Late Aces rally dooms River Cats in series opener

RENO, Nev. -- The Sacramento River Cats (64-58) dropped game one of a crucial four-game set with the division rival Reno Aces (58-64) by a final score of 6-5. The River Cats now lead the Pacific Northern division by six games over the Aces and by nine over the Fresno Grizzlies with 18 games remaining.
Reno jumped out to a 4-1 lead after taking advantage of two Sacramento errors in the second inning, but the River Cats would crawl back. Shortstop Mauricio Dubón's two-run single in the third cut their deficit down to one, and outfielder Joe McCarthy's RBI single tied the game an inning later. Then, second baseman Abiatal Avelino crushed a solo shot in the sixth to put his club ahead by one on what was their fourth unanswered run.
But in the bottom of the seventh, left-hander Sam Selman was one out from escaping a jam when Aces outfielder Jamie Westbrook doubled home a pair of runs. Sacramento's offense was shut down in the final three frames as the Reno staff retired ten in a row to close out the ballgame.
It will be left-hander Conner Menez (2-0, 4.06) on the bump for Sacramento looking to even the series while Reno will send righty RHP Taylor Clarke (3-1, 6.63) to the mound. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. (PT). Listen to all of the action live online at rivercats.com, on the MiLB First Pitch app, and on Money 105.5 FM.
Additional Notes
• Abiatal Avelino, alongside hitting his 11th homer of the year, stole his 15th base to lead the team. It's the fifth consecutive season in which a River Cats player has stolen at least 15 bases. Utility man Chase d'Arnaud led the club in 2018 with 15.
• Outfielder Jaylin Davis hit his third homer since joining the River Cats 11 games ago. In 12 games total, Davis has 15 hits, eight of which have gone for extra bases. All three of his homers have come on the road so far.