Bees Welcome Rainiers for Six-Game Homestand

SALT LAKE BEES (59-72, 22-35) VS. TACOMA RAINIERS (71-61, 34-23) (Seattle Mariners)

The Bees enter their first series at home since mid-April on a two-game winning streak, facing off against the Tacoma Rainiers at Smith’s Ballpark in a six-game series.

REHAB: Los Angeles Angels’ phenom shortstop Zach Neto joins the Bees this week to begin his rehab assignment from a back injury that had him sidelined for more than a month. Neto has been a revelation for LAA this year, making his MLB debut on April 16, 2023, at just 22-years-old to become the first player from the 2022 draft to appear in the Big Leagues. After attending Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, Neto was selected 13th overall by the Angels. In college, he was a two-way player, dominating in the infield and at the plate while also playing part-time as a right-handed pitcher. In 67 games for LA this year, Neto is slashing .241/.315/.411 with eight homers and 30 RBIs while playing stellar defense at shortstop.

WHO TO WATCH: Jordyn Adams, voted the best athlete in the Angels organization for three years running, is showing the league exactly why he’s worthy of the title. At 40 steals, Adams is now just two steals away from breaking the franchise record for steals in a season set by Kean Wong in 2022. He leads the league in bags swiped and has been lighting up the advanced metrics, going from home plate to third base in just 11.31 second on a triple last week, the second-fastest time on a triple in the league this year. Adams was also clocked at 30.1 feet-per-second on a steal in May, the fastest speed reached by any player in the league this year on a steal.

Livan Soto, the 16th ranked prospect in the Angels organization, has been tearing it up in the last month. Since August 8th, Soto ranks in the top 10 in the Pacific Coast League in batting average (.341), OPS (1.012) and slugging percentage (.610). A player not known for his power ability at the plate, Soto has been turning that around with five home runs in his last 70 at-bats.

Jack Lopez terrorized the Rainiers the last time they faced off. He blasted four home runs in the first five games of the series, finishing the affair with a 1.255 OPS.

Brett Kerry, who just joined Salt Lake from Rocket City, was named the Player of the Month for August in the Southern League. He went 2-0 with a 1.70 ERA in six starts across 37 innings, striking out 34 while only walking nine.

NEW FACES: Salt Lake, in accordance with September Call-Ups, have made 14 transactions in the past few days. On Sept. 1, pitchers Kelvin Caceres, Nick Jones, Brett Kerry, Robinson Pina, Kenyon Yovan and infielder Jose Gomez joined the Bees from Rocket City while pitchers Kolton Ingram, Jimmy Herget, Gerardo Reyes, Andrew Wantz and infielder Michael Stefanic were called up to the Angels.

THE OTHER GUYS: The Rainiers enter the series carrying a few faces on their roster and in the coaches’ office. Pitching coach Jairo Cuevas was the pitching coach for Salt Lake in 2021 and 2022, while players Jose Rodriguez and Riley Unroe have both played for the Bees in previous years. Zach DeLoach leads the Tacoma offense among active hitters, batting .283 with 20 homers and 75 RBIs while Jack Scheiner and Cooper Hummel are each batting .256. Salt Lake is 8-10 this season when facing off against the Rainiers. Tommy Milone, scheduled to start on the mound Tuesday, has been effective all year, posting a 4.70 ERA with six wins and 81 strikeouts in 90 innings.

PROMOTIONS:

Tuesday, Sept. 5 - Smith’s Family Night

Wednesday, Sept. 6 - Free Baseball Card

Thursday, Sept. 7 - Thirsty Thursday

Friday, Sept. 8 - Postgame Fireworks

Saturday, Sept. 9 - Postgame Kids Run

Sunday, Sept. 10 - Sunday Brunch

Visit slbees.com for more information.