Dozier's Record Night Leads Bees to 15-2 Rout of Sacramento
The Salt Lake Bees returned to Smith’s Ballpark in grand fashion on Tuesday evening, trouncing the Sacramento River Cats in the first game of their homestand by a final score of 15-2 behind a franchise record-setting nine-RBI performance by Hunter Dozier.
The Salt Lake Bees returned to Smith’s Ballpark in grand fashion on Tuesday evening, trouncing the Sacramento River Cats in the first game of their homestand by a final score of 15-2 behind a franchise record-setting nine-RBI performance by Hunter Dozier.
Bee Hunter Dozier, Bee a record holder 🐝
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 8, 2024
The @Angels infielder records a 9-RBI game, marking the new single-game record in @SaltLakeBees franchise history. pic.twitter.com/NI6UYBbMYV
Dozier got his career day started in his second at bat of the night, tagging a three-run home run off the foul pole in right field to put the exclamation point on what turned out to be a six-run third inning for Salt Lake. The Bees third baseman tacked two more RBIs onto his total in the fourth on a line drive right up the middle, and just one frame later, he made it eight by crushing his second three-run dinger of the day 427 feet out to left field. Dozier got one last crack at making history in the seventh inning and made it count, driving in Elliot Soto from second base for his record-breaking ninth RBI of the night. The previous high for any Salt Lake player was eight, done by Sean Rodriguez in 2008, Robb Quinlan in 2002, A.J. Pierzynski in 2000 and Bernardo Brito and Scott Stahoviak in 1994. It was also the first nine-RBI game by any player in the PCL since May 30, 2021, when Oklahoma City’s Luke Raley accomplished the feat against El Paso.
History!
— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) May 8, 2024
Hunter Dozier has set a new Salt Lake franchise record with his NINTH RBI of the day! pic.twitter.com/9smMFnkKQi
Beyond just Dozier, the Bees got strong offensive performances up and down the roster. Charles Leblanc went 3-for-4 at the plate with his second homer of the year, Jack Lopez notched three hits and two doubles out of the nine spot in the order, and Andy Blake and Jason Martin joined in on the fun with multi-hit performances of their own. On the other side of the ball, Kenny Rosenberg worked around six walks to finish five scoreless innings, and the trio of Kenyon Yovan, Travis MacGregor and Bryan Shaw allowed just one earned run over the final four innings of the game.
The Bees will now try to carry the momentum from this performance into their matinee game against the River Cats on Wednesday, with Zach Plesac set to take the ball to start things off at 12:05 p.m.