Bees Score 10 Unanswered but Comeback Falls Short in 12-10 Loss

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PCL Salt Lake Bees

Bees Score 10 Unanswered but Comeback Falls Short in 12-10 Loss

June 17, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Salt Lake Bees News Release


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Nate Thompson Communications Manager Salt Lake Bees cell: 620.762.1547

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-- SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - The Salt Lake Bees scored 10 unanswered runs in three of the final four innings despite seeing its comeback fall short losing 12-10 and dropping its eighth straight game on Tuesday night in the series opener against the Sacramento Rivero Cats.

Sacramento River Cats 12, Salt Lake Bees 10

WP: Carson Whisenhunt (7 - 4)

LP: Brett Kerry (1 - 4)

SV: Ryan Watson (2)

Game Summary

Sacramento opened game one of the series with a jolt as Wade Meckler led off the game with a triple and came around to score on Grant McCray's sacrifice fly to left.

The River Cats broke things open in the third inning, erupting for seven runs on five straight hits -- including back-to-back home runs from Bryce Eldridge and Marco Luciano. Drew Cavanaugh capped the outburst with a two-out two-run shot, his first of the season, to give Sacramento a commanding 8-0 lead.

Sacramento padded its lead with four more runs over the next three innings, including Grant McCray's fourth-inning home run -- the team's fourth of the night -- and a three-run sixth to make it 12-0.

Salt Lake answered with its highest-scoring inning since June 7, plating four runs in the bottom of the sixth to break the shutout. Matthew Lugo beat out an infield single to jumpstart the rally, and Chad Stevens collected his third hit of the night. J.D. Davis and Yolmer Sánchez followed with a pair of doubles to fuel the surge, cutting the deficit to 12-4 after six.

Salt Lake's bats stayed hot in the following frame as Kyren Paris led off with his first hit of the night. Chad Stevens kept the inning alive with a two-out single for his fourth hit of the game setting the stage for J.D. Davis, who launched his ninth home run of the season to left-center, trimming the deficit to 12-7.

The Bees' offensive surge continued in the eighth with three more runs to cut Sacramento's lead to just two. Chad Wallach opened the inning with Salt Lake's fourth straight leadoff hit, doubling to right. After back-to-back strikeouts, Kyren Paris kept the rally alive with an RBI single, and Matthew Lugo was hit by a pitch. Niko Kavadas then came through in the clutch, ripping a two-run double off the left-center wall to bring Salt Lake within 12-10 -- all ten runs coming across the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings.

Salt Lake relievers Jared Southard, Kenyon Yovan, and Carson Fulmer held Sacramento scoreless over the final three innings, allowing just two hits and combining for three strikeouts to set the stage for a potential ninth-inning comeback.

The Bees aimed to complete their comeback after scoring 10 unanswered runs between the sixth and eighth innings, but River Cats closer Ryan Watson shut the door with a perfect ninth, securing a 12-10 win for Sacramento in Tuesday night's series opener.

Game Notes

Salt Lake dropped its eighth straight game, falling to 26-43 on the season and 3-17 over its last 20 contests. Tuesday's 12-4 defeat marked the 18th time this season Salt Lake has allowed 10 or more runs in a game -- the most in the Pacific Coast League.

The Bees have allowed at least five runs in every game during the losing streak, surrendering eight or more in eight of their last nine. Opponents have homered in seven straight games, with Salt Lake giving up a combined nine long balls over the last two contests.

The eight straight loss marks the third time this season the Bees have endured a losing streak of at least seven games, now sitting just one game shy of their season-high skid of nine.

The top of the third proved to be the turning point on Tuesday after a seven run inning by Sacramento. Salt Lake has allowed six or more runs in a single inning for the fourth time in its last eight games as Bees starters have now surrendered five or more runs in eight consecutive outings.

The Bees' comeback fell short after scoring 10 unanswered runs between the sixth and eighth innings, suffering their first loss of the season when scoring double digits (now 7-1). Salt Lake tied its third-highest hit total of the year with 15 and dropped to 16-11 when outhitting its opponent.

Chad Stevens recorded his second four-hit game of the season -- both coming in back-to-back homestands -- and added a pair of doubles for the second time this year. He's batting .456 (21-for-46) over his last 11 home games and .368 over his last 22 overall, hitting safely in 19 of those, including a 16-game hitting streak.

J.D. Davis notched his fifth multi-hit game of June, highlighted by a three-run homer -- his ninth of the season -- in the seventh inning. He finished with a season-high five RBI, joining Tucker Flint as the only Bees to reach that mark this year. Through 10 games in June, Davis is batting .325 with a team-best four home runs, 11 RBI, and nine runs scored.

Kyren Paris went 2-for-5, recording his third multi-hit game with Salt Lake since joining the team on May 27. He scored multiple runs for the fourth time this season and picked up his first RBI since June 8 against Round Rock. Paris has reached base in 16 of his 19 games with the Bees.

Chad Wallach logged his first multi-hit game of the season in just his third appearance with the Bees, going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. It was his fifth double of the year and marked his second straight game with a run.

Niko Kavadas extended his hot stretch with a double in the eighth, hitting safely for the fifth time in his last six games. The double -- his 11th of the season -- ties him with Yolmer Sánchez and Chad Stevens for the team lead. Kavadas drove in two runs, marking his 10th multi-RBI game of the year, just one behind team leader Chad Stevens (11).

Brett Kerry made his sixth start of the season, lasting 2.2 innings -- tying a season low -- while allowing eight runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. It was his fourth straight outing surrendering seven hits and his second consecutive start allowing three home runs.

Up Next

Salt Lake will look to snap its eight-game skid on Wednesday night as Caden Dana goes for the Bees against Trevor McDonald for the River Cats with first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m. MST at The Ballpark at America First Square.

Check out the Salt Lake Bees Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from June 17, 2025


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