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PCL Sacramento River Cats

Cats Win Fifth Straight Behind Relievers, Fourth Inning

August 26, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sacramento River Cats News Release


EL PASO, Tex. - The Sacramento River Cats continued their hot momentum with another complete victory over the El Paso Chihuahuas on Friday, dropping four runs in the fourth while pitching remained strong as Sacramento won its season-best fifth game in a row thanks to a 6-3 victory.

Keeping the Chihuahuas (53-71) off the scoreboard early with three scoreless frames was River Cats (55-68) starter Keaton Winn, who stranded a pair of two-out singles in the first while allowing just two more base runners beyond that point.

In the second was when Sacramento broke the scoreless tie, using consecutive two-out doubles from Luis Gonzalez and Armando Alvarez to get on the board. Alvarez has now logged a hit in six consecutive contests, posting multiple hits in four of those games, and has combined for seven RBI in the four games against El Paso.

Insurance came during the fourth and started with the second blast in as many games from Trenton Brooks, playing in just his third game with the River Cats since joining the team on Monday. Brooks jumped on the first pitch he saw, clearing it over the wall in left center that doubled the lead.

All three other runs came with two outs in the inning, using four straight hits that started with singles by Gonzalez and Alvarez but was highlighted by a two-RBI triple by Bryce Johnson, his third three-bagger of the year. Finishing the sequence was an RBI knock from Donovan Walton that pushed the score to 5-0.

Following Winn's exit, the Chihuahuas got to new Sacramento reliever Cody Stashak for a pair of runs on two hits in the home half of the fourth. Both came consecutively with one out in the inning, with the last a two-run homer from Matthew Batten.

Both teams gave little resistance in the fifth, and while an El Paso leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth led to a run on a wild pitch, Sacramento countered when Walton unloaded on a 3-1 pitch for his third homer with Sacramento during the seventh.

That was the final run to score in the contest, largely due to the relief efforts of Drew Strotman (5-6) and Erik Miller. Though he was not the first reliever to enter, Strotman claimed credit for the win after tossing four solid frames while allowing an unearned run on one hit with one walk and a pair of punchouts.

After Strotman worked the fifth through the eighth, Miller took the baton in a save situation during the ninth. The southpaw converted the opportunity by tossing a clean inning with a strikeout, extending his team lead in saves with his eighth of the campaign.

Taking the loss was El Paso starter Matt Waldron (2-10), as he was responsible for all six runs on nine hits in 7.0 innings with four strikeouts, though he did not issue a free pass.

Doing most of the damage was the bottom half of the lineup, which included both Gonzalez and Walton going 3-for-4 with the former scoring a pair of runs while the latter scored once and drove in a pair. Also producing a multi-hit game was Alvarez, closing the night 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI along with his two-bagger.

The River Cats will aim to continue their winning streak when the two teams line up again tomorrow, taking the field at Southwest University Park at 5:35 p.m. PT.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 26, 2023


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