchez systematically tied the contest in the sixth as he started the frame with a walk. The left fielder moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, took third on a balk and scored on a wild pitch for an 8-8 tie. Later in the frame, the Bees took the lead with two outs, courtesy of Candelario’s run-scoring infield single to make it 9-8.
The bullpens kept the game at that score, with Salt Lake getting by thanks to Ben Joyce and Tayler Saucedo. The firethrowing Joyce, on a MLB rehab assignment, touched 100 mph on all eight pitches he threw. Joyce topped out at 103.2 mph, the fastest recorded in the minor leagues this season.
As he has done of late, Kaleb Ort entered for the ninth. The righty secured two quick outs, before a single and a walk. An error on Pablo Reyes prolonged the outing and loaded the bases, setting up Gavin Cross. The Royals’ 25th-ranked prospect provided the knockout blow, piercing a grand slam through the Beehive State night and flipped the score 12-9.
Salt Lake went quietly in the bottom half, completing a stretch of eight straight Bees retired and grabbing their seventh straight win and third in a row this week in Utah.
Game Notes
- For the first time this season, the Bees suffered a defeat when leading after the eighth inning, dropping their record to 40-1 in such scenarios. Salt Lake was a single strike away multiple times tonight from securing a victory, but ultimately fell for the third consecutive game.
- Salt Lake dropped to 11-43
- Starter Caden Dana surpassed 380 Minor League strikeouts in his 3.2 innings of work. The righty reached the mark on a strikeout looking that began the second inning. Dana ended his outing with three strikeouts and four walks on 90 pitches thrown; the pitch total is tied for his season-high (May 5 at Oklahoma City).
- Nelson Rada doubled to lead off the home half of the first and later singled in the fourth to collect his 29th multi-hit effort of the campaign. The outfielder has hits in four of his last five games, while three of his last four games have featured multi-hit performances. Rada swiped second in the fourth for his PCL-leading 30th stolen base of the season, as well as his 50th career Triple-A swipe.
- Gustavo Campero has at least two RBI in both of his games with Salt Lake this season, starting his game with a first-inning RBI single. He then launched his first home run as a Salt Lake Bee this season, depositing a solo shot 324 feet onto the berm in the third inning. It is his seventh total longball in 2026, with six coming at Double-A Rocket City. Campero made it a three-hit night with an RBI double in the fourth, finishing a triple shy of completing the cycle. It is the third time in his professional career in which Campero has had a double and homer in the same contest that he also tallied three total hits.
- Kyren Paris doubled in his first at-bat Thursday, his 12th extra-base hit in July. He is one shy of Tacoma’s Patrick Wisdom for the PCL lead in the month. Since joining the Bees on June 9, Paris has 18 extra-base hits (11 doubles, seven homers). His double extended his hit streak to 13 games and now has a 14-game on-base streak, tied for his season high (June 3-20, with Double-A Rocket City and Triple-A Salt Lake). Paris recorded his 19th RBI of July on a sacrifice fly, third most in the PCL over the month.
- Collecting his first Salt Lake hit tonight was Cade Marlowe. The former Tacoma Rainier and Las Vegas Aviator notched his ninth base-hit against Omaha this season, having batted 8-for-24 (.333) in Las Vegas’ six-game road series against the Storm Chasers earlier this season.
- Yolmer Sánchez made it 2-0 on his second-inning RBI groundout to first. It is his second run driven in on the homestand (July 17 vs. RNO), both coming on groundouts. Sánchez singled and has hits in five of his last six contests.
- Pablo Reyes matched his season-long hit streak at seven games (previously with El Paso on April 17-28) with a three-hit evening. Additionally, he has reached all 10 straight games he’s appeared in with Salt Lake, dating back to his debut on July 9. Reyes marked consecutive nights with a run scored, crossing the plate twice for the 12th time in 2026 and second time with the Bees. It is his 26th multi-hit effort and second three-hit performance with Salt Lake.
- Jeimer Candelario had a three-hit game tonight, owning hits in three straight games and has now reached in 12 consecutive contests. This is the infielder’s longest on-base streak since 2024 when he accomplished a 13-gamer with the Cincinnati Reds between June 30 - July 13. Candelario homered for the seventh time tonight, blasting a two-run shot to right; he has an extra-base hit in three straight games. Candelario reached 35 RBI on the season with his trio collected tonight.
- In his ninth appearance for Salt Lake since joining from the Colorado Rockies organization, southpaw Sammy Peralta tossed 1.1 innings and recorded his 10th strikeout as a member of the Bees.
- Jared Southard has consecutive scoreless outings after a rough performance on July 18 vs. Reno. Tonight, the righty fired a shutout sixth inning with two punchouts and now holds a 2.1 inning scoreless streak.
- Ben Gobbel scored in his fifth straight game after reaching on ball four. The infielder moved his on-base streak to four games.
- Ben Joyce’s first game of his rehab assignment was a memorable one. The righty recorded the fastest pitch in all of Minor League Baseball this season, a 103.2 MPH heater in the seventh inning. He faced the minimum in his one inning outing as he works back from shoulder surgery. Every pitch Joyce threw surpassed the 100 MPH mark.
- In his inning on the mound, Tayler Saucedo secured his second consecutive scoreless performance. He allowed one hit and struck out one batter, making six of his past seven appearances scoreless. Throughout July, he has surrendered only a single run across five outings.
- Right-hander Kaleb Ort was tagged with his first loss since July 7 at Sacramento after giving up a go-ahead grand slam with two outs in the top of the ninth. In his one inning of action, he permitted two hits and issued one walk.
Up Next
Salt Lake will cap off Pioneer Day celebrations Friday with the fourth game of the six-game set against the Storm Chasers. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. MDT with postgame fireworks to follow from South Jordan.