PCL Sacramento River Cats

Cats Snap Skid, Avila Victorious Again in Win Over Reno

Published on August 5, 2023 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sacramento River Cats News Release


WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A pair of two-run innings in the early portion of the ballgame on Friday gave the Sacramento River Cats a lead that lasted the entire way, pushing Sacramento to snap a five-game skid while Nick Avila made franchise history thanks to his 13th win without a loss during a 4-1 win over the Reno Aces.

Keeping alive their hopes for a series split, the River Cats (46-59) jumped in front of the Aces (58-48) during the home half of the second after a quiet first frame when Sacramento executed a double steal. With runners at the corners, Heliot Ramos stole second and pulled focus away from third where Brett Wisely was able to speed home and take advantage of a bad throw to the plate.

Not only did that result in a run, but it also kept Ramos in scoring position which proved crucial in the next at-bat when Wade Meckler collected his first Triple-A hit and RBI with a single into shallow left field.

During the third, Sacramento doubled its edge by loading the bases with a pair of singles from David Villar and Mark Mathias along with a walk to Joey Bart. In the mix once again was the duo of Wisely and Ramos, as the former collected an RBI on a sacrifice fly to center while the latter singled through the middle to push the score to 4-0.

River Cats starter Mason Black was sharp for nearly the entirety of his outing, yielding only a run on three hits with four strikeouts though he also issued three free passes. All three knocks came leading off the fourth, his final inning of work, which resulted in the one tally of the game courtesy a sacrifice fly by Tristin English. It took a highlight-reel defensive play from Bryce Johnson to hold Reno to just a run, as he went full extension on a dive for the sinking liner into center.

However, the story of the night was Avila (13-0) as he allowed only one hit and one walk in two scoreless frames while fanning a pair of Aces. That efficiency set him in line for the win, one that became his franchise record-setting 13th victory without suffering a loss (dating back to 2000). That tops the previous mark of 12 (non-consecutive) wins without a loss that was set during the 2006 season by Jason Windsor.

Avila did need help in preserving the victory, as Randy Rodriguez and Erik Miller continued the scoreless theme from the bullpen. It started with Rodriguez tossing a pair of innings while giving up one hit and finished with a dominant inning by Miller in which he punched out two while setting the side down for his sixth save of 2023.

Posting multi-hit nights were the duo of Ramos and Marco Luciano, both of whom finished 2-for-4 while Ramos also scored once and drove one in. In fact, all three runs were brought home by the bottom third of the order, as Wisely and Meckler joined Ramos in notching RBI.

Tomorrow the River Cats will try to turn this victory into the beginning of a winning streak, as both teams line up for game five at Sutter Health Park with first pitch scheduled for 6:37 p.m.




Pacific Coast League Stories from August 5, 2023


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