PCL Sacramento River Cats

Cats' Offense Explodes in Victory Over Isotopes

July 29, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sacramento River Cats News Release


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Sacramento River Cats scored early and often on their way to their second-largest winning margin of the season, which was in part powered by a grand slam from Jakson Reetz as Sacramento dominated to the tune of a 15-4 victory over the Albuquerque Isotopes on Friday.

Home runs were once again the theme of the evening as the River Cats (45-54) belted four big flies for the third time this season, but the second time this series against the Isotopes (42-58) after also doing so on Tuesday. However, the first long ball did not come until after Sacramento had already broken onto the scoreboard.

A one-out walk and a stolen base by Michael Gigliotti turned into the first run of the game on a double by Armando Alvarez, who extended his hitting streak to five games. Alvarez scored in the subsequent at-bat on a single by Bryce Johnson, who also swiped second and scored in the next at-bat when Luis Gonzalez singled through the left side. It was the first hit on the rehab assignment for Gonzalez.

Then came the first dinger of the day for Sacramento as Tyler Fitzgerald uncorked a massive two-run shot to left field that reclaimed the team lead in homers with his 13th of the year. It also put the River Cats ahead early, 5-0.

They made it 7-0 in the fourth when they tacked on another pair of runs that started with a solo home run to left center on a 1-2 pitch from Alvarez. Later in the frame, Gonzalez made it consecutive at-bats with a hit when he singled to reach base before scoring on a double to right field by Isan Diaz.

Albuquerque finally answered in the home half of the fifth, plating a pair of runs in the frame that came after Drew Strotman had recorded two outs. The first came on a solo homer by Brendan Rodgers, the first of his rehab assignment with the Isotopes, while the other crossed on a Daniel Montano single three batters later.

Then came the biggest inning of the contest for either team, a six-run top of the sixth for Sacramento. After loading the bases with one out, Diaz earned another RBI on a single to right field and was followed by David Villar's first run driven in on the night with a single up the middle.

That left the bases full with two outs for Reetz, who unloaded them on one swing by sending a 2-0 pitch 438 feet to left-center field for a grand slam that made the score 13-2. It was the fifth grand slam of the season for Sacramento, and the 99th in franchise history since 2005. Additionally, it was the second career grand slam for Reetz, with the other coming this season when he was a member of the Omaha Storm Chasers on April 1.

Both teams traded one-run innings through the end of the contest, beginning in the home half of the sixth. The River Cats countered an RBI single by Wynton Bernard with a bases-loaded RBI single by Diaz in the seventh, his third run-producing hit of the game.

Consecutive doubles pushed across another run for Albuquerque in their half of the seventh, but Alvarez put the finishing touches on a 15-4 victory with his second solo homer of the night while leading off the ninth. That made him the first River Cat this season to have multiple two-homer games in 2023, while it gives him three dingers in the series and five going back to the series finale against Tacoma on Sunday.

Pitching was excellent as the River Cats went with a bullpen game, as four Sacramento hurlers combined on the win. Credit for the victory went to Tristan Beck (3-1), who worked around four hits and a while by fanning two in 2.1 innings. Sean Newcomb drew the start and allowed a single hit while punching out three in 1.2 frames. Finishing off the game in a non-save situation was Chris Wright by going two hitless frames with a pair of walks and strikeouts.

Both Johnson and Alvarez logged four-hit games, each finishing 4-for-5 with the former scoring twice and driving one in while the latter scored four times and had three RBI. It was the first time a River Cat scored four runs since Ford Proctor did so on June 11 against Las Vegas, and helped Alvarez stay in a groove during July by batting .435 (27-for-62) with 15 runs scored, six doubles, five homers and 14 RBI. Meanwhile, Diaz also drove in three with a trio of hits.

This six-game set continues Saturday with game five scheduled for 5:35 p.m.

Check out the Sacramento River Cats Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from July 29, 2023


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