Chacin ices River Cats, beats Cain in Aces' debut
SACRAMENTO - Right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (@Jhoulys45) delivered seven impressive innings and a two-out RBI single by Blake Lalli (@BlakeLalli) in the seventh off of Matt Cain pushed the Reno Aces (@Aces) to a 2-1 win over Sacramento Saturday night at Raley Field.
Signed to a Minor League contract by the Arizona Diamondbacks Saturday morning, Chacin - who has 38 Major League wins to his credit - outdueled Cain, a three-time NL All-Star who threw the 22nd perfect game in Major League history in June of 2012.
Chacin began the season at Columbus, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, where he was released after going 1-3 with a 3.21 ERA in seven starts. Hoping to make a strong impression, his first start as a member of the D-backs' organization went accordingly.
Making his Aces' debut, the 27-year-old scattered five hits while striking out nine. Three singles and a sacrifice fly gave the River Cats a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but the righty settled in by facing two over the minimum from the third through the seventh.
Meanwhile, Cain - making his third rehab appearance - retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced. The right-hander then beaned Reno's Jamie Romak with two outs in the fourth and the Aces capitalized. Romak immediately swiped second and moments later, raced home on a two-out single by Mike Freeman (@MikeBFree5).
Tied at one, Chacin wriggled free from trouble in the sixth, keeping the game in a deadlock. A leadoff double by Ehire Adrianza began the frame, and he moved to third with one out on a wild pitch. With the go-ahead run 90 feet away, Chacin calmly induced a comebacker and a routine fly ball to escape.
Sacramento (30-40) stuck with Cain into the seventh and after two quick outs, Cody Ransom (@ransom_cody) extended the inning with a line-drive single to right. And similar to the Aces' first scoring opportunity, skipper Phil Nevin had his runner at first on the move with two down. Ransom stole second before sprinting home on Lalli's run-scoring single, giving the Aces a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish.
Like Friday night, Keith Hessler and Seth Simmons (@SizzleSimmons95) combined for a scoreless eighth inning. Closer Kaleb Fleck (@k_fleck) entered in the ninth and nailed down his third save, working around a two-out single.
Chacin (1-0) earned the win for Reno (30-39) who has won three straight and four of five.
Cain (0-2) was tagged with the loss, despite allowing just two earned runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings.
Reno's opponents have now scored first in each of the last five games.
The series finale is set for Sunday afternoon in Sacramento. Right-hander Gabriel Arias (2-1, 4.60) gets the nod against right-hander Jake Peavy (0-2, 6.64) for the River Cats. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
Following the seven-game road trip to Sacramento and Tacoma, the Aces return home on Friday, June 26 for a five-game series with the Fresno Grizzlies. Ticket packages are on-sale now at www.RenoAces.com or by calling (775) 334-4700. For up-to-date news and notes throughout the season, follow the club on Twitter (@aces) or like the team on Facebook.