Johnson’s Blast Lone Tally in Cats’ 6-1 Loss

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento River Cats trailed in Saturday night’s contest the entire way after a Salt Lake Bees homer to start the game, mustering only one run in a 6-1 loss at Sutter Health Park.

A solo blast from Daniel Johnson in the third inning represented the only run of the game for the River Cats (20-24), as the outfielder hammered the first pitch he saw deep over the wall in right-center field to put Sacramento on the board. That was the third homer of the season from Johnson, giving him seven extra-base hits in his 11 hits.

Outside of that the River Cats found offense hard to come by, finishing with seven hits but no more than two hits in any inning. Sacramento did have a trio of runners aboard in the third, but a caught stealing, flyout and lineout brought an end to the frame without damage. While the hits keep coming, runs have been hard to come by as Sacramento has scored just three runs in the past three games (27 innings).

The Bees (18-25) started the game with a literal bang, as Scott Kingery put a run on the board to begin the game with a solo homer to left field. The towering 432-foot blast was the first leadoff home run that Sacramento has allowed this season, something they did three times in 2024.

Salt Lake produced another towering blast in the third when Chad Stevens sent a 437-foot blast over the wall in center field for a two-run shot, which not only pushed the lead to 3-0 but became the fifth-longest home run at Sutter Health Park by a visiting player.

While Sacramento put up their tally in the fourth, the Bees continued to add insurance in both the seventh and the ninth. First it was a Stevens single to left, but they left a run on the table when Niko Kavadas was thrown out trying to score from second.

Kavadas then added the two runs in the ninth with the third Salt Lake homer of the evening, sending a full count offering out to right that brought the game to its final of 6-1.

The loss is the third in the row for Sacramento, the fifth time this season they have dropped three straight contests. Additionally, the River Cats now sit a season-low four games below the level mark at 20-24.

Sacramento’s starter Juan Mercedes (1-1) was tagged for the loss after allowing three runs on three hits with three walks in 2.2 innings. Three River Cats relievers had scoreless appearances in Raymond Burgos, Tristan Back and Antonio Jimenez, the middle of which worked two innings and struck out four.

Ending the night with a pair of hits was Grant McCray, who was 2-for-4 on the night. Outside of the Johnson dinger, the only other extra-base hit belonged to Jake Lamb who was 1-for-4 with a double.

Sunday will see the River Cats try to salvage the series with a split when the two teams take the field at Sutter Health Park at 1:05 p.m.