PCL Sacramento River Cats

Seven Score in First but Cats Stumble Against Aviators

Published on August 9, 2023 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sacramento River Cats News Release


SUMMERLIN, Nev. - The Sacramento River Cats began their first trip to Las Vegas this season with their largest first inning of the year, putting up seven runs during the game's first set of swings, but 10 unanswered tallies by the Las Vegas Aviators spoiled the contest for Sacramento as the Aviators hung onto a 10-9 win on Tuesday.

Action got off to a promising start for the River Cats (46-62), as they sent 10 men to the plate en route to putting up their seven runs in the frame. Those were the most runs they had tallied in the first inning of any game this season and tied for the second-most runs in any frame this year (five other occasions). In addition to five hits, Sacramento also took advantage of a pair of Aviators' (55-53) errors as only one of those opening seven runs was earned.

Starting the game off in exciting fashion was Luis Gonzalez, as he put himself at third base following his three-bagger over the head of Max Schuemann in center field. He represented the first unanswered run when Logan Davidson made a miscue on a batted ball by Marco Luciano, who later scored a run of his own when Tyler Fitzgerald doubled down the left-field line.

From then the two-out magic was on, as Bryce Johnson cashed in with the bases loaded by delivering a two-RBI single into center, but an error allowed a third run to score on the play. One batter later and the bases were cleared again, as Wade Meckler deposited his first Triple-A home run over the wall in right for a two-run blast to spot Sacramento the early cushion, 7-0.

Las Vegas nearly matched that frame in the second with a six-spot of their own, as the Aviators received RBI singles from Darrell Hernaiz and Tyler Wade before a Trento Brooks double brought home a pair. Driving in the last run of the inning was Carlos Perez on an RBI groundout.

Not only did the Aviators complete the comeback in the fourth, but they also built some insurance in the process. The inning ended with four runs on four hits, the first of which came when Wade left the yard on the initial offering of his at-bat with a two-run homer. Two batters later and Trenton Brooks laced an RBI double, with Nick Schwartz trading places with Brooks to push the score to 10-7.

While Sacramento scored the final two runs of the contest, they could never find the tally to force extras. An opposite-field shot by David Villar in the fifth accounted for the first run, helping him extend his reached base safely streak to 10 games. Meanwhile, Brett Wisely reached with a single in the sixth and made it all the way around to third before scoring on a throwing error.

Down the stretch, the Sacramento bullpen was impressive as a trio of relievers combined to go five scoreless innings. First was Nick Swiney, who yielded only two hits and two walks with three punchouts in 2.0 innings. Following was Chris Wright, who punched out five while facing one over the minimum in 2.0 frames, while Erik Miller allowed only one walk in 1.0 inning of work.

Despite the pen keeping the game close, the offense was unusually silent in the final innings as they had just one more hit from the seventh inning on, a single from Joey Bart into right center. That preserved the win for Las Vegas, as the River Cats dropped to 0-10 in one-run games on the road (14-16 overall in such games).

After trotting out five relivers in the contest, taking the win for Las Vegas was Spencer Patton (4-1) as he pitched the most effectively by tossing a perfect inning with a pair of strikeouts. While two others got the hold, that left the save for Francisco Perez in his first opportunity of the year by throwing a scoreless outing. Charged with the loss for Sacramento was Sean Hjelle (2-5), allowing all Las Vegas runs on 10 hits in 3.0+ innings.

Meckler posted his first Triple-A multi-hit game thanks to his dinger, and he also singled later in the contest. Also posting multiple hits was Joey Bart, though he did not score a run. Six other River Cats logged hits including Bryce Johnson, who had a pair of RBI, as well as Villar and Fitzgerald, who had an RBI each.

Both teams will meet again at the same time in the same place tomorrow, battling the Aviators in game two at 7:05 p.m.

Check out the Sacramento River Cats Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 9, 2023


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