Bees Belt Three Home Runs, Snap Five-Game Skid in 6-3 Win

RENO, NEV. - The Salt Lake Bees snapped a five game losing streak and earned its first road win of the season on Friday night behind three home runs, solid starting pitching from Brett Kerry and a bullpen shutout to secure the 6-3 win.

Salt Lake 6, Reno 3

WP: Samy Natera Jr. (2 - 0)

LP: Dylan Ray (1 - 2)

SV: Tayler Saucedo (1)

Key Performers

Christian Moore: 2-2, 2B, RBI, R, 2 BB

Jose Siri: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, K

Niko Kavadas: 1-2, HR, RBI, R, 3 BB, K

Omar Martinez: 1-4, HR, RBI, R

Game Summary

Salt Lake jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead with runs coming in each frame started by an RBI single into left by Christian Moore after Nelson Rada reached with a single on the first pitch of the game and stole second to get into scoring position.

The Bees extended that advantage in the second behind a familiar source of power from José Siri. Siri jumped on the first pitch he saw and launched a two-run homer to right field, pushing the lead to 3–0. An inning later, Niko Kavadas added to the surge, crushing a solo shot to right on a 2-2 pitch to make it 4–0.

On the mound, Brett Kerry was sharp, working through traffic in the first before settling into a rhythm. He kept Reno off the board through the first three innings, stranding runners in each of the first three innings while gathering five strikeouts in that span.

Reno finally broke through in the fourth when Ivan Melendez connected on a solo home run to left, trimming the deficit to 4–1. The Aces applied more pressure in the fifth, stringing together three hits, including a two-run single from LuJames Groover to cut the Bees lead to 5–3 and chase Kerry from the game.

Salt Lake responded immediately, pushing the lead back to three as Omar Martinez provided a key insurance run, hammering the first pitch he saw off the right-field foul pole for a solo home run to extend the lead to 6–3.

From there, the Bees bullpen took over. Samy Natera Jr., Nick Sandlin, and Tayler Saucedo combined to shut down the Aces over the final four innings, allowing only three hits with no walks and four strikeouts together to secure the 6-3 win in game four.

Game Notes

• The Salt Lake Bees snapped a five game losing streak and earned its first win on the road this season on Friday night.

• For the first time this season the Bees pitching staff held an opponent under four runs while only walking two, its second lowest walk total of the year after only walking one in game two of the doubleheader in game two against Sacramento on April 4. The Bees bullpen dealt its second shutout of the season after previously doing so in a seven inning game on April 4th in game one of the doubleheader against the Rivercats.

• Salt Lake secured its second win of the season while being out-hit, improving to 2–9 in such games after finishing with eight hits to Reno’s ten. The Bees powered the offense with three home runs, matching a season high for a single game and replicating their output from the March 31 home opener against Sacramento. Last season, Salt Lake went 8–3 when hitting three or more homers and 2-0 this season.

• Brett Kerry made his first start of the season after three bullpen appearances, tossing 4.2 innings while allowing three runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts. His six punchouts were the most by a Bees starter this year and matched his career high, previously set against Reno on June 22, 2024.

• Nelson Rada continued his hot stretch, recording his fifth multi-hit game of the season by going 2-for-5 with a run scored, marking his third straight multi-hit performance. Every game he’s recorded a hit this year has also been a multi-hit effort. Rada has now scored in three straight games and seven of his last eight, with his seven runs on the season tying Christian Moore for second-most on the team. Since his August 3 Triple-A call-up, he’s hit .320 while ranking among PCL leaders with 63 hits (third), 40 runs (third), and 21 stolen bases (second).

• Christian Moore turned in a perfect night at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a double, run scored, an RBI, and two walks. It marked his second multi-hit game and fourth contest with multiple walks, while also scoring three times over the last two games. After drawing 14 walks in 30 Triple-A games last season, he already has 16 walks through just 10 games in 2026, the most in all of Triple-A.

• Niko Kavadas smashed his second home run of the season on Friday night in the top of the third going 1-for-2 on the night with an RBI, run scored and a pair of walks. Kavadas’ three walks are the most in a game by him since May 10, 2025 against Sugar Land and fell one shy of his career-best on July 5, 2024 when he was with Worcester (BOS).

• José Siri stayed red-hot at the plate, homering for the second straight game and moving into the team lead with his third of the season. He’s now tied with Vaughn Grissom for the team lead in hits (12), is batting .316 (12-for-38) to start the year, and shares the team lead in RBI (8) with Niko Kavadas.

• Omar Martinez recorded his first home run in a Bees uniform—and the second of his Triple-A career—marking his second hit of the season in six games while also picking up his first RBI of the year.

Up Next

Salt Lake will go for back-to-back wins on Saturday night with game five of the series starting at 5:05 p.m. MST at Greater Nevada Field.