Salt Lake vs Sugar Land Series Recap
PCL Salt Lake Bees

Salt Lake vs Sugar Land Series Recap

Published on April 20, 2026 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Salt Lake Bees News Release


Home Series #2

Apr. 14-19 Split 3-3

Game 1 - Salt Lake 8, Sugar Land 3 WP: Angel Perdomo (1 - 0) LP: Sam Carlson (0 - 1)

SV: None

Sugar Land struck first on an error and wild pitch, but Salt Lake answered immediately, taking a 2-1 lead in the first without a hit thanks to walks and hit-by-pitches. After Sugar Land regained the lead on a two-run homer by CJ Alexander in the third, the Bees responded with three runs of their own, highlighted by a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, a sac fly from Sebastian Rivero, and an RBI single by Yolmer Sánchez. Salt Lake added two more in the sixth on walks and an error, then capped scoring in the seventh with Christian Moore's triple setting up a sac fly by Nelson Rada. The Bees bullpen dominated down the stretch, retiring 20 of the final 21 batters, as Hunter Strickland closed out the win with a three up three down final frame.

Game 2 - Salt Lake 9, Sugar Land 8 (12 inn.) WP: Dylan Phillips (3 - 0) LP: Logan VanWey (1 - 1)

SV: None

Sugar Land struck first and built a 5-1 lead behind a pair of home runs from CJ Alexander and a solo blast from Jack Winkler. Utah answered in the fifth, cutting the deficit to one on Christian Moore's two-run homer and an RBI double from Niko Kavadas. The Dirty Sodas carried that momentum into the sixth, tying the game on a sacrifice fly before Nelson Rada gave them the lead with a two-run inside-the-park home run. Sugar Land battled back to even the score late, forcing extra innings after a ninth-inning run. Both teams traded missed opportunities through the 10th and 11th before the Space Cowboys pushed across a run in the 12th. Utah had the final answer, as Moore delivered a walk-off two-run knock to cap a 12-inning, back-and-forth win--extending the Dirty Sodas' winning streak to three games.

Game 3 - Sugar Land 12, Salt Lake 6 WP: Sam Carlson (1 - 1) LP: Kaleb Ort (0 - 1)

SV: None

Sugar Land wasted no time jumping in front, plating seven runs on three home runs in the opening inning and never looking back. The Space Cowboys extended the lead to 8-0 after two before Salt Lake began to chip away, scoring in three straight frames to cut the deficit in half. A pair of RBI groundouts in the third got the Bees on the board, while Chris Taylor and Donovan Walton followed with RBI doubles in the fourth and fifth to bring Salt Lake within four.

Sugar Land answered with two runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth, with Riley Unroe driving in a pair during that stretch. The Bees showed late life in the ninth as four consecutive hitters reached base, leading to two runs, but the rally fell short as Salt Lake dropped game three 12-6.

Game 4 - Sugar Land 2, Salt Lake 1 WP: Josh Hendrickson (1 - 0) LP: Caden Dana (0 - 1)

SV: Alimber Santa (1)

Salt Lake managed just three baserunners in game one, with Trey Mancini's second-inning double accounting for their only early offense as 16 of the first 17 hitters were retired. Sugar Land broke through in the fourth, scoring twice on three straight two-out hits, highlighted by Jax Biggers' two-run double. Caden Dana kept the Bees in it with six strong innings and seven strikeouts, earning the team's first quality start of the season. Salt Lake cut the deficit to 2-1 in the sixth when Denzer Guzman drove in Yolmer Sánchez, but couldn't capitalize late. Despite a scoreless seventh from Jared Southard, the Bees were shut down in the final frame as Sugar Land secured the win and evened the series.

Game 5 - Salt Lake 8, Sugar Land 3 WP: Jose Fermin (1 - 0) LP: Jason Alexander (0 - 1)

SV: None

James Nelson stayed hot, opening the scoring just two pitches into the game with a 348-foot homer to right-center. Salt Lake quickly answered in the bottom of the first, taking a 3-1 lead behind RBI singles from Donovan Walton and Chris Taylor, along with Nelson Rada scoring to spark the rally. The Bees extended their lead on Rada's sacrifice fly, bringing in Nick Madrigal.

Tayler Saucedo provided solid relief with two innings of one-run ball without allowing a hit. Salt Lake then broke it open in the sixth, adding four runs on two bases-loaded walks and a two-run double from Taylor, securing the win and Jose Fermin's first victory of the season.

Game 6 - Sugar Land 7, Salt Lake 4 (10 inn.) WP: Alimber Santa (2 - 0) LP: Hunter Strickland (0 - 2)

SV: Robbery Munoz (1)

Sugar Land jumped out early with a first-inning RBI single and Colin Price's second-inning solo homer to take a 2-0 lead. Salt Lake responded in the third with Jeimer Candelario's RBI, but left the bases loaded, missing a chance to do more damage. George Klassen settled in, allowing just one unearned run into the fifth, while Houston Harding escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. The Bees had multiple opportunities to tie it but stranded key runners in both the sixth and seventh innings. After Sugar Land added a run in the seventh, Salt Lake rallied in the eighth.

Jose Siri scored on aggressive baserunning, and Donovan Walton delivered a clutch two-out, two-run homer to tie the game at 4-4. Both teams threw scoreless ninths to force extras. In the 10th, Sugar Land capitalized on two hits and two Bees errors to score three runs. Salt Lake loaded the bases in the bottom half, but Walton couldn't come through again, ending the game and securing a series split.

Notable Performers

- Denzer Guzman: 8-22 (.364), 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, .936 OPS

- Nelson Rada: 6-18 (.333), HR, 2B, 7 R, 4 RBI, SB, .973 OPS

- Omar Martinez: 5-15 (.333), 3 R, .745 OPS

- Chris Taylor: 5-14 (.357), 2 2B, 4 RBI, R, .971 OPS

- Donovan Walton: 5-20 (.250), HR, 2 2B, 7 R, 5 RBI, .875 OPS

- Dylan Phillips: 1 G, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 2 H, R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

- Jared Southard: 3 G, 0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

- Jose Fermin: 2 G, 1-0, 2.45 ERA, 3.2 IP, 3 H, R, 0 BB, 6 K

- Caden Dana: 1 GS, QS, 0-1, 3.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K

Upcoming Series

Salt Lake at Las Vegas

Tuesday, April 21 - 8:05 p.m. MDT

Wednesday, April 22 - 8:05 p.m. MDT

Thursday, April 23 - 8:05 p.m. MDT

Friday, April 24 - 8:05p.m. MDT

Saturday, April 25 - 8:05 p.m. MDT

Sunday, April 26 - 1:05 p.m. MDT

Check out the Salt Lake Bees Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 20, 2026


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