PCL Sacramento River Cats

Johnson scores winning run as River Cats walk off on Aces

May 23, 2021 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sacramento River Cats News Release


West Sacramento, Calif. - Sacramento won its first home game of 2021 in dramatic fashion, with center fielder Bryce Johnson scoring the game-winning run after stealing third and taking home on an errant throw.

After back-to-back walks by Reno lefty Junior Garcia, manager Blake Lalli made a double-switch, putting catcher Bryan Holaday into the game. Johnson immediately tested the cold backstop with a game-winning dash for third and home.

His fifth steal of the season provided the River Cats' first walk off since Jaylin Davis' ninth-inning single against El Paso on August 30, 2019. It also marked the first walk-off error for Sacramento since August 22, 2017 when Tim Federowicz scored on an errant pickoff by Albuquerque right-hander Carlos Estevez.

Right-hander Shun Yamaguchi spun an excellent 6.1 innings, the first six being shutout. The 33-year-old struck out nine and forced eight ground outs while surrendering just one hit and two unearned runs. His efforts did not result in his first win as a River Cat, but he did record his first MiLB hit with a fourth inning single.

Second baseman Mitchell Tolman's third inning solo home run was the game's first run. The big-fly extended the River Cats home-run streak to seven games. One inning later, first baseman Jason Krizan and right fielder Joe McCarthy went back-to-back for the team's eighth multi-home run game of the season.

Left-hander Anthony Banda (1-0 with a 7.94 ERA) will try to make it two in a row. He'll be opposed by right-hander Zach Lee (0-0 with a 1.00 ERA). First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. (PT). Watch the game on CW31 or listen to all of the action live online at rivercats.com, on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

Right-hander Jimmie Sherfy (1-0) got the win with a scoreless ninth inning in which he struck out two. Sherfy pitched in Reno for four seasons and is the franchise's all-time leader with 59 saves.

The seventh inning fielding error by shortstop Thairo Estrada led to two unearned runs and also tied Sacramento with Salt Lake for the league lead in errors (20).

Check out the Sacramento River Cats Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from May 23, 2021


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