Rivero Homers, Kerry Shines as Bees Top Express

ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Salt Lake Bees took game one of the series behind 14 hits and Sebastian Rivero’s go-ahead home run in the sixth while Brett Kerry delivered his fourth quality start of the season in the 7-2 victory over the Express.

Salt Lake Bees 7, Round Rock Express 2

WP: Brett Kerry (6 - 8)

LP: Josh Sborz (1 - 2)

Game Summary

Salt Lake struck first in the third inning when Nelson Rada doubled and later scored on a Carter Kieboom sacrifice fly. Round Rock quickly answered with two runs on a Trevor Hauver double to take a 2–1 lead.

The Bees pulled even in the fourth as Scott Kingery stole second and forced a throw that allowed Cavan Biggio to score on a wild pitch.

In the sixth, Rivero provided the go-ahead swing with a solo home run to left, and Ben Gamel added an RBI double to put Salt Lake up 4–2.

Salt Lake’s offense sealed the game in the eighth with a three-run outburst. Rivero singled to start the rally, Rada collected his fourth hit of the night then Chad Stevens drove in two with a double, and Kieboom capped it with an RBI single to center.

Salt Lake held Round Rock scoreless in the final six innings as Brett Kerry earned the win, tossing six innings of two-run ball while scattering four hits. The Bees bullpen of José Quijada and Victor González kept Round Rock off the board over the final three frames.

Game Notes

• Salt Lake won its second straight series opener and snapped a five-game series opener losing streak to Round Rock on the road winning its first game one against the Express at Dell Diamond since 2013.
• Salt Lake tallied 14 hits, its most since August 8 against Las Vegas moving to 27-21 when having double digit hits and 30-14 when outhitting its opponent.
• Brett Kerry set a Triple-A career-high 90.0 innings pitched with his fourth quality start of the year. Kerry went seven innings, his most since June 22 against Sacramento where he went 7.1 allowing his fewest hits since that game with four and only two runs allowed with seven strikeouts marking his third start this year with at least seven strikeouts. Over his last four starts (23.0 IP), Kerry is 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA, three walks and 23 strikeouts.
• Nelson Rada notched his first Triple-A four-hit game and the second of his professional career after going 4-for-5 with Inland Empire (A-) on May 4, 2023. Rada has collected seven hits over his last two games and picked up his eighth multi-hit performance in his 20th Triple-A game with the Bees this season. Since making his debut on August 3, Rada is second in the league with 28 hits behind CJ Alexander of Oklahoma City and ties Esteury Ruiz for the league lead in steals with 13.
• Sebastian Rivero went 3-for-5 hitting his ninth home run of the season and first in the month of August. Rivero collected his second-highest hit total of the season coming one shy of his most set back on May 16 in Sacramento when he went 4-for-5.
• Carter Kieboom continued his hot stretch at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. The streak marks his longest of the season, surpassing an eight-game run from April 3–13. Over the 10-game span, Kieboom is batting .421 (16-for-38) with four doubles, eight RBIs, five runs scored, and a 1.079 OPS.
• Chad Stevens tallied his sixth multi-hit game of August and a team-leading 32nd of the season, going 2-for-5 with his 20th double of the year. He joined Matthew Lugo as the only Bees players with 20 or more doubles this season. Stevens also drove in multiple runs for the 15th time, tying Lugo for the team lead in multi-RBI games. Stevens is one of seven players in the league to have at least 100 hits, 20 doubles and 17 home runs while tying Tyler Locklear with the most stolen bases among that group with 18.

Up Next

Salt Lake and Round Rock will gear up for game two of the series on Wednesday night with first pitch slated for 6:05 p.m. MST at Dell Diamond.