Madrigal Knocks in Three, Bees Earn 6-5 Victory

SOUTH JORDAN, UT. - The Salt Lake Bees earned a 6-5 victory on Friday night using a four-run seventh inning on five walks and a hit by pitch to surge ahead on a night where Nick Madrigal used a pair of sacrifice flies including three runs batted in to help Salt Lake take a 2-1 series lead.

Salt Lake 6, Sacramento 5

WP: Dylan Phillips (1 - 0)

LP: Braxton Roxby (1 - 1)

SV: José Fermin (1)

Key Performers

Jose Siri: 2-3, 3B, RBI, R, BB

Nick Madrigal: 1-2, 3 RBI, K

Dylan Phillips: W, 2.0 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 2 K

Game Summary

Friday’s game began with a pitchers duel between young Angels prospect Walbert Urena River Cats southpaw Carson Whisenhunt. The game saw no score through the first three innings with four strikeouts each coming from both pitchers.

In the top of the third, Sacramento became the first to impose its will as Jesus Rodriguez came through with an RBI single to right, scoring Nate Furman who had reached on a walk and advanced into scoring position with a stolen base to give the River Cats a 1-0 advantage.

Sacramento struck again in the fourth taking advantage of a pair of one out walks ending Urena’s day on the mound. Osleivis Basabe lined a single to left field to bring home Victor Bericoto, extending the lead to 2-0.

Salt Lake broke through in the fifth inning as Jose Siri sparked the rally with the team’s first triple of the season, driving it into the right field corner. Moments later, Nick Madrigal brought him home with a sacrifice fly, cutting Sacramento’s lead to 2-1.

The Bees threatened to do even more damage, loading the bases with the help of a pair of walks, but the rally came to a halt when Vaughn Grissom hit a sharp comebacker to the pitcher, ending the inning and leaving three runners stranded.

Salt Lake continued its push in the sixth inning as Matthew Lugo and Jose Siri delivered back-to-back one-out singles, with Siri’s knock moving Lugo up to third to set the table. Once again, Madrigal came through with a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Lugo home and tying the game at 2-2. The inning ended shortly after on a groundout by Sebastián Rivero, but not before the Bees evened things up, though two runners were left stranded.

The Bees separated themselves in the following frame sending nine to the plate in large part due to five straight free passes, four walks and one hit by pitch setting up Madrigal’s RBI infield single followed by another bases loaded walk to take a 6-2 lead.

In the top of the eighth, the River Cats erased the four-run deficit bringing nine to the plate of their own putting together a three-run rally. Osleivis Basabe ignited the scoring with a two-run double, his second knock of the night while Nate Furman followed with an RBI single to cut the Bees lead to one.

Jose Fermin finished off the ninth earning the four-out save, the teams first of the year with a three up-three down frame giving the Bees the upper hand in the series.

Game Notes

• Salt Lake earns its second win of the year (2-4) in a narrow one run victory where the club was 13-17 in one run decisions a year ago.

• The Salt Lake offense tied a season-high with nine walks on the night including five walks and a hit by pitch in the seventh falling one walk shy of tying a franchise record for most walks in an inning by an opponent that was set on Tuesday of this series.

• Jose Siri extended his hot start to the season with his second straight multi-hit game and third overall, going 2-for-3 with a triple, the team’s first of the year while adding an RBI and a run scored. He currently leads Salt Lake in hits, off to a 7-for-14 (.500) start, and ranks fourth in the PCL with a 1.492 OPS.

• Nick Madrigal drove in Triple-A career-high three runs, doing so on an infield single and a pair of sacrifice flies. He became the first Bee to record three RBIs via an infield hit and multiple sacrifice flies since Charles Leblanc in 2024. Madrigal’s three RBIs were his first of the season and also marked just the second time in his professional career that he has recorded three RBIs in a game, previously accomplishing the feat on April 2, 2024, with the Chicago Cubs against the Colorado Rockies.

• Walbert Ureña got off to a strong start in his second Triple-A appearance, striking out four of the first seven batters he faced. He finished with 3.2 innings pitched, recording five strikeouts while walking four and allowing two runs on two hits.

Up Next

The Salt Lake Bees and Sacramento River Cats will meet twice on Saturday in a doubleheader that begins at 4:05 p.m. with the second game following 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first.