Late River Cats rally comes up short in Albuquerque

Albuquerque, NM. - The Sacramento River Cats (12-12) rallied late, but a pair of excellent defensive plays doomed the River Cats as they fell 3-2 to the Albuquerque Isotopes (15-10).
Mike Gerber sent the first pitch of the game over the left field wall for an early 1-0 River Cats' lead, but the offense could not get anything going until mounting rallies in each of the final two innings. In the eighth, Henry Ramos' bases loaded single scored Abiatal Avelino from third, but the trail runner Breyvic Valera was gunned down at the plate on an incredible throw from Isotopes left fielder Drew Weeks. Then in the ninth, Sacramento managed to put runners on second and third for Valera, who lined a ball to center field, but Albuquerque's Yonathan Daza made a spectacular diving catch to save two runs and seal the game for the Isotopes.
Ty Blach was the River Cats' scheduled starter on Monday, but was recalled by the Giants before the game, forcing the River Cats bullpen to piece things together. Sacramento used four pitchers out of the bullpen - including Steven Okert who started the first game of his career - and they combined to allow three runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts.
The club looks to get back on track in game two of four with right-hander Enderson Franco (1-0, 4.96). Albuquerque will give the ball to right-hander Ryan Castellani (2-0, 2.75). First pitch is set for 5:35 p.m. (PT). Catch all of the action live online at rivercats.com, on the MiLB First Pitch app, or on Money 105.5 FM beginning at 7:00 p.m. (PT).
Additional Notes

• Mike Gerber homered on the very first pitch of the game. It was the first leadoff home run for the River Cats since Darren Ford homered to lead off a game at Chukchansi Park in Fresno on August 9, 2015.
• Shortstop Abiatal Avelino picked up three singles on Monday and scored a run, giving him his second three-hit game and fourth multi-hit game of the season. He raised his average to .224.

*
The Sacramento River Cats are the Triple-A affiliate of the three-time World Champion San Francisco Giants. The team plays at Raley Field in West Sacramento, consistently voted one of the top ballparks in America. Season Tickets, Mini-Plans, and Flex Plans can be purchased for the River Cats' 20th season by calling the River Cats Ticket Hotline at (916) 371-HITS (4487). The only place to guarantee official River Cats tickets is at www.rivercats.com. For information on other events at Raley Field, visit www.raleyfield.com.