Salt Lake Bees: Rodriguezes spark Bees

Sean Rodriguez says teammates don't call out his last name to get his attention in the Salt Lake Bees clubhouse. That's because he and three others would turn around to answer.

Of the 23 players currently on the Bees roster, Rodriguez is the surname of four of them — making the Bees the Pacific Coast League leaders in Rodriguezes.

"I've never had four" players with the same last name, said Bees manager Bobby Mitchell. "That's a lot."

None are related. Sean is from Miami. Fernando resides in El Paso, Texas. Francisco is from Mexico and Rafael hails from the Dominican Republic.

Three of them — Sean, Francisco and Rafael — played integral roles in the Bees' 5-4 victory over the Reno Aces on a sunny Easter Sunday afternoon at Spring Mobile Ballpark.

Shortstop Sean Rodriguez, the only non-pitcher of the four, had the big hit of the game. He blasted the first pitch from Reno reliever Jose Marte over the right-field fence for a three-run homer in the sixth inning.

"There were no outs and the infield was back, so I wasn't even trying to hit it hard. I just wanted to put it into play," said Rodriguez. "He got the pitch up and I just hit it. I actually didn't think it was going to get out."

But it cleared the fence with plenty of room to spare, giving the Bees a 5-3 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Francisco Rodriguez — not to be confused with the star closer with the same name, formerly of the Angels and now with the Mets — made his Bees debut and earned the victory. He threw two scoreless innings of relief while striking out a pair. The Aces were able to get runners at the corners with no outs against him in the seventh, but Rodriguez was able to pitch out of the jam — thanks in large part to a strikeout, throw out double play.

Rafael Rodriguez, meanwhile, earned his first save of the year. He gave up a home run to the first hitter he faced in the ninth inning, but then settled down to retire the side and help the Bees improve to 2-1 on the season.

All five of Salt Lake's runs were produced by long balls. Designated hitter Matt Brown led off the second inning with a homer to left, which was followed by an even longer blast to left by third baseman Brandon Wood.