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PCL Salt Lake Bees

Surging Bees Return Home for Pioneer Weekend Series against Rainiers

July 22, 2022 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Salt Lake Bees News Release


The Salt Lake Bees (42-48) have won five of their last seven games and will look to stay hot coming out of the All-Star Break this weekend as they host the Tacoma Rainiers (38-51). The Bees and the Rainiers are set to play a three-game series Friday through Sunday at Smith's Ballpark with a firework display following each of the three contests.

Salt Lake is coming off of a series against the first-place Las Vegas Aviators in which they won four of six games. All four wins came in a row, marking the Bees' longest road winning streak of the season so far, and it included two shutouts, giving Salt Lake a league-leading five shutouts on the season. The Bees are now 10-8 against the Aviators this season with seven of those wins coming in Las Vegas.

Jose Rojas was the star of the series for the Bees and was even named PCL Player of the Week for his performance. The infielder hit .400 (10-for-25) with four home runs and eight RBI in the series, driving in at least one run in all but the series finale. Sunday ended a streak of 11-straight games with an RBI for Rojas, the longest such streak in all of affiliated baseball (MLB & MiLB). He and Chadwick Tromp of the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers are the only ones to have accomplished the feat in 2022.

Dillon Thomas also hit .400 (10-for-25) in Las Vegas last week and Kean Wong hit .333 (7-for-21) with two home runs. Janson Junk and César Valdez both made quality starts on the mound with Junk striking out seven batters and Valdez striking out eight.

The Salt Lake pitching staff will be starting the second half as the best staff in the PCL. Through 90 games they have an ERA of 4.83, the only team in the league to be below 5.00. The Bees lead the league in shutouts with five and are one of just two teams to have given up less than 100 home runs. They have issued the fewest number of walks as a staff (314) and also lead the PCL in WHIP with a 1.39. Jake Kalish leads the league in wins with eight and Valdez is the PCL WHIP leader with a 1.09. The 37-year-old is also ranked third in ERA with a 3.68.

Magneuris Sierra, Monte Harrison, and Kean Wong all stole at least 20 bases before the break, becoming the first trio of Bees to swipe 20 bags apiece since 2011. The last trio of 20-base stealers was Andrew Romine, Jeremy Moore, and Tyson Auer and the last Bee to steal 20 bases in a season was Eric Young in 2017.

The Rainiers come into the second half as the bottom team in the PCL West with a record of 38-51. The Bees went 8-4 against the Rainiers in their first two matchups, but since have gone 3-6 against the Seattle Mariners' Triple-A affiliate.

Outfielder Jarred Kelenic has been one of Tacoma's hottest hitters, batting .322 over his last 20 games. He has nine doubles, five home runs, and two triples during that time. Utility man Erick Mejia has also been red hot, hitting .347 over his last 18 games with an OPS of 1.004. Right-hander Darren McCaughan, who is scheduled to pitch on Sunday, is ranked sixth in the PCL with 88 strikeouts and third in WHIP with a 1.21. Forrest Wall ranks third in the PCL in stolen bases with 27.

The three-game series gets underway Friday at 6:35 p.m. at Smith's Ballpark. The Pioneer Weekend fireworks show will begin immediately following the conclusion of the game.

Projected Rotation for July 22-24

Friday July 22: RHP Mike Mayers (0-2, 7.36 ERA) vs. LHP Justus Sheffield (3-5, 6.98 ERA)

Saturday July 23: RHP César Valdez (6-4, 3.68 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Mazza (2-1, 6.00 ERA)

Sunday July 24: RHP Touki Toussaint (0-0, 7.36 ERA) vs. RHP Darren McCaughan (6-5, 4.98 ERA)

Check out the Salt Lake Bees Statistics

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