Cats Walk It Off Again With 6-5 Win In 11

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento River Cats won their third straight game on Friday night at Sutter Health Park, and for a second straight night the victory came in walk-off fashion. After blowing a two-run lead in the ninth and trailing by a run going into the 11^th, the River Cats scored two runs to win it with the game-winning hit coming off the bat of Matt Beaty up the right field line as Sacramento won a thrilling 6-5 decision over the Las Vegas Aviators.

The River Cats built a 3-0 lead in the second and third innings as Ford Proctor opened the scoring with a single to left in the second and Tyler Fitzgerald added a two-run double with two outs in the third, Fitzgerald’s first Triple-A RBI’s. The three runs were given up by Aviators starter Zach Neal, who allowed five hits while walking three and striking out three in five innings of work.

River Cats starter Sean Hjelle, in his return to Sacramento, worked three scoreless innings and faced the minimum, allowing one hit while striking out two.

Tanner Andrews took over for Hjelle in the fourth and allowed one run in his three innings. The run scored on a two-out double by Zack Gelof in the fifth to cut the Sacramento lead to 3-1.

Melvin Adon, who recorded the final out of the eighth inning, worked the ninth aiming for a save and issued a one-out walk to Cody Thomas. Two batters later with two outs, Dermis Garcia hit a game-tying two-run homer on the first pitch he saw to knot the score at 3-3 and ultimately send the game to extra innings.

Las Vegas scored a run in the top of the 10^th on a two-out bases-loaded walk drawn by Conner Capel. The River Cats countered in the home half with a sac-fly from Fitzgerald to tie the game at 4-4. Las Vegas reliever Joe Wieland (1-2) was able to push the game into the 11^th by escaping a jam with the winning run at third and one out.

Jorge Guzman (1-1), who worked the 10^th, came back out for the 11^th and gave up a two-out RBI single to Jonah Bride that put the Aviators back in front 5-4. In the bottom of the 11^th, Shane Matheny wasted no time tying the game on the first pitch with an RBI single to left, plating the free runner, Ricardo Genoves. After Will Wilson worked a walk and Darin Ruf grounded into a fielder’s choice that put runners at the corners with one out, Beaty came to the plate and grounded a ball up the right field line past the first baseman Garcia to give the River Cats a 6-5 win in dramatic fashion.

Wieland suffered the loss for Las Vegas while Guzman was credited with the win for Sacramento.

The River Cats and Aviators play the fifth game of their series on Saturday night at Sutter Health Park. Kyle Harrison (0-1, 4.02 ERA) makes the start for Sacramento, opposed by Paul Blackburn, who makes the start on a Major League rehab assignment for Las Vegas. First pitch is set for 6:37 p.m. PDT.