Bees Bullets: Keith Johnson Becomes Franchise All-Time Wins Leader

Apr 7, 2023, 9:13 AM

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY – Keith Johnson sets a milestone while Jo Adell homers in three straight games to get the Salt Lake Bees first road trip of 2023 started right.

In his third stint as manager of the Bees, Johnson picked up his 472nd win, surpassing Phil Roof for the most in franchise history.

With tonight’s victory Keith Johnson has 472 career victories as Bees manager, passing Phil Roof for the most in franchise history!

Congrats KJ! pic.twitter.com/xT5xcZYnIc

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 7, 2023

Salt Lake’s eight home runs are the fifth most in the PCL with Jo Adell’s three bombs tying for the second most in the league.

The Bees enter the weekend with a 4-2 record, trailing only Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate Oklahoma City (5-1).

.@Chase_Silseth starting off the season strong.🐝 pic.twitter.com/il73N1S9QO

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 1, 2023

Chase Silseth (1-0, 0.00 ERA) is expected to start for Salt Lake tonight facing Jeff Criswell (1-0, 0.00 ERA). Silseth started on Opening Day for the Bees last week. In his first Triple-A appearance, Silseth threw five scoreless innings while striking out six and walking one.

Game One

Albuquerque completed their comeback from a 5-1 deficit, scoring six runs unanswered runs and dropping the Bees to .500 with a 7-5 loss.

Jo Adell’s first home run of the year gave Salt Lake a 2-0 lead two batters into the game.

Jo Adell wasted NO TIME getting us started tonight. pic.twitter.com/MljUIZNjDS

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 5, 2023

Three innings later, Kevin Padlo gave Salt Lake a 3-0 lead with his first homer in a Bees uniform. Albuquerque answered with a run in the bottom half to make it 3-1.

Trey Cabbage joined the home run parade in the seventh, depositing a baseball 450 feet away for his first long ball of the season. Later in the frame, Chad Wallach picked up his third run batted in with a sac fly that scored Taylor Jones from third and gave Salt Lake a 5-1 lead.

. @treycabbage sends one clear out of the park and gives Salt Lake it’s 3RD home run of the night! pic.twitter.com/GqpLBqXCLP

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 5, 2023

Albuquerque exploded for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score. Brenton Doyle hit a two-run home run and Michael Toglia scored two with a triple to right. All four runs came off of Aaron Hernandez in his second appearance with the Bees.

Nolan Jones finished the comeback with a game-winning two-RBI double off Jacob Webb (0-1). Fernando Abad (1-0) got the win with Nick Mears locking down his first save in the ninth.

The Bees were limited to four hits in the game, all of the extra-base variety. Taylor Jones added a double to go along with the team’s three home runs.

Game Two

The Bees improved to 3-2 with a come from behind 4-2 road win on Wednesday night,

The Isotopes held a 2-0 lead after two innings that Jo Adell cut in half with his second homer of the year in the third.

2nd night in a row for Jo!🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/u8Cnge3rvF

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 6, 2023

Trey Cabbage’s first triple in the sixth evened the score at two.

Adell struck again in the seventh with a double to center that scored Livan Soto, giving Salt Lake a 3-2 lead. Two innings later, another former top MLB prospect Mickey Moniak gave the Bees all the insurance they would need with a single that brought home Andrew Velazquez.

César Valdez (1-0) got his first win with 2.1 innings of hitless baseball in relief. Chris Devenski (0-1) took the loss while Justin Garza (2) nailed down his second save of the season, needing just four pitches to retire the Isotopes in the ninth,

Game Three

Make that three straight games with a homer for Jo Adell as the former top prospect is getting hot. Kevin Padlo gave the Bees a late lead with a pinch-hit home run and sealed the 6-5 win with a defensive gem.

Kevin Padlo comes off the bench and puts the first pitch he sees into the stands pic.twitter.com/2kyHRgK5R7

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 7, 2023

Adell’s third home run, tied for the second most in Triple-A this season, scored Livan Soto and gave the Bees a 2-1 third inning lead. Albuquerque retook the lead on a pair of extra-base hits off of starter Jake Kalish in the bottom half of the inning.

Exit Velocity: 113.4 MPH
Distance: 460 FT
Runs: 2
Consecutive games with a dinger for Jo Adell: 3 pic.twitter.com/yxS2RkBM7M

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 7, 2023

In the fifth inning, Taylor Jones singled, scoring Mickey Moniak to give Salt Lake a 4-3 lead.

The Isotopes scored runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take the lead and set the stage for Padlo’s dramatics.

Jones walked to lead off the inning followed by a Jordyn Adams strikeout that brought Trey Cabbage’s spot in the order to the plate. Bees manager Keith Johnson tabbed righthanded Padlo off the bench to match up with lefty pitcher Fernando Abad.

Padlo cranked the first pitch he saw from Abad over the left field fence to give Salt Lake a 6-5 lead. Padlo stayed in the game defensively and sealed the win with an unassisted double play to clinch the victory.

Padlo put us ahead and Padlo closes the door to end it 🚪 pic.twitter.com/XLe1VrKtLL

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 7, 2023

Zack Weiss (1-0) got the win, giving up a run on a pair of hits. Abad (1-1) took the loss for Albuquerque with Austin Warren getting the final six outs for his first save of the year.

Angels, Bees & Baseball Miscellany

Before opening a series in Seattle, Shohei Ohtani showed his respect for Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki.

Shohei Ohtani took off his hat and bowed to baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki ❤️🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/6PAIn4viyX

— ESPN (@espn) April 4, 2023

Then he RUDELY did this, for the second straight night. Both blasts traveled 430+ feet.

Shohei Ohtani goes deep in back-to-back games! pic.twitter.com/zEGzEWrKVF

— MLB (@MLB) April 4, 2023

Another one bites the dust. San Diego Padres Manny Machado retired on an automatic strike three call. Machado is not pleased with the call and gets ejected. Who’s side are you on?

Looks like Manny Machado was trying to call time before the clock violation that led to his ejection pic.twitter.com/Ppq7lpyP0o

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 4, 2023

Don’t run on, checks notes… Daulton Varsho?

Daulton Varsho with a perfect throw! 💪 pic.twitter.com/l3vh9bv61A

— MLB (@MLB) April 5, 2023

History was made when the Hillsboro Hops took the field on Thursday, April 6. Manager Ronnie Gajownik became the first female manager in High-A history.

History in Hillsboro 👏 #ThatsaW

(📸 @HillsboroHops) pic.twitter.com/EcOLNsDWLf

— espnW (@espnW) April 7, 2023

Walk-off Magic

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell walked off the New York Mets, completing the sweep with a solo home run. Listen to Mitchell’s unexpected source of inspiration for the homer.

Garrett Mitchell hit a walk-off HR for the Brewers the other day, but his wife sure won’t be happy about his postgame comments. 😂🤬 pic.twitter.com/AAPuWvupaV

— Sportsbook Review (@SBRReview) April 7, 2023

He homered earlier in the game but Orlando Arcia wasn’t finished. Here he is walking off the San Diego Padres on Thursday night.

The @braves throw one heck of an #OpeningDay party.

(MLB x @CapitalOne) pic.twitter.com/RBoYnUxvXt

— MLB (@MLB) April 7, 2023

Up Next

Salt Lake plays three more games against the Isotopes. After finishing the series with Albuquerque on April 9, the Bees travel to Las Vegas where they take on the Aviators April 11-16.

Listen to ‘Voice of the Bees’ Steve Klauke on KSL Sports Zone. All Salt Lake Bees games are featured on the KSL Sports app. Purchase tickets to see the Bees play at slbees.com.