PCL Sacramento River Cats

Dean, Genovés homer as River Cats' late comeback falls short

Published on April 20, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sacramento River Cats News Release


West Sacramento, Calif. - The Sacramento River Cats (7-7) could not finish off their late-game comeback attempt, falling 9-8 to the Oklahoma City Dodgers (10-4) on Wednesday.

Trailing by a run in the ninth, third baseman David Villar kicked off the inning with a single off former River Cats reliever Reyes Moronta, but pinch-runner Arquímedes Gamboa was quickly erased, as he was thrown out trying to take second on a ball in the dirt.

The River Cats were back in business after walks to second baseman Jason Krizan and first baseman Wyatt Mathisen, putting the tying and winning runs on base.

Moronta buckled down, however, getting a fly out and strikeout to escape the jam.

Sacramento trailed by as many as five. They started their late push in the seventh with three straight one-out singles (one being an RBI from Villar), an RBI double from Krizan, and an RBI groundout by Mathisen to make it 9-7. One inning later, the River Cats got within one when shortstop Alex Blandino doubled and scored on designated hitter Luis González's two-out single.

The River Cats held a two-run lead at two separate points in the game. Krizan got the scoring started in the first inning with a two-run single to plate center fielder Heliot Ramos and Villar. He finished the day 2-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs.

After Oklahoma City tied the game with two runs in the second, Sacramento retook the lead with a pair of 0-2 home runs. Right fielder Austin Dean lined a towering home run to left field off right-hander Beau Burrows. Two batters later, and also down 0-2 in the count, catcher Ricardo Genovés launched a 424-foot homer at 109 MPH off the bat.

Right-hander Raynel Espinal (0-0, 0.00) looks to end the River Cats' three-game skid with his first win of the season. Espinal will be opposed by Oklahoma City righty Yefry Ramirez (1-0, 4.50) at 6:45 p.m. (PT) on Thursday. Listen to Johnny Doskow call the game online at rivercats.com or on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

Right-hander Patrick Ruotolo was unhittable in his Triple-A debut. The 27-year-old, who was promoted from Double-A Richmond on April 19, struck out three and walked two in 2.0 shutout innings of relief.

Check out the Sacramento River Cats Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 20, 2022


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