Catching duo Jesús Rodríguez and Logan Porter give Sacramento back-to-back walkoff wins for Opening Weekend

West Sacramento, CA — Sacramento baseball is back! And catchers are all the rave!

The River Cats kicked off the season-long “Festival of Baseball” this past weekend with “Dinger’s House Party”, welcoming fans back to Sutter Health Park paired with a three-game series against the El Paso Chihuahuas. Friday’s season-opener featured a giveaway of Dinger’s building blocks; Saturday was “Peanuts Night” with the Cats wearing special Peanuts-themed jerseys; and finally, the familiar “Kids Rule Sundays” where Sutter Health Park boasted the Kids Rule Sundays Value Menu, featuring the Five-for-Three Menu with five kid-favorite items for $3 each, as well as autographs from Carson Whisenhunt and Carson Seymour. This Sunday was special, however, as Australian TV icon Bluey made her way to the ballpark to take pictures with fans before the game.

On Friday, the River Cats dropped the game 3-9, losing their first season opener since 2023, and the first season home opener since 2013. Southpaw Carson Whisenhunt was the starter, making the first Opening Day bid of his career. He also allowed a single to Samad Taylor on the first pitch of the game; the first time in his career he has allowed a base hit on the first pitch of a game.

Sacramento was first on the board in the fourth with an RBI single from Grant McCray, scoring Nick Schnell. The lead was short-lived, however, as Whisenhunt loaded the bases in the fifth and allowed an RBI single to Mason McCoy before being replaced by left-hander John Michael Bertrand. The Chihuahuas scored six in that inning, added one in the seventh, and all but secured the win by scoring two final runs in the ninth.

Whisenhunt was charged retroactively for three more of the runs scored in the fifth, making his final tally four runs on four hits, with three walks and four strikeouts in four innings and was dealt his first loss of the season. It was his first time allowing four-or-more runs in a game since his major league debut with the Giants on July 28, 2025, when he gave up four to Pittsburgh. Outfielder Grant McCray went 3-for-3 with three singles, marking his first time with three-or-more hits and no strikeouts since July 26, 2022, with the Single-A San Jose Giants. It also was his fourth consecutive year of reaching base in his first game of the season, and third consecutive of getting a base hit.

Saturday brought bigger and better news as the Kitties earned their first walkoff win of the season, beating the Pooches 5-4. Carson Seymour was the starter but did not factor into the decision of Sacramento’s victory as he pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and fanning three batters.

The River Cats took an early lead in the first, scoring on a Will Brennan sac fly followed by a bases-loaded walk from Chihuahua’s pitcher Triston McKenzie that scored Bryce Eldridge. This was the first instance in his career of McKenzie allowing a bases-loaded walk. El Paso tied the game with a two-run shot from Nate Mondou in the fourth and took the lead with a solo home run from Anthony Vilar in the fifth, and the Cats were able to catch up with a run scored in the seventh. No score in the eighth and ninth innings sent the game to extras where El Paso scored their ghost runner on a Clay Dungan sac fly. New-comer Buddy Kennedy showed Sacramento made a good decision signing him in the off-season as he smacked a sharp line drive double to centerfield, scoring ghost-runner Brennan. McCray was subsequently intentionally walked, followed by a walk to Jake Holton, loading the bases.

The hero of the evening was catcher Logan Porter. Porter hit a triple in the seventh, the third triple of his career, and first with the River Cats, as well as threw out Anthony Vilar attempting to swipe second in the third inning. Porter recorded 13 catcher caught stealings in 2025. And to top it all off, he reached first on a fielder’s choice, scoring Buddy Kennedy and giving the Cats their walkoff win. “We have a very good team…we’re just excited to be here.” Porter said in his postgame interview.

Finally, Sunday’s matinee game brought Sacramento yet another 5-4 walkoff victory, giving them a 2-1 series win over El Paso. This marked the first time Sacramento has had back-to-back walkoffs since May 29-30, 2014, vs. Albequerque. Blade Tidwell was the starter but did not factor into the decision of Sacramento’s victory. He threw 2.2 hitless innings, allowing just one walk and fanning three batters.

The Cats took an early lead once again, going up 3-0 by the third inning. They did not allow El Paso a base hit until a Carlos Rodriguez single in the fifth inning. The Chihuahuas managed to tie the game by the sixth with a Castañon groundout and RBIs from Jose Miranda and Nick Solak. Castañon scored on a wild pitch in the seventh, putting El Paso up 4-3. At the bottom of the ninth, Bryce Eldridge singled to score Drew Gilbert, putting the game in extra innings for the second day in a row.

No score in the 10th sent the game to 11 innings, something that happened to the Cats just twice in 2025. Sac did not allow a run to the Chihuahaus at the top of the inning. Drew Gilbert sent Tyler Fitzgerald to third on a sac fly, and catcher Jesus Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to shallow leftfield in the 11th inning to score Fitz and secure the victory.