Salt Lake Bees get blanked by Express

ROUND ROCK, Tex. — Three Round Rock pitchers combined to throw a seven-hit shutout, as the Express blanked the Salt Lake Bees 6-0 on Thursday night.

Starter Jeremy Johnson (3-3) went six innings and allowed just three hits for the win, while Casey Daigle went 1 1/3 innings and also gave up three hits. Closer Chad Paronto came on in the eighth with runners at first and second with one out and got Chris Pettit to ground to an inning-ending double play on his first pitch.

Despite pitching well, the Bees' Mike MacDonald suffered his fourth straight loss. MacDonald (3-5) allowed just three runs, two earned, on seven hits in seven innings, with four strikeouts and two walks.

Ryan Budde went 3-for-3, including a double, while Sean Rodriguez added two hits. Terry Evans went 0-for-4 to snap his 13-game hitting streak. Salt Lake closed out its road trip with a 3-5 record.

The Bees host Reno today at 7 p.m. and play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 5 p.m