Salt Lake’s Late Rally Falls Short on Friday Night

SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - Salt Lake scored four unanswered runs, but it was just short as Round Rock escaped with a 5-4 Friday night victory. The Bees got the winning run aboard in the ninth, however they could not overcome an early 5-0 margin.

Round Rock 5, Salt Lake 4

WP: Dalton Pence (4-1)

LP: Caden Dana (4-6)

SV: Ben Peoples (1)

Key Performers

Nelson Rada: 3-4, 2 RBI

Niko Kavadas: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K

Cade Marlowe: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, BB

Game Summary

The Bees loaded the bases in the opening frame via three walks, but could not cash in. That would prove to be the lone threat by either side in the early goings, as Round Rock’s Dalton Pence and Salt Lake’s Caden Dana each fired three hitless innings.

Three straight one-out hits in the fourth ended the stalemate, which saw the Express score twice for a 2-0 lead. Dana walked three batters, including one that scored a run, ending his evening with 3.2 innings.

Nelson Rada broke up the no-hitter with a two-out single in the home half, then swiped his 37th steal of the campaign. A walk put two runners on with two outs, but a groundball ended the opportunity. Round Rock added onto their lead in the fifth with a pair of two-out runs to make it 5-0. A trio of walks, a hit and a throwing error contributed to the visitors’ scores.

Pence exited after five complete innings, giving way for the Bees to get on the board. Against the first Express reliever, the middle of the order compiled a string of singles, capped with Rada’s RBI knock to get the hosts on the board, 5-1.

Zeros from Rob Kaminsky and Hagen Danner kept the Bees in the contest into the eighth inning. After Cade Marlowe singled, Niko Kavadas doubled to the deepest part of the yard to cut into the deficit at 5-2. A groundout moved Kavadas 90 feet that allowed him to score on Rada’s second RBI single of the night to trim the margin to 5-3.

Najer Victor fired another zero in the ninth, looking to generate momentum for his team’s offense. A walk sandwiched between two strikeouts brought the tying run to the plate. Marlowe delivered a double to right that closed the gap to 5-4. Kavadas was intentionally walked, placing the winning run aboard with two outs. Ben Gobbel sent a fly ball deep into center, which was run down by the centerfielder to snuff out the rally and seal a victory for the visiting Express.

Game Notes

• Salt Lake falls to 16-9 overall and 8-5 at home on Friday. It continues to be their most successful day with their only other winning day being Tuesday (12-11).

• Salt Lake swiped two bases tonight giving them 180 on the year ranking second in the PCL to Albuquerque’s 194. Salt Lake’s 180 stolen bases match a franchise record set in 2016 and head into Saturday one away from setting the single-season franchise record.

• The Bees fall to 45-10 overall and 26-4 at home in games they outhit the opponent. Salt Lake's previous defeat when outhitting an opponent occurred on Sept. 2, when they were outhit 7-6 in a 3-1 setback against Sacramento.

• Caden Dana threw 3.2 innings tonight with three runs allowed. The righty walked five for the fourth time this season (last: August 5 vs. Oklahoma City) with two strikeouts. His second punchout marked his 170th Triple-A strikeout as well as the 455th in his professional career. Dana walked five batters for the third time this season. The last time he allowed that number of free passes was Aug. 5 against Oklahoma City.

• Raudi Rodriguez drew a leadoff walk to start the Bees’ licks, moving his on-base streak to three games. He continues to enjoy playing in Utah, holding a .956 OPS in home games. The centerfielder also swiped his seventh base at Triple-A and is now 3-for-3 on the basepaths in 13 home games. Another walk gave Rodriguez his second Triple-A game with multiple walks (August 16 at El Paso).

• Cade Marlowe’s free pass pushed his on-base streak to six games. He has reached in 29 of the 33 games he has played as a Salt Lake Bee. Marlowe’s eighth-inning single increased his hit streak to six games, his longest with Salt Lake. He has scored in back-to-back games, coming home on Kavadas’ double. The outfielder doubled in the ninth, his fourth straight game with a two-bagger and the fifth across his last six games. Marlowe’s current streak of doubles is the longest active in professional baseball.

• Reaching on the third walk of the first inning was Ben Gobbel. He has gotten aboard safely in consecutive games. A sixth-inning single made it consecutive games with a knock and improved his home game hitting average to .305 (30-for-90).

• Nelson Rada collected a three-hit ledger, his 36th multi-hit performance this season. His first knock snapped an 0-for-24 slump at the plate, with his last base knock coming on September 1 at Sacramento in the first inning. Rada had reached four times (three walks, one HBP) over the course of the stretch. His second single drove home the Bees’ first run, an RBI knock to left field. Rada’s third single cut into the deficit at 5-3 and gave him his ninth multi-RBI effort.

• Bryce Teodosio saw ball four, courtesy of an ABS challenge, reaching first base for the second straight game.

• Arol Vera reached on a walk, marking his first time on base since September 3 at Sacramento when he collected a third-inning single.

• Niko Kavadas singled in the sixth, his second straight game with a base hit. He scored twice tonight, doing so in consecutive contests. The infielder doubled to the deepest part of the park, going 410 feet for his 19th two-bagger of the season. Kavadas has tallied six extra-base hits in September, tied for fourth in the PCL.

• Brady Choban allowed two runs (one unearned) on three walks in one inning of work. He has surrendered scores in each of his last four outings and has issued 11 combined free passes over his last five appearances.

• Alex Faedo sat down all four Express hitters he faced tonight, recording his third scoreless outing in September. The Florida Gator has been solid in the month, holding a 1.69 ERA.

• Rob Kaminsky stacked another scoreless outing and now has four straight (4.1 IP worth). The southpaw has yet to allow a run in September and holds a 1.04 ERA dating back to August 18 (last nine outings).

• A scoreless eighth tonight marked Hagen Danner’s second straight shutout effort. He has tallied zeroes in four of his last five appearances. Danner’s current scoreless streak sits at two innings.

• Najer Victor recorded his second scoreless appearance in his fifth game back off the injured list. Two of them have come in his past three outings. Victor has strikeouts in 10 straight games and notched his 115th at the Minor League level.

Up Next

Salt Lake and Round Rock square off on Saturday night in the penultimate home game of the 2026 season. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. MDT from The Ballpark at America First Square.