Maris shines, defense burns River Cats late

West Sacramento, Calif. — The Sacramento River Cats (27-37) dropped their third game to the Round Rock Express (32-33), surrendering four unearned runs in the two-run defeat.

Needing just one out to strand the go-ahead run at second base and send the game to the bottom of the ninth tied at five, reliever Silvino Bracho (0-2) forced a would-be inning-ending fly ball to left fielder Arismendy Alcántara.

Yet, Alcántara misplayed it, leading to a go-ahead unearned run. One batter later, Round Rock made it 7-5 with a single from designated hitter Yohel Pozo. Bracho finished the night with four runs allowed, two earned, in 2.0 innings.

Second baseman Peter Maris put the River Cats up in the sixth with a two-run home run. Tied at three with designated hitter Bryce Johnson on second and two outs in the sixth, Maris lined an 0-2 pitch over the center field wall for a 5-3 lead.

Center fielder Braden Bishop tripled home Maris, and scored on first baseman Joe McCarthy’s clutch two-out double. A day after his 14-game hitting streak snapped, McCarthy went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI.

Sacramento right-hander Matt Frisbee (1-5, 8.31) will start the Tuesday series finale, with a TBD on the mound for Round Rock. First pitch is at 12:05 p.m. Listen to Johnny Doskow online at rivercats.com or on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

• In his second-to-last game before retiring and moving into his role as a mental health advocate with the San Francisco Giants, right fielder Drew Robinson made a few highlight plays, including a diving double-catch on a sinking liner.
• Left-hander Sam Selman was excellent in 2.0 perfect innings, before right-hander Norwith Gudino struck out five with two runs (one earned) allowed. Right-hander Yunior Marte spun a solid 2.0 innings with two hits and one unearned run.
• The offense started slowly, with just one hit through three innings. They woke up in the fourth when Alcántara singled home McCarthy for the River Cats’ first run.