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PCL Sacramento River Cats

Ninth-Inning Rally Spurs River Cats to Independence Day Victory

July 5, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sacramento River Cats News Release


WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - An early Sacramento River Cats lead had faded by the middle innings, but Sacramento rallied with two runs in their final at-bats during the ninth which included a go-ahead home run from Joey Bart to produce a 9-7 victory over the Salt Lake Bees in the series opener on Tuesday.

The River Cats (38-43) opened the ballgame with a base runner thanks to a Dalton Guthrie single into left, who then stole second to make it into scoring position. The swipe proved crucial, as David Villar singled the opposite way into right field to drive in Guthrie for the early lead.

During the third Sacramento added two more, once again beginning the frame with a knock as Heliot Ramos crushed a ball into the right-field corner that slammed off the wall as he sped all the way to third for a triple. He did not wait on base long as Jakson Reetz immediately drove him in, doubling down the left field line. Reetz would later score as well, moving to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ford Proctor before crossing on an Armando Alvarez single into left center.

In the bottom of the frame was the first response from the Bees (40-41), replicating the Sacramento formula with a Jack Lopez triple into right-center to start their swings before he scored on a double from Zach Humphreys in the next at-bat. Humphreys also came around to score in the inning, doing so on a two-out single from Jordyn Adams.

Ahead by one, the River Cats increased their advantage yet again with another pair of runs during their half of the fifth. A pair of singles and a double steal from the duo of Tyler Fitzgerald and Isan Diaz had them both in scoring position, setting the stage for a two-out, two-RBI double from Bart. That double extended his active hitting streak to seven games.

Yet again the Salt Lake response was swift, getting a run back in the home half after they produced their second inning-starting triple, this time from Brett Phillips. In the next-at bat, a wild pitch from Tanner Andrews allowed him to score and cut the deficit to just 5-3.

Momentum changed during Salt Lake's swings in the sixth, dropping a four-spot to take their first lead of the contest on the strength of six hits, which ties the most hits allowed in an inning this season by Sacramento. All knocks came towards the beginning of the inning, putting six of the first seven batters on base including a pair of two-baggers. Joey Maricano would enter to escape the damage, striking out the final two hitters of the frame as the River Cats now trailed 7-5.

Salt Lake did not lead for long as the River Cats plated two more in the seventh, as Bart reached on an error at the beginning of the inning and scored immediately on a double from Ramos. The other RBI came from Reetz, who generated his second extra-base hit of the night thanks to a triple to left-center field that allowed Ramos to represent the tying run. It was the first time since a 14-11 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes on April 30, 2022 that the River Cats hit two triples in a single game.

Locked in a new ballgame, each team was retired in order during the eighth with little resistance, leading to a showdown in the ninth. Leadoff hits were the theme of the night, and the last was the biggest as Bart stepped into the box and crushed a ball to the opposite field on a 1-1 pitch for his third homer of the campaign that put Sacramento back on top.

Not satisfied, the River Cats added one final insurance tally on a Proctor double down the right-field line which put them ahead by two prior to the final Bees at-bats. For Sacramento, Proctor's double was their 77th hit in the ninth inning or later (second-most in Triple-A) and represented their Triple-A leading 79th RBI in such situations.

Tasked with preserving the victory was Erik Miller, who quickly retired the first two hitters and then evaded a two-out walk with a strikeout to end the ballgame for his third save in four opportunities. Miller continues to be money when pitching on the road, as he has allowed just a single earned run on six hits in 13.0 combined innings (0.69 road ERA).

Nick Avila (11-0) earned credit for the victory, who entered the contest in the bottom of the seventh to record the last out of the frame before working the clean eighth. That keeps his record unblemished at 11-0, which is one win shy of the Sacramento record of 12 (non-consecutive) victories that Jason Windsor recorded during the 2006 season. Additionally, not only are Avila's 11 wins the most in Triple-A, but they are also tied for the most wins across any level of professional baseball along with Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays.

The victory tonight snapped a previous six-game losing streak on Independence Day for Sacramento, a stretch that started back in 2016 with a 4-1 loss to Fresno. Overall, this moves their all-time record (since 2005) on July 4 to 11-7.

Not factoring into the decision was River Cats' starter Kyle Harrison, who worked 3.0 innings and allowed a pair of runs on three hits and two walks with a trio of punchouts. Tossing a scoreless appearance in addition to Avila and Miller was Marciano, who faced just three batters with two strikeouts.

As a unit Sacramento pounded out 16 hits, with each River Cat collecting at least one knock and led by the duo of Guthrie and Ramos who were each 3-for-5, though Ramos scored twice and drove one in while Guthrie tallied a single run. Three other River Cats had multi-hit efforts including Bart, his fourth straight two-hit game which he paired with three RBI and two runs scored. Over his seven-game hitting streak he has gone 11-for-29 (.379) with six runs scored, one double, three homers and 11 RBI. Additionally, Reetz closed his night 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI.

Both these teams will be back in action for game two of this series tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 5:35 p.m. PT.

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