Aces Take Game 1 Over Sacramento

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif.–Trevor Bauer and four Aces relievers combined to shut down the Sacramento River Cats Wednesday night, as Reno escaped with a 3-1 victory in Game 1 of the Pacific Conference Championship Series at Raley Field.

Reno capitalized on a Sacramento error in the third and scored runs on a Tyler Kuhn double and a Mike Jacobs sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead. The River Cats clawed back with a run in the fourth, but that was all they'd get. Tyler Bortnick added an insurance run in the ninth to put the game away for good.

Bauer (1-0) held Sacramento to just an unearned run on three hits over 5.0 innings. After his exit, Joe Paterson, Sam Demel, Jensen Lewis and Jonathan Albaladejo each registered a scoreless frame to close out the victory.

The hard-luck loss fell to River Cats starter Bruce Billings (0-1), who surrendered just two unearned runs with 10 strikeouts through 6.0 innings of work.

At the dish for Reno, A.J. Pollock singled twice for the Aces' lone multi-hit effort. Four of Reno's seven hits went for extra bases.

Game 2 is set for Thursday night at Raley Field. RHP Daniel Cabrera (1-1, 3.00 ERA) gets the ball for Reno, while RHP Jesse Chavez (8-5, 3.77 ERA) counters for the River Cats. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. PT. The game can be listened to live on Fox Sports 630 AM or by visiting RenoAces.com. Additionally, the Freight House District will host a watch party with food and drink specials available.

Game 3 and 4 and 5 (if necessary) will move to Aces Ballpark. Playoff tickets are on-sale now at RenoAces.com, by calling (775) 334-7000 or by visiting the Aces Ballpark Ticket Office.