After getting swept against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, the Salt Lake Bees returned home, searching for a spark against the Oklahoma City Comets. However, the hosts faced four Major League pitchers on rehab assignment with the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers over the week-long set. Salt Lake fell in five of the six games, as the losing compounded into a franchise-tying 11-game losing streak before being snapped on Saturday’s Harry Potter Night.
Series recap
Rehabbing MLBers Yusei Kikuchi and Blake Snell created a marquee pitching showdown on Tuesday, taking the Freeway Series to the Farm. However, seven early runs from Oklahoma City soared the visitors to a 10-6 victory. Consecutive four-run frames throttled the Comets to a 12-2 Wednesday win over the Utah Dirty Sodas. Logan Porter’s solo home run and Niko Kavadas’ RBI double helped avoid a shutout in Salt Lake’s ninth straight defeat.
The losing streak increased to 10 on Thursday, despite the Bees holding a 3-1 lead after seven innings. Five unanswered Oklahoma City runs doomed Salt Lake, as it marked four straight home losses. Five walks and 10 hits over the first three innings contributed to an 11-0 advantage that the visitors would not relinquish in an 11-5 Friday night win. Salt Lake made a late charge in the ninth, but it was not enough to avoid a franchise-tying 11th straight loss and fifth consecutive at home.
Salt Lake’s collective team effort, led by Kyren Paris’ first Triple-A multi-homer day, snapped the losing streak at 11 games to win a 14-13 slugfest. Kaleb Ort recorded his first professional five-out save to secure the signature win. Sunday’s contest was another popcorn-worthy pitching matchup as Kikuchi faced off against All-Star right hander Tyler Glasnow. The Bees worked back from a 4-1 deficit, tying the game in the ninth. In extras, Oklahoma City manufactured a run, and held Salt Lake scoreless, ending the game in the 10th on a frozen strikeout with the winning run on base.
The Bees have now lost three straight series and their last five six-game sets. Salt Lake last captured a series victory over Reno in a three-game weekend series coming out of the All-Star Break. Notably, the Beehive State squad also last secured a six-game series win against Reno in Nevada on June 9-14.
Prospect watch
With the trade deadline concluding, Salt Lake got a shakeup with some of the roster’s Top-30 guys. Three Angels Top-30 prospects remain on the roster, and all three appeared in the six-game set against the Dodgers’ highest affiliate. The Halos’ fourth-ranked prospect and second-highest-ranked position player, Nelson Rada, played in four of the six games after struggling in Sugar Land during Salt Lake’s last series.
Rada improved and looked more comfortable despite striking out six times in 18 at-bats. He finished the series 5-for-18 (.278) with a double, three runs scored, a walk and a stolen base. The soon-to-be 21-year-old is now slashing .280/.377/.361 with a .738 OPS. He also surpassed the 100-hit milestone on the season and now sits at 104 hits. Rada was excellent in the field throughout the series, highlighted by no errors, diving catches and multiple run-downs on balls. He hasn’t committed an error since July 26.
Raudi Rodriguez is in his fourth year in the professional ranks, all with the Angels organization. The recently turned 23-year-old has played in 261 career games between Rookie Level, Single-A and Double-A, with 247 of those coming in the outfield. He is the Angels’ 14th-ranked prospect and debuted with the Bees on Aug. 4 after getting called up from Double-A Rocket City. He hit .261 with 14 doubles, 12 homers, two triples and 42 RBIs in 95 games with the Trash Pandas. In five games against the Comets this series, the Dominican Republic native went 5-for-21 with three walks, two runs scored, two stolen bases and an RBI, while striking out just twice. He was excellent in right and center field, committing no errors in his games played.
Joel Hurtado enters his fifth year with the Angels organization and his second season with the Bees. The Dominican Republic native, who is the Angels’ 22nd-ranked prospect, had tallied 326 innings in his career before being called back up to the Bees for this series, spanning from Rookie Ball to Triple-A.
Signing for $10,000 in June 2022, Hurtado has worked his way up through the Angels’ farm system and has 72 career outings across four seasons. With 59 starts, he has shown he can be a starter or long reliever to give the pitching staff length out of the ‘pen. The righty got the starting nod on Friday night and looked uncomfortable, throwing just 1.1 innings while giving up seven runs on six hits, walking three and striking out just one. Hitters hit .600 against him in the game. He’ll look to bounce back in West Texas.
Around the bases
The paddles were out for Pickleball Night on Thursday, while the night sky lit up postgame with the sixth Firework Friday of the season. Wizards and muggles were all welcome to Saturday’s Harry Potter Night, which included special on-field jerseys and a drone show after the first Bees win in 12 tries. Those same jerseys were worn on Sunday as superstitions abounded and the homestand concluded with Bark in the Park. Only 12 home games remain on the schedule, as the season inches closer to the conclusion. A jam-packed homestand is ahead when the Bees return home on Aug. 18, with Big League Utah Night, First Responders Night, College Football Night, Princess Night and the final Abejas Night of the season.
What’s on deck
The Bees make their final trip east to Texas, taking on the El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A, San Diego Padres) in a six-game set in the Sun City. The series begins Tuesday from Southwest University Park at 6:35 p.m. MDT.
