Bees Tally Ninth Consecutive Win, Defeat Chihuahuas

The Salt Lake Bees ran their winning streak to nine consecutive victories with an emphatic 11-6 decision over the visiting El Paso Chihuahuas on Saturday night. The nine-game winning streak is the longest for Salt Lake since 2008 when the team won 13 consecutive games from April 12 to April 27.

The Bees and Chihuahuas traded a pair of runs in the first inning and El Paso pushed a run across in the third and fourth innings to take a 3-1 lead. From the fifth inning on it was all Bees as Chad Wallach tied the game with a two-run homer in the frame and Charles Leblanc put the Bees up for good with a ground-rule double. In the sixth Elliot Soto hit a sacrifice fly and Wallach drove in another run on a double. The Bees offense continued to pour it on in the seventh with three more runs and then added another pair of insurance runs in the eighth to put the game well out of reach.

Chad Wallach obliterates a 445-foot NUKE and we're level 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EeK094F4Nu

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) July 28, 2024

Offensively, a handful of Bees had a strong day at the plate as Jason Martin, Leblanc, Jack Lopez, and Wallach all put together multi-hit performances. Wallach was responsible for more than a third of Salt Lake's runs, driving in four Bees to lead all hitters. Leblanc totaled a pair of two-baggers while the team racked up six extra-base hits for the game.

In his Bees debut two-time All-Star and 2015 World Series winner Johnny Cueto allowed three runs over five innings of work to take home the win. Cueto was backed by Zach Plesac who took the Bees the rest of the way with four innings of relief allowing a single earned run earning a 12-out save.

The Bees will try to finish off a series sweep of the Chihuahuas and run the streak up to 10 games Sunday afternoon with first pitch coming at 1:05 p.m.