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PCL Sacramento River Cats

Sacramento Slowed by Tacoma, Cats Fall 5-2

July 19, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sacramento River Cats News Release


WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A tone-setting three-run home run put the Sacramento River Cats in a hole that they could not recover from during their series opener with the Tacoma Rainiers, as Tacoma added insurance to its lead before finishing off a 5-2 victory on Tuesday.

River Cats' (40-50) starter Miguel Yajure (0-2) came out strong by punching out his first hitter, but the Rainiers (45-46) responded with a walk and stolen base from Cade Marlowe followed by a single from Didi Gregorious. Just one at-bat later and Tacoma captured a lead they would not relinquish, as Jake Scheiner sent a ball over the left-field wall to give the Rainiers a 3-0 advantage.

Yajure settled in from that point on, sitting down the final two hitters of the first which set him on a streak of retiring 10 of the next 11 hitters he faced. That span included seven straight retired from the middle of the second through the fourth.

However, the Sacramento offense could not put more than one runner on in any of their first five trips to the plate. That allowed the Rainiers to score an insurance run in the top of the fifth, as Marlowe singled and stole both second and third before finally crossing the plate on an RBI single from Taylor Trammell.

It was not until the home half of the sixth when the River Cats finally broke through, doing so on one swing as Tyler Fitzgerald started the home half of the inning with a solo dinger to left field. It was the 11th homer of the campaign for Fitzgerald, putting him in a tie for the team lead along with Will Wilson.

A Gregorious triple that was lost in the twilight had him 90 feet from home with two outs in the away half of the seventh, but he was ultimately left stranded which gave Sacramento a bit of momentum as they came to the dish. Joey Bart started the home half of the frame with a single and was joined on base by Jakson Reetz when the latter was hit by a pitch. Only Bart would come around to score, doing so on a pinch-hit RBI single from Wilson that cut the deficit in half, 4-2.

The River Cats tried to replicate that formula with a ninth-inning rally, as Bart once again began the inning with a knock by lining a single into right center. However, Tacoma held firm with a strikeout and game-ending double play that preserved the win, 5-2. That earned Tacoma starter Darren McCaughan (5-4) the victory, as he struck out eight while allowing just two runs on four hits in 6.1 innings of work.

Tonight's loss marked the sixth straight for Sacramento, tied for their longest losing streak of the season as they also dropped six consecutive from April 23-30 when they were defeated in the series finale against Round Rock and the first five games against Oklahoma City. Additionally, this was the fifth straight loss at Sutter Health Park, their most since they also lost five in a row last year starting with the series finale against Salt Lake on May 29 before falling in the first four against Reno from June 7-10, 2022.

Though he was charged with the loss for surrendering the three-run homer in the first, Yajure's final line was still decent as he allowed three runs on only two hits. While he did walk four, the Venezuela native struck out a season-high eight batters, his first time punching out more than seven since he fanned 10 in a game for the Tampa Tarpons back on Aug. 14, 2019.

Tossing scoreless relief innings for Sacramento was the trio of Nick Avila, Chris Wright, and Tanner Andrews. The first of that trio was Avila, who punched out the side in order during the sixth, giving the River Cats some momentum just before Fitzgerald's blast.

Fitzgerald and Bart produced four of the six Sacramento hits, each finishing 2-for-4 and scoring once, though Fitzgerald also had an RBI thanks to his home run. Reetz earned another extra-base knock and closed 1-for-3, while Wilson had an RBI single in his only trip to the plate.

Both teams will return to Sutter Health Park for an afternoon matinee tomorrow, with first pitch of game two scheduled for 12:05 p.m.

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