Bees Drop Opener to River Cats, 5-3
May 13, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Salt Lake Bees News Release
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. - The Salt Lake Bees dropped their sixth game in a row as the Salt Lake rally came up short in the ninth suffering a 5-3 defeat in game one of the series.
Sacramento River Cats 5, Salt Lake Bees 3
WP: Carson Whisenhunt (3 - 3)
LP: Caden Dana (3 - 3)
SV: Justin Garza (4)
Game Summary
Starting pitcher Caden Dana struggled from the outset, as the River Cats jumped all over him in the bottom of the first. Three straight singles - including an RBI single by Grant McCray - put Salt Lake in immediate trouble. A pair of walks, a fielder's choice, and a groundout later, and the Bees were suddenly staring at a 4-0 deficit.
Salt Lake's offense was quiet through the first six innings with just one hit against Sacramento starter Carson Whisenhunt who recorded nine strikeouts on the day. The Bees were held hitless until Carter Kieboom's single in the fourth, and they didn't record another base hit until J.D. Davis' knock in the seventh.
The River Cats padded their lead in the sixth when Daniel Johnson launched a solo homer to right-center field off reliever Dylan Phillips, extending Sacramento's advantage to 5-0.
Trailing 5-0 entering the ninth, Salt Lake showed signs of life. Carter Kieboom led off with a walk, and J.D. Davis doubled him home with Salt Lake's first extra base hit of the afternoon to put the Bees on the board for the first time.
After a walk to Niko Kavadas and another to Chad Stevens, pinch hitter Ryan Noda worked a bases-loaded walk to make it 5-2. A sacrifice fly from Zach Humphreys brought it to 5-3, and Salt Lake had the tying run at the plate.
However, Yolmer Sánchez struck out swinging against Justin Garza to end the comeback and the game.
Game Notes
Salt Lake drops its sixth game in a row and falls to 15-24 on the year and go to 3-5 in series openers.
During its losing streak, the Bees have scored three runs or fewer in three of the six games to which they are 0-15 overall on the year when scoring three or less.
J.D. Davis provided the team's only extra base hit with his third double in four games. Davis went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored tabbing his sixth multi-hit game of the season.
Carter Kieboom continued his hot streak hitting safely for the seventh consecutive contest going 1-for-3 with a run scored. During his hit streak, Kieboom is batting .444 with a home run and a pair of doubles while having four multi-hit games in that span.
Despite going hitless, Niko Kavadas extended his on-base streak to 11 games, the highest on the team and sixth best in the PCL. During his on-base streak, Kavadas has scored in eight of those games while having an on-base percentage of .500 since Apr. 26.
Ryan Noda secured an RBI in his only plate appearance of the day, drawing a bases loaded walk in the ninth during a pinch-hit spot. Over his last 15 games, Noda has reached base in 11 of them while walking 18 times, the most of any player in the PCL since Apr. 20.
Caden Dana had the shortest outing of his career on Tuesday recording just one out before exiting the game after surrendering four runs on three hits without tabbing a strikeout.
The Salt Lake bullpen had a solid afternoon giving up just one run and combining for 10 strikeouts. Mason Erla and Endrys Briceno both put together outings of two innings or more as Erlla tallied a season-high four strikeouts while Sam Bachman recorded one strikeout in one inning of shutout ball.
Up Next
Salt Lake will look to get back on the winning side with left-hander Jake Eder on the mound who faces Trevor McDonald for the River Cats in a 7:45 start at Sutter Health Park.
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