Bees Let 8-3 Lead Slip as Aces Storm Back with 11 Unanswered
PCL Salt Lake Bees

Bees Let 8-3 Lead Slip as Aces Storm Back with 11 Unanswered

Published on April 9, 2026 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Salt Lake Bees News Release


Salt Lake and Reno traded quiet frames to open the game before the Aces struck first in the second inning. Kristian Robinson ignited the rally with a triple, and Matt O'Neill followed with a two-run homer down the right-field line to give Reno a 3-0 lead.

The Bees answered immediately and emphatically in the third taking advantage of an error, hit-by-pitch and a walk to load the bases. Nelson Rada delivered a two-run single to tie the game before Vaughn Grissom followed with an RBI knock, and Denzer Guzman capped the four-run inning with a sacrifice fly to put the Bees in front, 4-3.

Salt Lake kept the pressure on in the fourth as Sebastián Rivero doubled home a run and Rada struck again, this time with a stand up RBI triple to extend the lead to 6-3. The momentum carried into the fifth when Trey Mancini launched a solo home run to left-center, and another run scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-3 scoring eight unanswered.

Reno chipped away in the fifth, but the Bees still held a comfortable 8-4 advantage heading into the late innings.

The Aces erupted for five runs in the seventh, stringing together extra-base hits from Jack Hurley, Jean Walters, Tommy Troy, and LuJames Groover to reclaim a 9-8 lead. Reno wasn't done, breaking the game open in the eighth as Groover crushed a grand slam to left, capping another five-run inning and extending the lead to 14-8 on 11 unanswered runs from the Aces.

Salt Lake threatened in the eighth, loading the bases with one out, but a double play ended the rally and any hopes of a comeback. The Bees went down in order in the ninth to seal the loss.

Game Notes

Salt Lake dropped its fourth game in a row and increased its losing streak on the road to five games to start the season, their most since 2014, when the club dropped seven in a row.

Salt Lake has now allowed nine or more runs in three straight games, with Wednesday marking the fourth time this season the Bees have surrendered double-digit runs. Through 11 games, Salt Lake has allowed 94 total runs, the most in franchise history (2006-present) at that point, surpassing last year's mark of 93. Oklahoma City ranks next in 2026 with 65 runs allowed.

Walbert Urena made his second start of the season on Wednesday, pitching five innings, the most by a Salt Lake starter in 2026. He allowed four runs on seven hits with no walks and struck out two.

Nelson Rada turned in a standout performance, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored for his fourth multi-hit game of the season-all four of his games with a hit this year have been multi-hit efforts. Rada also recorded his third career game with three RBI, a new season high, and notched his first triple of the year (fourth career). At just 20 years old, he becomes the youngest player in Triple-A since 2022 to reach four career triples before turning 21.

Vaughn Grissom extended his hitting streak to eight games going 1-for-5 with an RBI tying the second longest active hit streak in the league with Will Brennan of Sacramento, trailing only Drew Swift for Las Vegas (9). In the eight game stretch of his Major League rehab assignment, Grissom is batting .367 (11-for-30) with two doubles, four RBI and an .820 OPS.

Facing his former club, Trey Mancini continued his strong start by launching his second home run of the season, tying Denzer Guzman and Donovan Walton for the team lead. Mancini has now hit safely and scored a run in five consecutive games, with his run-scoring streak ranking second in the league behind Oklahoma City's Hyesong Kim (6). Mancini;s off to a scorching start, batting .345 (10-for-29) with a 1.062 OPS. Dating back to the start of 2025, Mancini has been one of the PCL's most productive hitters in April, tied for third in hits (39) while batting .322 (39-for-121). His 29 runs scored during April 2025 and 2026 rank second in the league, trailing only Jordan Lawler (31).

Nick Madrigal tabbed back-to-back games with a pair of hits going 2-for-4 with two runs scored. In the month of April, Madrigal is batting .375 (6-for-16) with three runs scored and three RBI hitting safely in all but one of his five games this month.

Sebastian Rivero put together his best night of the season going 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. His three night marked his fourth game since 2023 with at least three hits as Wednesday was his first multi-hit performance of the year.

Christian Moore drew his league leading 14th walk of the year collecting the most walks through a team's first 11 games since Ronnie Dawson of Sugar Land in 2021.

Up Next

Salt Lake will look for its first road win of the season on Thursday in game three of the series at Greater Nevada Field with first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m. MST.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 9, 2026


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