Dana Deals, Bullpen Shuts Door on Reno

SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - The Salt Lake Bees advanced to over .500 for the first time this season thanks to a stellar performance from the entire pitching staff who tallied a season-high 15 strikeouts in the 5-2 win over Reno.

Salt Lake Bees 5, Reno Aces 2

WP: Caden Dana (1 - 1)

LP: Cristian Mena (1 - 1)

Game Summary

Trey Mancini opened the scoring for Reno in the second inning with a solo blast to right, giving the Aces a short-lived 1–0 lead. Salt Lake responded immediately — Ryan Noda crushed a solo homer of his own knotting things at 1–1.

The game broke open in Salt Lake’s half of the third as Chad Stevens and Zach Neto took back-to-back walks before Matthew Lugo drove in Stevens with a single. Back-to-back RBI singles by Niko Kavadas and Carter Kieboom extended the lead to 4–1. The Bees racked up three runs on three hits and put the pressure squarely on Reno.

Dana battled through traffic in the fourth, stranding two runners after Mancini’s single. He worked through five strong innings with nine strikeouts, allowing just one earned run and earning his first win of the year.

In the sixth, Bryce Teodosio jump-started the inning with a double. Robinson followed with a booming double of his own, driving in Teodosio to make it 5–1.

Salt Lake’s bullpen — consisting of Kenyon Yovan and Luke Murphy — shut the door in four combined innings. Reno scratched across a run in the eighth off a Trey Mancini fielder’s choice, but the Bees snuffed out any rally. Despite allowing a leadoff single in the ninth, Murphy retired the final three batters to seal the win.

Game Notes

• Salt Lake improved to 7-6 on the season Friday night, moving above .500 for the first time this year.
• The Bees' pitching staff was dominant, racking up 15 total strikeouts—just one shy of their season-high set on April 4 against Tacoma. Leading the charge was Los Angeles Angels’ No. 2 prospect Caden Dana, who turned in a stellar second start of the season. Dana allowed just one run on five hits over his outing, striking out nine—his highest total since fanning 10 on July 26, 2024, while with Rocket City.
• Kenyon Yovan continued his early-season dominance out of the bullpen, tossing two hitless innings and notching three strikeouts. It marked his third consecutive scoreless appearance and his first outing of the year without allowing a hit.
• Carter Kieboom stayed red-hot at the plate, going 2-for-4 to notch his fifth multi-hit game of the season and extend his hitting streak to six games. He now leads the Pacific Coast League in both batting average (.457) and on-base percentage (.500).
• Gustavo Campero kept his hit streak intact, extending it to 13 games with a 1-for-4 performance. His 20 hits on the season rank second in the PCL, trailing only Blake Crim of Round Rock.
• Niko Kavadas added to his impressive run, going 1-for-3 and driving in his team-leading 13th RBI of the season with a third-inning single. Kavadas has now hit safely in seven straight games.
• Ryan Noda provided an early spark with a solo homer in the second inning to tie the game at one. He finished the night 1-for-4, recording his second home run of the season and helping Salt Lake tally its fourth long ball in the past five games.
• Chuckie Robinson continued his strong stretch behind the plate, going 1-for-2 after replacing Sebastian Rivero. Robinson has now driven in at least one run in four straight games, bringing his season RBI total to nine.
• Zach Neto posted a 1-for-3 performance while making his second consecutive start at shortstop. He extended both his hitting and run-scoring streaks to five straight games.

Up Next

Salt Lake and Reno will square off for game five of the series on Saturday afternoon in the first ever day game at The Ballpark at America First Square slated for 1:05 p.m.