Sacramento's 5-3 win puts Blach back on top

West Sacramento, CA - Ty Blach extended a string of excellent starts for the Sacramento River Cats (24-35) as they topped the Albuquerque Isotopes (25-32) 5-3 at Raley Field on Monday night. Blach matched his season high with seven strikeouts as the River Cats rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take game three of this four-game set.  

Blach immediately found himself behind, serving up a leadoff home run to the Isotopes' second baseman Rafael Ynoa. It was the second time this season that he's opened a game by allowing a home run to the leadoff man. He recovered quickly, though, allowing just two more runs over the next six innings. The left-hander seemed to be on cruise control between the second and sixth innings, retiring 14 of 15, including 12 straight. His seven strikeouts matched his season high (4/12 at Salt Lake).

Overall, Blach tossed seven strong innings, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk to go with his seven strikeouts. Tonight marked the third straight game where Sacramento's starter has struck out at least seven. Clayton Blackburn struck out eight over six shutout innings in the series opener while Chris Heston struck out seven in seven innings Sunday afternoon. The last turn through the Sacramento rotation, the River Cats starters are just 2-1 but have posted a 3.13 ERA through 31.2 innings of work. They've struck out 31 over that time while walking nine.

Jake Dunning took over for Blach, navigating through a rough eighth inning before throwing a perfect ninth inning to record his first save of the season.

The River Cats offense came to play, backing Blach with five runs, the most he's received since the Sacramento bats gave him 12 runs in three innings on May 5 in Albuquerque. Tonight, Sacramento scored three times in the bottom of the seventh, erasing a one-run deficit and giving Sacramento the 5-3 lead and Blach his sixth win of the season. Blach had taken three straight no-decisions, but with tonight's win, moves into a five-way tie for wins atop the Pacific Coast League.

Second baseman Juan Ciriaco was the catalyst for the offense, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. The veteran infielder was a triple shy of the cycle and his seventh-inning home run started the three-run rally for Sacramento. Grant Green, Gorkys Hernandez, and Austin Slater each picked up two hits in the victory. For Slater, it was his first multi-hit game at Triple-A and helped raise his River Cats batting average to .263.

The series finale is set for tomorrow night with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. (PT). It'll be another battle of the lefties at Matt Lujan (0-4, 4.74) goes for his first win against Albuquerque's left-hander Tyler Anderson (1-2, 2.92). The game can be heard live online at rivercats.com and on ESPN 1320.

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The Sacramento River Cats are the Triple-A affiliate of the 2014 World Champion San Francisco Giants. The team plays at Raley Field in West Sacramento, consistently voted one of the top ballparks in America. River Cats Season Tickets, Mini-Plans, and Flex Plans can be purchased for the 2016 season by calling the River Cats Ticket Hotline at (916) 371-HITS (4487). For more information about the River Cats, visit www.rivercats.com. For information on other events at Raley Field, visit www.raleyfield.com.