Davis, Zephyrs snap Sacramento's streak

J.J. Davis went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs, and Melvin Nieves scored four times as the New Orleans Zephyrs sacked the River Cats' eight-game winning streak with a 12-7 victory in Sacramento on Sunday.

New Orleans scored six unanswered runs in the middle innings to open a 10-5 lead, answering back-to-back-to-back River Cat homers from Shawn Garrett, Jack Cust and Dan Johnson in the third inning off Zephyrs starter Chad Durbin.

Davis' RBI double in the fifth off Steve Sparks (2-1) tied the game at 5-5 and Brendan Harris followed by singling in Nieves and Davis. The Zephyrs plated three more in the seventh on a two-run single from Matt Cepicky and a run-scoring single from Rick Short. The River Cats' Bobby Smith singled in two in the seventh to close the scoring for Sacramento.

The New Orleans bullpen salvaged an ineffective 2 1/3 innings from Durbin with Mark DiFelice, Travis Hughes and Joe Horgan combining to not allow any earned runs over the final 6 2/3 innings. DiFelice (1-1) tossed 4 1/3 innings, yielding two unearned runs in the win.

Davis drove in Nieves in the opening frame with a two-run homer. Mike Rouse and Johnson tied the game at 2-2 for Sacramento in the bottom of the inning with RBI singles.

Cepicky registered three RBIs for the Zephyrs and has 26 on the season. Wesley Carroll hit his first New Orleans homer this season in the second inning. Garrett had four hits for the River Cats. -- Eric Justic/MLB.com